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I was just browsing through some new twitter followers blogs, and I couldn’t help but notice some well designed themes, and some very poorly designed WordPress and Blogger themes. Most of these have great content, but a lot don’t really make you want to stay on their site very long because they are either not friendly on the eyes or they are difficult to navigate through.

Here are some simple tips to help you make your blog or site keep more viewers. (Note: not all of these tips are even used on my own site, but should be.

Content:

• As everyone knows, content is king in the web world, and if people don’t immediately know what your site is about at first glance, you’ve already shot yourself in the foot. Make sure that your title is clearly visible, easy to find and read, and clearly communicates the purpose of your site.
• SEO: Search Engine Optimization is very important.
  
  1. While it’s great to have a beautiful title, make sure to also have text that search engines can read (whether it’s visible to the human eye or not) so that people will be able to find your site.
  2. If you are using WordPress, I recommend checking out the Platinum SEO Pluggin.
  3. Make sure to put plenty of tags in your posts, but make them applicable to your content and not too random.You want people to come who are really interested in what you have to say or they won’t stay.
• Displaying Ads: Almost everyone wants to display ads, but most blogs are overpowered by them so that not only is it difficult to see what your site is all about, but it also just turns people away.
  
  1. Put only ads on a page that apply to that topic, and limit the number of ads to just a few really targeted ones.
  2. Try creating a separate page for resources that you use or recommend, and create a post or page for each ad telling why it’s worth looking at.
  3. If you are using Google Adsense, make sure to design your ads so that they blend in to your site, but are also in easy to find places (such as before or after posts, or close to your main content in the sidebar).
• Organization: Nobody wants to be fumbling around through your site trying to find that one post they were looking for. Let’s face it, who really cares about looking for a date of a post from a calendar or your archives? They really want to find a specific topic or category. Here are a few simple organization tips for your content.
  
  1. Make an easy to navigate menu that links to your main categories and subcategories.
  2. If you can’t make a menu, make your own menu in a sidebar widget or gadget by simply creating links to these categories and subcategories.
  3. Place the most important info or links toward the top of the page in your sidebars. If you are using a search feature, put it right at the top or in your header. Otherwise it will never get used.
  4. Label your posts very specifically, but with several different words or phrases that mean the same thing. Then, make sure to put a search box at the top of your site so that people can easily search for a word or phrase and find just what they are looking for. Quick Hint: If you want to know how search friendly your site is, do a quick search for a topic you know you wrote about a while back and see how long it takes you to find it.
  5. If you are using a 3 column design, organize your sidebar by the content you are displaying in them. For example, you can use one sidebar for info about you and your site or ways to follow you, and the other for ads and links to other sites.
  6. LESS IS MORE! The more content on a page, the shorter amount of time most people will stay on that page. This is why menus and sub-menus are soooo helpful. The main visible menu shows the main categories, and helps people focus on what direction they want to go in. Once they’ve chosen a basic direction, than you can give them more specific options within that direction.

Design Elements:

• Who doesn’t love a beautiful design?! However, your design should never overpower your content. Your design should direct the reader to the content not only by drawing their attention to it, but also by giving a visual message of what your site is all about.
• Avoid Loud colors or large graphics. Not only do they distract the eye and can overwhelm the senses, but they can also take a long time to download. If you want to use patterns, try to use a repeating pattern for the background so your page loads faster.
• Three column designs are a must if you intend on displaying a lot of widgets or gadgets. No one wants to have to scroll forever.
• Header Design: Try for a clean, uncluttered header that clearly depicts what your site is about, and contains links or buttons to what you really want people to go to.
• Footer Design: Don’t put important content in your footer that is not displayed elsewhere on your site, especially if you are using a blog. Most people don’t make it that far down the page. Footers should be eye friendly, and contain links or items that are either mentioned elsewhere already or are not as important.
• Scrolling Buttons: These are great for items you don’t want people to miss, and they also give you more room in your main content. Just make sure that they blend in nicely with your theme and don’t detract or distract from the main thing. A back-to-top button is also a great way to help people quickly get back to the header without having to scroll a long time.

To wrap it all up, here are a few questions to see if your site is welcoming and easy to navigate.

• Can someone tell what my site is about within seconds of viewing it?
• Does my theme compliment my site or detract from it?
• Does my theme match the message of my site?
• Can people easily find what they are looking for on my site?
• Are people directed to what I want them to look at immediately on my site?
• Do people see my content first or annoying ads first on my site?
• Do people ever see the ads on my site and do they compliment the content that they just read?

Those were just a few simple tips, and there are a ton more. Please leave a comment if you have other tips to add, or if you have a question. Also, let me know if you are interested in a customized WordPress or Blogger theme design.

© 2010 – 2011, Sarah. All rights reserved.

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