Common Mistakes

Mistakes

There are some usability mistakes that bloggers

tend to make over and over again. We will list them

here, so that you can use it as a checklist.

No search box: Internet users resort to the search

box whenever they need to find something specific.

Some people even use search to navigate around

websites. If you don't have a (visible) search box on

your site, those users will get very frustrated.

No archives: It is essential to have a page where

the visitor can browser through all your posts. Apart

from improving the user experience, this page will

also be healthy for your search engine optimization,

as it works as a sitemap.

No contact page: It is very annoying for visitors if

they have something to tell you and can't find a way

to get in touch. Secondly, you risk losing valuable

feedback if that is the case.

Complex navigation: Try to make your navigation

structure as simple as possible. This involves using a

main navigation bar, having a link back to the

homepage on all internal pages, avoiding drop-down

menus and so on.

Bad typography: If people can't read your content

comfortably they will just head somewhere else.

Make sure that your font is big enough, that the

letter and line spacing is adequate, that you have

enough white space surrounding the content and so

on. Invisible links: Hyperlinks are cornerstones of web

navigation, and they should always be easily

recognizable. Try to make your hyperlinks

underlined. If you don't like that, at least make sure

that their color stands out and that users won't get

confused regarding what is clickable and what is

not. Too many ads: Many bloggers tend to assume that

in order to make money blogging they need to jam

ads all over their sites. This is not true. To make

money blogging you need to have quality traffic,

and too many ads will reduce your quality traffic

over the long term. Start with as few ads as

possible, and move your way up consciously, always

putting your visitors' experience first. We will talk

more about monetization in the last chapter of this

ebook. Badges, buttons and widgets: This is another

very common mistake. Since it is so easy to add

badges, buttons and widgets, many bloggers fill

their sidebars completely with them. Most of those

items, however, won't add much value to your

visitors, while cluttering your design and possibly

driving traffic away from your site.