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Nairaland Forum / Science/Technology / Webmasters / 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy (4682 Views)
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10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by NaijaTechGuy(m): 12:32am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Designing a blog is fun and interesting if you know how to use HTML, CSS and Javascript but sometimes you may get carried away by the different sets of codes you could play with and end up messing your blog. Here's a list of common design mistakes bloggers often make. 1. Constantly Changing Templates / Themes This is the most common mistake bloggers make. Today your blog looks like CNN the next day it looks like Yahoo. I've been guilty of this previously but I stopped. If you're doing this I won't judge you. Sometimes you come across a template you'd think would look great on your blog but you don't know the reason why the person is using it. Have the mind that your design is always better The main reason you should stop changing templates constantly is for the sake of your readers and followers. When a user is accustomed to a particular format of your site, they'll find it difficult to navigate through the new one. I once used a template for almost a month, then I was getting like 2000+ views daily. The exact moment I changed the template my page views dropped to less than 1,500. I decided to revert to the previous one and my views got back to normal. 2. Adding Too Many Plug-ins or Widgets As much as it's fun to add various functionalities to your blog, most times the plug ins we have ruin user experience making you lose a lot of readers. Sometimes I come across a new blogger's blog and see widgets like : Blogroll, Flickr Images, Weather Widget and a lot of very irrelevant widgets. These things make the blog look like an online definition of an unorganized zoo / cattle ranch. For heaven's sake, if that plug in is not needed. Take it off your blog. 3.Not Submitting A Sitemap This is common among most newbie bloggers who have little knowledge of how a website works. All they do is keep posting hoping that some magic happens and they get indexed by Google. Sure, it's quite possible only your home page may get indexed but what about other pages on your blog?. Sitemaps help search engines know when to add your latest posts to their index. It also organizes your website search results in a proper manner. 4. Using Another Blog's Template / Theme Some bloggers have have the habit of using another blog's design. There are more than a hundred blogs using NaijaLoaded's template, some others are using the template with ogbongeblog. You may never actually be the first to use a template but you can add some modifications that make it unique to you so your readers can know the difference when they're on your site. 5. Using A Slow Template / Theme People these days tend to have the patience of a fruit fly. They just get in and get out almost immediately. 98% of most visitors (especially new ones) wouldn't wait for a site that takes more than 10 seconds to load. Although most times, the sites load time may depend on the location of your server, but most websites using a US server should load fast on any connection if the template is good. Try to minimizing the Javascript on your blog. 6.Using A Color That Hurts The Eyes Of Readers Most people don't like bright colors when it comes to websites because it really affects the eyes. Nobody will like to strain his/her eyes reading your content If it's the color scheme you choose is too bright. Dark shades of red , blue or green should be okay. 7. Using A Complex Template It's quite common for bloggers to use a complex template and think it's easy to navigate without realizing that the fact you created something makes it easier for you to navigate. If visitors of your blog find it difficult to navigate through pages on your blog, then you're certainly on the path to failure. 8.Too Many Pop Ups And Redirects Some ad networks give bloggers the extra functionality of adding pop up ads on their blog . Generally, these ads tend to have a better conversion rate and may give high earnings but most bloggers don't know the huge damage these ad networks are doing to the reputation of their blog. These ad networks just give bloggers the opportunity to gamble with their traffic, loosing their audience so that they'll gain more cash from the ad network. No user likes a blog with too many pop ups and redirects. It can get really annoying. 9.Having content that is difficult to scan. Having a big block of uninterrupted text will scare off most of your readers. Most people don't read unless absolutely necessary (they scan) . We're less patient these days so we all want information quick and to the point so if you make it hard for them to read your content, expect them never to return again. Use headings or subtitles, and use short paragraphs to make your content easy on the eyes . 10. Using CAPTCHA or word verifications Captcha a.k.a those jumbled words you have to type in correctly before your comment gets through. This is one of the most annoying features that most bloggers forget to remove. It’s time consuming and quite frustrating. Imagine when a visitor spends his/her precious time typing a comment and then a stupid hard-to-read CAPTCHA comes up. I understand that it helps fight spamming but it's not worth ruining your blogs user experience. Summary It’s not bad to be creative, but don’t overdo it. Keep you layout structure and design simple and organized. Forget about all the fancy technologies you may come across because they do more harm than good. Always consider what’s best for your readers - it’s the best way to make them stay longer on your blog. 3 Likes |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by NaijaTechGuy(m): 12:33am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Cyb3rhack3r: 1:38am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Nice. |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by lakes99: 6:34am On Dec 19, 2016 |
u making alota sense here.... Kudos 1 Like |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Julius2214(m): 6:40am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Nice |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Nobody: 6:41am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Make I dey jot down first before I comment. |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by TamedWolf90: 6:44am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Thumbs up Op 2 Likes
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Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by wizkidblogger(f): 6:52am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Cool |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by drss2(m): 7:17am On Dec 19, 2016 |
correct. |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Nobody: 7:19am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Hmmm, I am planning to start my own blog too. Lemme learn some things from here. Thanks Op |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Benjom(m): 7:30am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Great post. I always have something to learn from this gentleman. 1 Like |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by epospiky(m): 7:43am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Nice piece! Just checked your blog....it's just like you said. Noted in prep for mine. |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Nobody: 7:46am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Herolord: 7:53am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Nice write up bro. |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by wethebest(m): 7:55am On Dec 19, 2016 |
nice one |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by 200dexter(m): 8:01am On Dec 19, 2016 |
How can I remove the captcha and word verification from my comments ? |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by UNIZIK1stSon(m): 8:25am On Dec 19, 2016 |
ok |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by aztvseries: 8:31am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Yeah..That's why it's best to keep it simple. Check out mine where you can Download your latest tv series on [url]aztvseries.com[/url] |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by NaijaTechGuy(m): 8:55am On Dec 19, 2016 |
200dexter:try changing your comment box. Install intensedebate or disqus. |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Aywire(m): 8:58am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Most bloggers, forget to add the share button or perhaps add too many share buttons. Some network sites are irrelevant to us here in Nigeria. Only add the relevant ones like fb, twitter, whatsapp, google plus etc. Also to add to the post of too many texts, this is very true, always leave space between paragraphs like i have done above, some how, the mind find such write up easier to read than the ones without spaces |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by NaijaTechGuy(m): 8:59am On Dec 19, 2016 |
abuayman:uwc |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by IamProfessorval(m): 9:04am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Good, but even your own site needs re-editing. Your adverts are too big and many, therefore making your real posts hard to see.. Charity begins at home |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Aywire(m): 9:05am On Dec 19, 2016 |
abuayman:
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Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Nobody: 9:08am On Dec 19, 2016 |
NaijaTechGuy:Please,do you know how to drive traffic to a blog 1 Like |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Aywire(m): 9:21am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Jadeite: there 1001 ways |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by FunmyKemmy(f): 9:22am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Noted with thanks. |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by 200dexter(m): 9:28am On Dec 19, 2016 |
NaijaTechGuy:Alright... thanks |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Nobody: 9:30am On Dec 19, 2016 |
Aywire: Help a Soul..Thanks in anticipation |
Re: 10 Blog Design Mistakes Bloggers Often Make - Naijatechguy by Afam4eva(m): 9:59am On Dec 19, 2016 |
NaijaTechGuy:This is the only point that i disagree with. CAPTCHAs are more than necessary or else your blog will be taken over by spam bots. |
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