This post is going to prove really controversial for some but remember this is just my point of view. I do have a little experience in good blog design and in designing a blog that is user friendly for readers. Certain things about blog design are great for readers and other things aren't so great for keeping users on your blog. So here are my tips for a user friendly blog.
No Autoplaying Music
This is one of my biggest bugbears and speaking with other bloggers it irritates them too. Autoplaying music can be a hassle when your trying to read a blog secretly at work or when I have the 3 year old asleep next to me. Don't do it.
Show Content Above the Fold
Massive headers are a real pain in the ass. A lot of bloggers opt for them but I really like to see some content without scrolling. Readers are notoriously lazy and you want to lure in readers as soon as they land on your page. Show some content above the fold please.
No CAPTCHA
Captcha really does annoy me and put me off commenting. Sometimes I have to enter it 3 or 4 times before I get the correct one. If you're worried about spam then moderate your comments.
Follow Button vs GFC
Some bloggers on the Blogger platform only have the follow button active and not a GFC box. There is one huge problem with this option. The follow button only shows when you're logged into Blogger. This is a huge problem for non Blogger users especially. Also having the follow button located there means that less people will see it and of course that will result in less followers.
Add a Search Box
Search boxes are vital for helping people to locate what they're looking for. If your blog is very new then you really don't need one. But if you have more than a couple of hundred posts then a search box is essential. You'd be suprised how many blogs don't have one.
Add an Email Subscription Box
The more options you give readers the better. You need to remember not every reader is a blogger. So RSS, GFC or Bloglovin' may be something they know nothing about. Blogger and Wordpress all give easy options for adding an email subscription box.
Dark Backgrounds and Grey Text
I am not a fan of dark backgrounds in general but when coupled with grey text it makes the content almost unreadable. Avoid dark backgrounds and grey text whenever possible.
Unclutter Your Sidebar
Only add widgets that are necessary. A lot of bloggers choose to add tonnes of images, badges etc to their sidebar. The more widgets in the sidebar, the longer the site takes to load. There are of course things that are necessary like social media icons, archive list, search button, subscription options, ads etc. But overloading your sidebars is never a good idea. Not only does it affect load times but it also makes a blog look cluttered.
Yes I am quite particular when it comes to design and I won't apologise for it. This is of course my personal preference and based on my experience. it is purely a post to give all bloggers something to think about.
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