Serious Blog Design Flaws
Here are my pet blogging peeves. How does my list compare to yours?
CAPTCHA. It doesn’t take that much time, but knowing there are other anti-spam methods makes this extra step a deterrent to leaving a comment.
Partial RSS feeds. I scan 100-300 blog posts in my reader every day, so I’m looking for reasons not to read them fully. Right or wrong, a partial feed is a convenient way to rule out reading a post. Plus, I don’t like being forced to click through. If I want to comment on a post, I’ll happily click through to do so after I read it in my reader.
Advertising within the blog post. Distracting, and a bit too aggressive for my tastes.
Hard to find internal search. DOH! That’s a bit of a problem on my own blog, and I’m trying to figure out how to fix it.
Sidebar(s) on left. Distracting. The eye wants to start reading from the left, and the post is the main thing and the first thing I want to read.
No human identity. I can live with pseudonyms, but when there’s no human identity whatsoever, the blog strikes me, rightly or wrongly, as inauthentic. I sense ulterior motives.
No subscribe to comments option. In this day and age, overlooking this option is a major error. I don’t know how people keep track of conversations they’re engaged in without subscribing to comments.
Overly small fonts. I’m old. I can’t see. Minuscule blog fonts say to me, “We don’t want you around here, old man.” OK, maybe they don’t. But then again …
Long as the Nile sidebar. Do you take the time to read and explore an ultra long sidebar? Sometimes I do, but most of the time, the information is either irrelevant or in need of a separate page.
Maybe you and I can introduce UK slang to Chicago. Brad...
Brad,
I agree with just about everything on your list. Sidebars on the left and long sidebars don’t really bother me because I usually read in a reader and only click over to a blog to leave comments. When I do I seldom look at sidebars. The only time I’d be likely to look around the blog would be on a first visit, but even then I don’t pay much attention to sidebars. I just had an experience with no internal search, though. I read on a blog about a post on another blog. I went to the mentioned blog (which I subscribe to but didn’t recall reading the referemced post). There wasn’t a decent archives and no search. I saw what I thought at first glance (see how little attention I pay) was search and discovered it was a subscription field. I did never find the post I was looking for …
Lillie, Confusing the internal search box with the subscription box happens to me all the time - good point! It’s hard to search blogs through archives, which is why I think internal search is really helpful. Probably the only way you could find that post is to ask the blog author.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Serious Blog Design Flaws
I especially hate the CAPTCHA feature. When I hit “submit,” I want to move on. Better to have the blog owner moderate comments than ask the readers to add another step.
Another thing, can people please include a picture? I want to see the human behind the blog. Not the forehead, not the elbow and not a cartoony picture.
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Karen, Pictures really do help, don’t they? Robert Hruzek got after me to add one, otherwise you’d be peeving about me!
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Another pet peeve is really my own fault. I’ll make my comment, push the submit button, and then and only then will I see the big giant glaring misspelled wurd, er, word!
I wish the ability to edit our own comments was a built-in feature of all blog software! I’ve tried several plug-ins, but they don’t seem to be very dependable, and I’m not savvy enough to make ‘em work.
Robert Hruzeks last blog post..What I Learned From… My Friends
Robert, there’s a Liz Strauss pluging … maybe a Robert Hruzek comment editing plugin is next? Sounds like a great idea.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Serious Blog Design Flaws
Robert,
Have you tried editing a comment on my blog? I use WP Ajax Edit Comments plugin. It works great from an admin perspective, but I don’t recall any feedback from the commenter perspective. Does it work well for you?
@Brad - I wish!
@Lillie - yes, the Ajax Edit plugin works well at your place, but I can’t seem to make it work for mine. Might be an interference with another plugin, but as I said, I’m not savvy enough to know how to make them play nice.
Still, it would make it so simple if it was already a built-in feature, yes? And if wishes were fishes… :-\
Robert Hruzeks last blog post..What I Learned From… My Friends
Hi Brad and everyone
Partial feeds are my biggest bugbear. There’s only a couple of blogs that I continue to follow with partial feeds, and even then I rarely read more than the first two lines, and very rarely take the time to comment.
I think Typepad users need to be educated that they can switch captcha off without the world ending. I assumed I needed it to sort out the sp*m but actually there’s a back system which weeds out 99% of it.
There’s no easy way to do comment subscription in Typepad so if that’s your platform you’ve a problem.
Sidebars don’t really bother me because it’s the post I go to look at - unless it slows down the loading.
Search boxes - yes indeedy, and I too have typed my search term into the subscribe box on more than one blog! The search function on the theme I went for was one of the selling features for me.
Robert, Lorelle has been asking what built in features we’d like to see to improve the commenting function - maybe you should have a rant over there? http://tinyurl.com/6egqnc
Lillie - I had the same problem as Robert with the editor - it wouldn’t work on my site
Joanna
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Brad, talking of the Liz Strauss plugin, is your comment counter working yet?
Joanna Youngs last blog post..Update on Adverts and Affiliate Links
Hi Joanna, Good add on the partial feed, and I detect a little American slang creeping in with “yes indeedy”.
I think the comment counter is working, but I’m still not sure when and how it updates. When I have time I’m going to dig into that.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Serious Blog Design Flaws
@Joanna - I didn’t know Lorelle was collecting suggestions. I’ll drop by.
Regarding that Ajax plugin… I know some computer problems can be solved by just squinting a certain way when you hit ENTER, but this one wasn’t one of ‘em. At least I know it wasn’t just me!
Robert Hruzeks last blog post..What I Learned From… My Friends
@Brad - At the Zone, the comment counter updates immediately upon update the page. I assume it’s accurate.
Robert Hruzeks last blog post..What I Learned From… My Friends
Thanks, Robert. Mine is messed up somehow, but it is updating. Did you install it yourself?
Yes I did. I also installed it as a widget in the sidebar. Seemed to go pretty flawlessly. The only thing I wish it could do is center itself. Oh, well…
Robert Hruzeks last blog post..What I Learned From… My Friends
Hi Brad - these are great tips. I really hate those captcha’s. I don’t always wear my glasses and I can’t read them properly.
Do you think my font looks to small? Is it easier to make bigger using html?
I’m sorry about some of the ads in my posts but I do really badly on adsense in my blog, so they have to be a bit in your face. My clickthrough rate is only a fraction of a percent even with that - it’s terrible. But on another site i have it’s always at least 4%. Trouble is i don’t get much traffic on there as I rarely update it.
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Cath, Your fonts aren’t too small for me - I think they’re the same size as mine. Any smaller and they would be trouble, tho. Font sizes are pretty easy to change in WP; it’s been a while since I’ve done it and don’t remember exactly how. To tell you the truth I never stop to read those post footer ads. If you’re going to have ads, maybe you should put them in a more noticeable place? Your content is awesome, so I think readers will come in droves over time.
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[…] Serious Blog Design Flaws by Brad Shorr at Word Sell Inc, sharing some pet peeves about blogging from a reader’s point of view […]
Brad,
At Orble, I have little control over several of the factors you list, including CAPTCHA, partial feed, and, to a certain extent, “long as the Nile sidebar.” I did manage to get Orble to make their CAPTCHA more readable, though, for which I’m glad; and I’m still waiting for them to realize that my request for a full feed was/is a good idea (though I’m not holding my breath).
As for sidebar length, at Orble only one sidebar is mine and the other is Orble’s, so I have to put everything in my left sidebar. There’s no question that I could remove quite a few gadgets/widgets from my sidebar, and perhaps someday I will (once I’ve outgrown them).
My “Sites for Writers” list is also quite lengthy, but I do like to provide as many resources for my readers as possible.
As for the left sidebar issue, while I could use a different template which would place both sidebars on the right, personally, I prefer the symmetry of one sidebar on each side–at least from the Orble design perspective. I’ll have to rethink that, however, in light of your pet peeve.
Ads within the body of a post are one pet peeve I definitely share with you; and, to be honest, I don’t understand why anyone would use them. I find it terribly annoying and distracting to have a post interrupted by a block of ads, which is why I’ll never choose that type of template for my own blog. Coming upon a large block of ads right in the middle of a post can sometimes be enough to make one want to stop reading. Personally, I’d never want to give readers such a convenient excuse to move on.
One pet peeve I have at my own blog is the banner ads, which I hate. I prefer text-link ads along the top of my blog, since they’re so much more esthetically pleasing and far less obtrusive. But I’ve been forced to use them since the templates that contain the other elements I prefer (or that don’t contain the other elements that I don’t want) use those, as well. It’s a matter of deciding which elements are most important and, unfortunately, often a case of choosing the lesser of two “evils.”
Thanks for pointing out these irritating elements and encouraging us to rethink our blog configurations and practices and make positive changes wherever we can. You’ve definitely got me thinking!
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne, Sounds like you’re somewhat locked in because of Orble, but you’re certainly making the most of it. From what I’ve read, the right side is the best positioning for a sidebar, because we read from left to right. So, if a sidebar is on the left, your eye has trouble focusing in on the post. Ads in general never bothered me. If bloggers can make some money directly from their blog, why not? However, picking the right ad style, position, and quantity involves testing, measuring, and getting feedback. I don’t know why banner ads tend to look so tacky. Is it the banner ad concept in general or the design that you don’t like?
For one thing, the banner ads tend to dwarf my title banner–particularly with the text-link ads (which I can’t remove) directly beneath them. I’ve done my best to mitigate this problem by setting the background color of my banner and text-link ads to match the background of my blog’s webpage, thereby causing them to blend into the background fairly seamlessly. This prevents them from standing out as much as they did before, partly by making the banner ad block appear a little smaller than it actually is, since its borders are no longer visible. I also like the fact that this setup displays the ad text in white, which also helps make it slightly less glaring.
Ideally, I’d like to remove the banner ads entirely, because my blog looks far better with only the text-link ads along the top. I realize I’d make less ad revenue without them, but it’s not as if I’m getting rich with AdSense anyway. Truth be told, I’m only just ready to collect my first AdSense payment after 20 months of blogging, due to Google’s minimum payout requirement. (My ads appear only 50% of the time and Orble’s run the other 50% of the time.)
Perhaps I’ll do a bit of experimenting soon to remind myself of what options are available for configuring my blog. I do recall, though, that one or two of the templates I might normally have chosen had ads within the text of the blog posts–which is why I rejected them. While my template does have ads between posts, I consider that to be far better than breaking up the text of a post with a block of ads.
As I experiment, I’ll keep the sidebar issue in mind, as well.
Brad,
Why is it that not one single credible newspaper or magazine puts advertisements right in the middle of its articles?
Because its a ridiculous idea. Any form of media is about communication, and that message will be lost if readers are unable to read the article or blog post in an uninterrupted fashion.
I am not saying that there blogs should not have advertising. Bloggers have every right to try to monetize their blogs if they so wish. But advertisements should be placed in such a way that they do not detract from the experience of the reader.
With respect of CAPTCHA, I do not mind it, but it needs to be clear. The letters must be easy to read and capitals must be clearly distinguishable from small letters. Also, neither the letter ‘o’ or the number zero should be included as it is too difficult to tell one from the other. I don’t know how many times I have not been able to comment simply because I couldn’t read the letters or numbers clearly.
I love your humor and humility on the font size issue! I had my blog set up by a friend, and I had to virtually fight him over this issue (not physically of course). The criteria I use for appropriate font size is this - a person with reasonable vision should be able to sit back on his or her chair and read the text on a notebook sized screen without having to strain themselves. If not, the text is too small.
A bit of clarification about my blog’s banner ads: They blend into the background of my webpage only when the banner ad contains text-link ads (which it does most of the time), rather than display ads. When display ads show up in the banner, the banner ad does have a visible border, along with a contrasting background color that makes it stand out more than I’d like. I’d prefer to get rid of the display ads entirely and stick with only text-link ads (both in the banner and beneath it), but I don’t think Orble gives me that option.
By the way, I’ve checked my template options, and none of them are suitable. The ones that have both sidebars on the right contain in-text ads, which are displayed mid-post, and I won’t annoy my readers unnecessarily by using those. I do have to admit, though, that I really am a bit partial to my symmetrical one-sidebar-on-each-side configuration, anyway. (Still would like to get rid of the banner ads someday, though.)
as a beginning blogger, I am still working on aspects of my design and these tips are very useful. One question, can someone clarify exactly what a partial rss feed is?
cheers, sean
Sean,
As you are most likely aware, an RSS feed allows you to recieve and read new posts (or comments) on your favorite blogs in a convenient method through a feed reader.
Under my understanding, a partial feed is a feed which displays only part of a new post. To view the entire new post, such feeds require the reader to click on a link in the feed and be directed to the blog.
Many bloggers find partial RSS feeds to be frustrating and annoying.
I hope this helps answer your question.
Hi Sean, Good luck with your blog. I like the humor & the picture of the penguins. Andrew, that problem of not being able to distinguish letters and numerals on CAPTCHA is quite vexing. You’d think such a design flaw wouldn’t get past the testing stage. Jeanne, I hope I didn’t make you fret over your sidebars. They don’t cause a major problem for you because the sidebars are fairly narrow and unobtrusive, and there’s a sharp, dark border between the sidebars and the post area.
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My biggest bugaboo is white letters on black backgrounds (or light letters on dark backgrounds) Unless it is a photography blog, this will cause me to click away every time. These old trifocal-ed eyes can’t stand the strain!
kim from hiraeths last blog post..It’s for you–Elliott on the line. . .
Oh, and music. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t but I NEVER want to hear it when I’m reading online. I have my own music already playing, thankyouverymuch.
kim from hiraeths last blog post..It’s for you–Elliott on the line. . .
Kim, Amen to that. It’s bad enough on blogs, but when commercial sites use music … ouch. That’s got to drive business away. Thanks for visiting - Elliott looks like a real joy!
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Hi Brad - thank you. I did wonder if I was putting the ads too far down for people to read. I’ll try moving them. I have an appalling clickthrough rate - sometimes it’s something like 0.05% or worse.
Nice list. One to add - the SNAPSHOTS plugin on Wordpress. You know, where you get a preview image of what the target page looks like when you rollover a link. It gets in the way of what you’re reading, especially if you’re scrolling with a mouse wheel. Nasty, it must die.
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Neil, SNAPSHOTS is one of those things that’s kind of cool the first few times you see it, but gets old really fast. That’s how I feel about Flash as well. Kevin, thank you very much!
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WOW! I am very new to the whole blog world and found this amazing (the parts I understood) As I get more familiar with blog terminology, I know all this will fall into place. What a great site to subscribe to. I know this will be very helpful on my journey. Thanks Kevin, very much.
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Hi Pat, Thank you. Good luck with your blog. The pictures made me hungry!
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