The purpose of your blog design is not just to have something nice to look at or show off your style. Your blog design is one of the biggest keys to keeping people on your website. And the longer they stay on your site, the more likely they are to share your post, opt-in to your email list, make a purchase, hire you, or join a course. AND the more likely they are to come back for more!
As you can see, the changes I’ve made to my blog design throughout 2015 have had a pretty good effect on how long people stay on my site and how many blog posts they read.
So here are the three changes I made in order to make this happen . . .
Adding a landing page
After launching a bunch of new items to my shop last year, I was feeling like all of my products, services, and promotions were hidden too far within my navigation and blog posts. I needed a page that put everything I offer front and center, something that gave first-time visitors a quick introduction to me and my site. Not only did this help tell my visitors what I was all about, it forced me to get really clear on my blogging purpose too.
Another important part of a badass blog design is giving your readers a clear direction for what they should do and how to move through your site. Now I’ve got a feature spot for three products and my three most recent blog posts (which are updated automatically), which makes it super simple for readers to choose a direction when entering my site.
Adding a start here page
But if new readers don’t come in through the homepage (most of them won’t since the majority of my traffic comes from Pinterest) they can click on the “Start Here” page in my navigation to easily choose a direction learn more about what I do.
Because I’ve been blogging for years and years a lot of my best posts were buried deep in my category archives, so this also gives me a page to send to readers asking questions on social media and looking for my best content.
To do this I went back through my archives to find not only the most popular post in each category, but also those that would be a good place to begin for readers just starting out in blogging or business OR looking to boost what they already have going on. I didn’t include every category I write about because I didn’t want to overwhelm new readers with options, so I went with just those that really got to the heart of what I do.
Removing my sidebar
The sidebar has been a blogging staple since I started learning web design almost 20 years ago, so finally kicking it to the curb was akin to going for that super short pixie cut. As soon as it happens you equally love it and panic that you made the wrong decision. I think most people avoid going for a content-only design because they aren’t sure what to do with all the info currently hanging out in their sidebar. But I stuck with it and it turns out, people were still able to find my about page, my opt-in, my social media icons, the search box, and all my categories.
Most of this info, along with a few related posts, are now sitting in my blog post footer.
The purpose for removing my sidebar was one simple strategy – force my audience to focus on the blog post in front of them and follow any direction within. Generally this was to join my list, make a purchase, click an affiliate link, or download a content upgrade (and join my list there as well). Skipping the distraction of the sidebar keeps people reading longer. AND the only thing next to my posts now is a set of bright green share buttons, which means the re-posts to Pinterest and Twitter went up too!
Sarah these are great suggestions! I have been hearing every once and awhile the importance of a “Start Here” page and I certainly need to start designing and creating one of my own. I think it is a great complimentary page for your About Me page! (:
Thanks Sarah for this great and valuable information!
Great post! I’ve been wondering about our sidebar … it may just have to go. Thanks!
Hey Sarah, great tips! Do you think it’s beneficial to have a separate homepage landing page and a start here page, or do you think they can be mushed into one page?
You could combine them into one, but I had a lot of old beginning blogger posts that I wanted to collect in one spot to help out those first-timers that we’re at the biz-building stage yet, so creating a separate page worked better for me :)
Love the Start Here and Landing Pages! Still a bit nervous about removing the sidebar, but I keep it simple, 2-3 things max.
I love having a cleaner looking blog. A confused mind does not buy!
Hi Sarah, great post! I totally like the idea of removing the sidebar, but what about archives and categorie-lists, which are mostly found in sidebars. Are they still important nowadays?
Hey Kerstin! Because so many people with enter your site through social media in search of specific content, those dates archives actually aren’t that helpful. And they’re more likely to click a related post at the bottom of your blog instead of picking through category links. But if you really want to keep them around you can always add them to your navigation.
Ah…Ok, I didn’t thought about that. Thanks a lot!
Getting rid of my sidebar scares me to death! Lol. I should just do it. I also love having a start here page! Must do that!
I don’t mind your sidebar at all Julie – it’s super minimalist and focused so I think you can get away with keeping it around. It’s mainly those content and ad packed sidebars that tend to pull at the readers attention and make it less likely they’ll read to the bottom of a blog post.
I was *just* about to add a sidebar to my content-focused blog. I’m so happy I read this first! You saved me a ton of time, and gave me some ideas to help guide my readers through an easier process.
Phew – just in time! So glad to help you out Sarah – I know you’ll love it and your readers will really appreciate having more space to focus on your blog posts.
I saw this come through Pinterest, just what I needed to get my butt in gear and get my start here or landing page done! LOL. I may just add the landing for now as I build more content. I just did a site update so its not up yet, been slacking! ha ha.
I also thought about dumping my sidebar but what I did is keep it very minimal. I did go with no sidebar for a short time but brought it back with the update. I still waver on it… I’m so the less is more type with design.
I always find goodies here. :)
I LOVE the way your Start Here page turned out! I feel like I need a lot more posts, but I could definitely see myself including a Start Here page eventually. Creating a landing/home page made a huge difference. I didn’t realize I could do this with WordPress, but after you made that suggestion a few weeks ago, I cleaned up my front page and am definitely happier with it. I’m still keeping a sidebar on my blog page and individual blog posts, but I do like having no sidebar on my other pages!
Hello! I found you when I surfed about changing a blog name without losing followers. You had an old post about that so this question is not really about this post. My question is about changing a blog title, not the url. And I didn’t quite get the answer for that in your previous post. Will I lose traffic, if I change just the title?
Wow! I would have never thought about getting rid of my sidebar, but you’re right. It’s so much wasted space!
-Nicole @ Simply-Nicole.com