Just about every blog has a sidebar, and I personally feel it's one of the most undervalued pieces of property on a site.
Photo by PJ Taylor
All too typically, a well-intentioned blogger will put a few chunks of valuable information, but as they web surf, will inevitably find all too many nifty widgets they just can't resist. And before you know it, their sidebars resemble the pieces of flair-adorned suspenders from Chotchky's.
But why does it matter? Aren't sidebars just extra space? Maybe. So why can't you just fill it up with whatever cute graphic you fancy?
My answer: Because for every extra swab of fluff you add to your sidebars, you're making it that much harder for a reader to find the stuff that really matters.
You're diluting your sidebar's power, and your meaty content will probably go unnoticed.
Who Cares What I Put in my Sidebar?
The best way to answer this is to determine your blog's purpose. If it's a personal "cat" blog, and you're posting about whatever floats your boat, then what matters is what you like. If you have no desire to monetize your blog or to be a powerhouse in your niche, then really, your sidebars should reflect you – just like the rest of your blog.
Place that Flickr widget, the link to the funny quiz you took last week, the button for your presidential candidate of choice. Upload that photo of the cat saying, "I can has cheezburger." Whatever strikes your mood.
But if you are wanting to make some income from your blog's real estate, and if you want to be seen as an authority in your blog's niche, then you need to thoughtfully consider every last piece you place in your sidebar.
If it's in your sidebar, then you should have put it there with purpose, with a goal, with the direct motive of making sure your readers see it.
So… What Should Go in a Sidebar?
Let's pretend I'm seeing your blog for the first time. Aside from the most recent post, what would I want to find first? I'd personally want to find:
- How I can subscribe
- How I can learn more about you – your "About" page
- How I can contact you
- Past posts via archives, categories, or hand-picked popular posts
Photo by sp3ccylad
Now, as the blogger, what do you want your readers to be easily able to do? For my blog, Simple Mom, in order of priority, it's to:
1. Get new visitors to subscribe to my feed
2. Find previous posts via category
3. Learn more about me via my About page
4. Click on my sponsors' ads
5. Find me elsewhere in cyberspace, such as on Twitter, and here at Blissfully Domestic
Answer these questions about your own blog – prioritize your readership goals. Do your sidebars help you accomplish them?
My Recommendations
One of the ironic side effects to the Web 2.0 is a trend towards simplicity. More and more, readers are expressing their preference for clean, clutter-free blogs that are easy to read. Yet when there are "fun" new widgets being cranked out every day, it's no wonder most blogs are filled to the brim with some sort of image or text in every piece of their real estate.
Make Pages
If you blog via Wordpress, you can make as many pages on your blog as you'd like. I'd strongly recommend relegating what you can to its own page. Any photo and bio of you should go in a separate About page.
Archives work well in a separate page as well (and it's easy to make them navigable via the Clean Archives plugin).
And I'd even suggest putting your blog roll on its own page.
I'm not savvy enough about Typepad, Blogger, or other platforms – does anyone know if you can make separate pages with them?
Aim for Clean, Clutter-free, Streamlined sidebars
To get the most bang for your sidebars' buck, make sure you have at least:
• an obvious way to subscribe to your blog, complete with the standard RSS symbol, above the fold (meaning, you can see it without having to scroll)
• a workable search bar, so that people can look up keywords and find your posts
• a list of links to your best work – your most popular posts, your favorite posts, or whatever, and
• a way to search your content by category or by tag
Aside from that, I'd possibly consider:
• ads that are doing something for you – don't just slap on some Adsense code, but if a particular ad is making some money for you, by all means, give it prominence
• a button for your blog and its code, so that others can use it to promote your site
• other places to find you online, such as on another blog, Twitter, Technorati, or Facebook (though this can also make a nice separate page)
• a link to find more information about how companies can advertise on your site
Now it's your turn – do you agree? Disagree? What do you look for when you first visit a blog? Is there a widget you love that I haven't mentioned? I'd love to hear your favorite feature in a blog's sidebar.
"Toblerone" is an American mom living overseas with two kids under 3, and she writes about life hacks for home managers at Simple Mom. She also wishes the fall season would hurry up and get here already.
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I always look for an about page, read the categories to see what the blog is about.
I took down my Favorite Posts page. Maybe I should swap that with the recent comments? That seems like a good idea… Does anybody really care about recent comments?
I love to rearrange furniture. Sidebars are like mini living rooms to me. Fun to play with.
I just followed a tutorial at blogger buster to install the tabs across the top of my blog. She also has one to create a separate archive/categories page, which I did as well.
As for the rest, I just installed the "recent comments" widget. Folks seem to like it. I think people without blogs get a kick out of seeing their name up there, and I am operating under the assumption that seeing just part of a comment will lure some folks into checking out the discussion. After all, some of the best things happen in the comments!
Great post! I go back and forth with my sidebar. I have the ones you listed on top, RSS feed, categories, about me, where I am. I like to add buttons of others websites because it allows others to receive some traffic too. I am thinking of perhaps putting all the buttons on a separate page instead of my sidebar. You bring up some great points! After reading though I'm not all that sure I want to make the money, but rather have fun and entertain my readers (hopefully). Sorry, I do like my Flickr Widget!!!
@Monica, @Jenn – I go back and forth on the recent comments widget. I know I never look at them, but if your readers seem to like it, go with it.
@Mel – I think a Flickr widget is fine! Especially if it's a blog mostly for entertainment and fun. In fact, that would be the one "for fun" widget I'd have.
What's ironic is that you, and a lot of other blog advice bloggers, give the advice to have a button and link that people can download to promote their site, but also the advice to have uncluttered sidebars!
I have my own site buttons too, but not other sites- at least not on my main page. I have a special page all for that.
@Kelly – I know, I actually thought of that. That is kinda hypocritical I guess, huh? Perhaps I think more along the lines that just-for-fun blogs can put up buttons of blogs they support, and it doesn't get out of hand. Or that blogs can use the buttons, but they should put them on a separate page.
Hmm… I'm thinking on this one.
I enjoy people's flikr widgets, I'll admit.
I hate seeing a whole list of categories or tags that's a mile long and each tag only has (1) after it. Tags are for aggregating. I was happy to find a way to make mine into a cloud, because it's so much more compact. I think if you have dozens and dozens of tags you look a bit scattered.
Very helpful post. I personally love a clean and streamlined blog…easy on the eyes.
My very first criteria for reading a blog is… fast loading. So I prefer simple Side Bars and simple Backgrounds.
Every picture, button, sparkly thing, do-dad, line pic between paragraphs, everything ~~ is treated as a picture to load, by computers. Every one.
And I hate to wait for a blogger's Jazzzzzzz to load.
So please… If you don't want people to give up and move on, before ever reading what you post… Because they got tired of waiting for all your "pretties" to load… Please heed simple, where you can do so.
'Miss' Mari-Nanci
I have a real problem with the blog roll linking thing idea. When I list my readers and link to them, they visit me and they leave comments. Recently I moved from typepad to blogger. When I made the move I didn't put the list of links up for a couple of weeks. I listed my new address but found that my regulars were a bit tenative and some actually took me off of their list because I was no longer keeping a list on my sidebar.
I put a new sidebar up but now I'm having the same feelings again…I'm sending my traffic to their sites…however, a bit part of what I do is push traffic and I'm known for being a blogger who does this.
I think it's part of what my readers look for me to do. I don't mind this as long as they are pushing people to my site and as long as it helps me to sell illustrations.
BUT, I need to sell my illustrations…this is where I have my problem! I try to put an illustration into almost every post that I create, along with one of my rhymes and I always link it to my online shop.
I need to find a balance. Everyone is interested in my Mother and the fact that she has alzheimers. They are interested in the fact that I can point them towards other blogs…and they like my darling little illustrations. I'm selling them, but I'm not selling enough.
Do I have the wrong audience? What's the answer?
I'm finding your blog very helpful and very encouraging.
Great post!
I love my Recent Comments plugin and keep it pretty high in the sidebar. I find it encourages more conversation, because readers see what posts are being talked about. They can also see when I've responded to their questions with a comment of my own.
I love clean sidebars, but I also love *information* too. I'm a fan of the nearcircle widgets that show post excerpts from blogs in a topic-themed circle. I go back and forth as to whether these feeds make my sidebars too busy, but I have readers from some widely variant audiences (homeschoolers, kid lit bloggers), and I think the post excerpts help expose readers from one demographic to blogs they might not ordinarily encounter.
At Typepad I had lots of recommended-books lists in my sidebar. When I switched to Wordpress, I left all those behind (with a note at the new blog about how to access them at the old site). Reader feedback showed that they really miss those booklists, so I'm slowly recreating them. (Booklists were so easy at Typepad.)
Since so much of my content is about my family, I love my Flickr widget for helping put a real face on this family you're reading about!
This is a post I wish I could gently refer people to. Mari-Nanci mentioned that all the widgets make blogs so slow, and If it takes 20 seconds to load a page, I won't read it.
I really like to find something about the writer. A name, a picture, anything so I don't have to write a comment thinking "hey,…you…" if I don't know whom I'm writing to.
I think sharing a button for other people to support your site is useful. I liked having yours available when I wanted to write a quick post with a link back to Simple Mom.
My Flickr badge seems to be adding value. It gets a lot of clicks, and I think it helps build relationships with readers. Plus I like it!
Whoa. I loved your post, but I think I'm enjoying the comments even more.
Weighing in on the comments widget:
Don't like it. But I see how non-bloggers would?
Clutter? Oh my I need help with this? (I also need a whole re-design…)
I am featuring my past commentors this month and it's GREAT if they have a button code I can grab easily. Otherwise I'm trying to 'steal' their header.
Also WAY agree with the slow loading pages, get skipped. I love to read a TON of blogs and only my true favorites will I wait very long for! So for sure, if twitter or another widget is slowing it down think real hard about keeping it!
I'd love feedback on my blog…I can take it!
great, great post. love your blog. i'm enjoying scouting through your heart. love it.
blessings…lylah
I use Typepad, and yes, you can create pages with Typepad.
I recently re-vamped my blog and took down my book shelf. I can't decide if it's been a helpful thing or not. I took it away so when I put it back up again, it will be more noticable.
I like to change things up every now and then…keeps life interesting.
Thanks for the insight! This is something I've really struggled with since it seems like there's just so much you *have* to have to keep up with Mary Blogger next door
Anyway, with Blogger you can't create new pages the way you can with Wordpress. You can create a backdated post and link to it (you can see how I did this with the "welcome" link on my blog at http://www.kiddio.org). It's so sloppy and obnoxious!
Thanks again!
The hamster holding the mini shotgun is adorable!! When I hear pieces of flair I automatically think of the Facebook application.