3 Most Common Layout Mistakes You Don't Want To Make
After sitting on the "review my blog" page for a while I've noticed there were a few things that I kept saying over and over.
So, here they are. I will be using my site as an example of what to aim for. If you have any questions please ask me and I'll be more than happy to help!
1. The Home Page Blog Roll
Many sites I have reviewed are just listing out their blog posts (this is the WordPress default). What we need to do is tell the readers what our site is about, how it's going to help them, and what to do next.
Really take the time to flush this out. My homepage is still the most landed on page (says Google). If I did not have my homepage in this manner I would have a much higher bounce rate.
You can view my homepage for an example.
For a quick walk through to change this check out Stuart's training.
2. The Sidebar Achieve
Most of the time I'm seeing another list of posts, pages, tags, and categories. Honestly, this is not engaging to your visitor nor is it helping you convert them into long time readers.At the top place a search bar.
I used to not have this on my site but my readers asked for it to help them find the information they were looking for much easier. Under the search bar you need an email opt-in form.
"The money is in the list!" I get more people to my blog from sending out an email about the new post than I ever do with social media. Head over to MailChimp and sign up for their free account.
The sooner you start to collect emails the better off you'll be. Next, have a list of 5 to 10 of the most useful post to new visitors. Mine is currently the ten steps to starting a blog.
You can view my sidebar for an example
3. Your "All About Me" Page
Unfortunately, even though it's called 'about me' it's not about you. It still has to be about your readers. The about page of your website is the second most visited page. So let's make sure it's working hard for us.
Make the first section of your about page needs to tell the reader what the site is about and how it will help the reader.
Second, talk about your authority in the niche. Make sure you still keep it about the reader. Show them how you know what you are talking about and why they should listen to you.
The third section of your about page can be about you and your history. Still make sure it's focused on your reader. Don't make this the longest part of the page either. At most it should be the same length as your shortest section.
You can view my about page for an example
If you have any questions please ask! I'm here to help make all our sites better.
PS. You may also PM me if you'd like to get a bit more into the details. I will do my best to answer all PMs.
Recent Comments
43
Hi,
Looked at your website and it clearly shows what you are offering. I have ben trying to do the same but I am not getting enough visitors. For a month and a 10 days old website It's getting aroung 20 views per day and max of 80 views. Any feedback is much appreciable.
My site : http://wirelessspygadgets.com/
OK Adbul, here are some ideas for your main page. I would talk about what your site aims to do for the reader in the first paragraph. Then talk about gadgets and add an image that links to 'top products'. After that, write about hiding identities and again add an image that links to 'hide your identity'. Use a layout on this main page similar to that of your 'hide your identity' page.
I also think all the animation is a bit much, but that is just my opinion.
Your about page is not bad I would just flush it our a bit more. Aim for 1,000 words if you can.
Good location for your email opt-in at the top of the sidebar. Also add it to the bottom of you 3 most views posts. If people are sticking around to read the whole thing they are prime candidates to sign up for your newsletter.
Hope this helps! Best of luck out there!
thanks for such a detailed feedback.
I have started working on my home page content.
Will go through the remaining pages too.
Thanks once again.
Have a nice day.
Wow I just looked at my site and I've been doing it all wrong. Thanks for this post. I'm going to fix my site now!
There is not an 100% right or wrong way. These are guidelines to help get the most out of your site. You may find that something else works better for you in the future.
Let me know if you have any questions. I do my best to reply to every PM. Best of luck Katsu!
Great info I need to get those flowing with my site! I have been changing it around since I started to try and find the best way to lay everything out.This has really helped me! Thank you!
Sregge
Thank you! I just l followed you and checked out your site. Really looks good and has tons of useful content. I'll be back for some more tips for sure! Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.
Sregge
Sounds awesome sregge! Glad to connect with you. If there is anything you would like me to cover someday please let me know.
This is really great info. i checked out your site and it looks really good and flows well. I will give all of your tips some serious consideration. i like what you're saying!
I would replace the blog roll with your top five or so posts that most readers would want to see. For me it's the ten steps to starting a blog.
Interesting! My girlfriend didn't like the fact that what she thought were my better posts were always pushed down. You need to post more :).
I will be posting more here inside WA now that i'm back. Feels good to be a part of the community again.
Great post and thank you! I see what you are saying and am going to make some changes to my site for sure. Really appreciated jrswab.
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thank you! I'm new and just learning to use WordPress. Some of your suggestions are things I've been wanting to do, but haven't figured out how yet. It will come. and I'll revisit this post from time to time to be sure I'm still on track as I make improvements to my sites.
feel free to PM me if you need any specific help. I'll to my best to give you the answers or at least point you in the right direction.