{"id":10347,"date":"2011-09-01T21:03:18","date_gmt":"2011-09-01T13:03:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/?p=10347"},"modified":"2022-08-23T19:27:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T11:27:25","slug":"practices-that-make-blog-less-professional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hongkiat.com\/blog\/practices-that-make-blog-less-professional\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Practices That Make Your Blog Look Less Professional"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note:<\/strong> This post was first published on the 1st of Sept, 2011.<\/p>\n

In the heat of managing a blog, which includes everything from writing great content to working with advertisers to moderating comments to promoting the site, one can overlook certain aspects of the site<\/strong> \u2013 from little things like broken links, to big ones like intrusive advertising and an overly crowded design.<\/p>\n

Over time, as your site grows, you keep adding things \u2013 a banner here and there, a link section, some social media buttons, some graphics, etc., which ultimately clog your site up and make it harder for your readers to figure out<\/strong> what\u2019s what. Since you\u2019re spending hours a day glaring at the site, you could probably navigate it blindfolded.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s an entirely different story with your readers, especially the first-timers coming to your site. What you see as simple, they might see the opposite<\/strong>. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to take a step back once in a while and look at your blog objectively, from a distance, to catch out those pit holes which make your blog looks amateurish, and below are seven practices that doom your blog\u2019s professionalism, check them out!<\/p>\n

1. Too many ads<\/h2>\n

Monetization is one of the cornerstones of any site, blog, and web business and is usually done in the form of advertising banners and links. While you have every right to profit from your hard work, there is a fine line between earning income and squeezing every pixel on the page for ad revenue.<\/p>\n

\"too<\/figure>\n

Image Source: CNET<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

Not only is the practice of adding too many ads confusing, annoying, and disrespectful<\/strong> to your reader, but it\u2019s also detrimental to the ads you serve: most of the time, your users will only click one ad, so if you have 10 ads, it means 9 of them are ignored. The more ads you have, the less impactful they have.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tip(s): <\/em>Experiment with different ad providers and ad positions<\/strong>, then select a few effective ads and place them well<\/strong>. This will usually result in better earnings and a more desired look than stuffing ads all over your site. Also, don\u2019t use text ads that insert links<\/strong> into your content. At best, users have already learned how to avoid those; at worst, it\u2019s frustrating, especially the ads that expand once you hover over them.<\/p>\n

2. Intrusive ads<\/h2>\n

Intrusive ads are, among others, those banners that expand once your mouse passes over them or those that flash like a Christmas tree. It is the ads that auto-play music and videos, and worst of all, the biggest no-no: pop-ups and pop-unders<\/strong>. Pop-ups and pop-unders have gotten such a bad reputation, and rightfully so, that any site that features them is immediately looked down upon by the user.<\/p>\n

\"pop-ups\"<\/figure>\n

Image Source: Wikipedia<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

Always remember that content is the reason<\/strong> the visitor got there in the first place, so you need to hang on to them. Annoy them too much, and they won\u2019t come back<\/strong>, no matter how great your content is.<\/p>\n

Tip(s): <\/em>Don\u2019t be annoying<\/strong>. Check what kind of companies advertise on your site, how their banners appear and choose the displaying method that\u2019s less annoying to the readers. And regarding pop-ups\/ pop-unders: don\u2019t do it<\/strong>. No matter how much you get paid per pop-up window, it\u2019s annoying, and most people close it before the ad even loads; it\u2019s just harmful in the long term.<\/p>\n

3. Too many social media buttons<\/h2>\n

Sharing your content and letting others be aware of it should be a part of your routine. But there\u2019s a limit<\/strong> on how many Twitter buttons you can cram on your site before it becomes annoying and distracting to readers. Always remember that everything is right to do until it makes reading content annoying<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"social<\/figure>\n

Image Source: NavigationArts<\/small><\/p>\n

Tip(s): <\/em>Gather your social media\/share buttons in one place on your site<\/strong>. On the sidebar, or above\/under the posts. It\u2019s a lot better than having a retweet button in one place, a Facebook share button on the other side of the page, etc.<\/p>\n

Keep it simple<\/strong>. Disregard the fancy, glossy, grungy, large buttons. They won\u2019t get you more Twitter followers than a regular, simple Twitter button. Also, position them right<\/strong>. Readers are much more likely to retweet your articles if the retweet button appears at the top of the page, rather than at the bottom.<\/p>\n

4. Bad design\/ Crowded design<\/h2>\n

When designing your site, you have a lot to consider, and the most important thing to strike is a good balance between site graphics, content, ads<\/strong>, etc. And the worst thing you can do is to make your site crowded with too many elements.<\/p>\n

\"crowded<\/figure>\n

As soon as the users arrive to your site, the first thing they\u2019ll be looking for is the content, and it\u2019s your responsibility to ensure that the content is easily found<\/strong>, that the users\u2019 eyes don\u2019t have to scan through fancy graphics, social media buttons, banner ads, etc. before they arrive at the destination. In short, don\u2019t make it ugly for design and usability.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tip(s): <\/em><\/strong>Understand that you won\u2019t be able to fit everything on your site, especially if you want it \u201cabove the fold\u201d (at the top part of the site, before any scrolling is done). Make sure that your main objective is to display your content in a readable way<\/strong>, then build the design around that notion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s counterproductive to have a fancy, colorful header that distracts users, and\/or pushes the content far down the page. No one ever bookmarked a website because it had a fancy header. Focus on content, and build everything around that<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

5. Splash pages<\/h2>\n

When someone comes to your site, they usually came because they searched for something or someone posted a link that they thought was worthy of clicking. This is the most precious part of getting them to come to your site, and when they\u2019re finally there, the worst thing you can do is to block them from the content as soon as they arrive.<\/p>\n

\"splash<\/figure>\n

Image Source: Hugs For Monsters<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

A splash page asking readers to subscribe to your RSS or to follow you on Twitter or give out their email address is not only a major turn-off <\/strong>, it has a \u201cscammy\u201d feeling<\/strong> over it. A splash page blocking readers from accessing to your content because of their browser is even worse, most of them are innocent as they didn\u2019t even know about the browser, and even they know, blocking access is a very bad move on gaining the visitor.<\/p>\n

Tip(s): <\/em>Don\u2019t use splash pages<\/strong>, no matter how creative they are. It\u2019s as simple as that. Not even a \u201cWelcome\u201d page for new readers. And don\u2019t dare to ask for their email address, no matter how much you think they\u2019ll enjoy your free eBook or whatever you might be offering.<\/p>\n

6. Aggregating content from others<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve all been guilty of doing it at one point or another: when we don\u2019t have any ideas or posts lined up, we \u201ccheat\u201d and aggregate content from others, a \u201cdaily news roundup\u201d or something similar, unless your site is fully a content aggregator like Reddit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"content<\/figure>\n

There\u2019s nothing wrong in doing this once or twice a week, sharing content that you appreciate, but these kinds of posts must never overshadow your own content<\/strong>. Remember that the content is king, and by content it means unique content<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Your readers are the ones who come because of your unique content<\/strong>, not the content you link from other sites. If readers start coming to your site because of the links you share, you\u2019re in trouble because those readers are easily lost to the next guy who can do a better \u201cdaily roundup\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tip(s): <\/em>Limit \u201croundup\u201d posts<\/strong>, like twice a week or once a week, and make sure the articles and links you include are the best you can find.<\/p>\n

More<\/h2>\n

Looking further to clean up your site for best readability? Here are the guides that probably meet your needs:<\/p>\n