Spring cleaning the blogosphere
It’s spring. That means that the flowers are blooming and your house is overstuffed with neat gadgets and other trinkets you picked up over the past year. After you have managed to tackle the clutter inside your home then you must tackle the clutter on your blog.
Defining the clutter
Clutter can come in many forms. I would identify it as any elements on your blog that are unnecessary for basic functionality or widely unused elements by users. For example, if your audience doesn’t make use of social media then it wouldn’t be wise to waste the space on promoting your Twitter account.
Keeping a clean blog is important
Clean interfaces will improve user experiences. It allows your readers to navigate and read content without the confusion caused by unnecessary elements on the page. Clean interfaces will reduce bandwidth usage and decrease load times.
Google has recently shown the love for simplistic design by now factoring load times into search results. Google wants to deliver content quickly and effectively. This change makes it even more important that you remove the clutter and let your content take center stage.
1. Removing unnecessary plugins – Plugins can add functionality to your blog, but with the vast amount available they can quickly become a way to increase load times and clutter your blog. Take your blog back to the basics by delete some plugins.
2. Reducing the space between the top and content area – Studies have shown that users spend 80% of their time within the fold. By reducing the space between the top of the page and content area it improves the chances readers will view more content.
3. Cutting out useless imagery – Imagery can help users quickly identify with content but don’t overdo it. Cut out all imagery that isn’t necessary. It helps reduce load times, bandwidth usage, and articles could appear higher on search results.
4. Revamping or deleting old content – Make sure to revisit old content because search engines drive traffic to even older pages. You should start by making content relevant and updated to current standards.
A clutter free blog is a happy blog. It promotes users to read content and reduces confusion. Google and other search engines realize that people are inpatient. They want content quickly. When managing your blog don’t get caught in the latest trends.
Keep your blog simple and clean.