If you’re a regular reader of TechTraction, then you know I’ve spent the last few weeks doing a basic site redesign. While I do plan to continue tweaking various parts of the site, and hope to one day make more significant changes (e.g. color scheme, fonts, overall width), I’m happy to say that for now –I’m done.

Throughout this redesign I’ve learned bits and pieces of the inner workings of WordPress themes, and, during this education, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are “4 must have” sections for every blog. Despite being obvious to experienced bloggers and intuitive to new bloggers, the primary purpose of these sections is easy to overlook which results in a confusing and disorganized blog. Here is a quick summary of these 4 sections defined first by their function and parenthetically by their component name inside a theme.

Site Name and Branding (Header): The first thing every visitor sees is the header section of your site. Make sure your site name is prominently displayed and that you have a simple and accurate tag line. Every visitor should be able to tell within 5 seconds of arrival the name of your site and what it’s all about. Also, any additional graphics in the header should not overshadow the name and tag line but rather complement the site’s purpose.

Blog Content (Index and/or Single Post): The most essential part of your site. Keep this area free of clutter and any distracts (e.g. blinking ads). Readers need to easily see what you have to offer and should not need to scroll down to get to your first post. Seems obvious, but if you surf around, you will come across a few blogs where the main content is overshadowed by a bunch of nonsense. I’m not saying don’t put ads on your site, just be very careful where you put them. Also, in the beginning stages of a new blog, attracting readers and comments is more important than revenue — cash from ads only comes when people actually visit your site.

Site Navigation (Sidebar): Helping readers navigate your content is as important as the content itself. With a WordPress theme it makes the most sense to use the sidebar for site navigation. Every navigation section should include a subsection for pages, categories, and dated archives. After you have those basics, consider also adding a subsection for most popular posts (plugin required) and recent posts (although it makes sense to have this subsection appear only on the single post page). Also most themes include a “latest comment subsection” which I recommend removing in favor of one of the other previously mentioned ideas. Most readers only care about comments when they’re interested in a particular post. The latest comment to the site is too random and adds no value to your main page.

Copyright and Design Credits (Footer): Most readers won’t pay attention to this part of your site; however, don’t neglect it. Use this section for a general copyright statement. Why? Basic protection. In the event someone starts making money on your posts (e.g. publishes a book) and didn’t first receive your consent, you want to do something about it. A copyright gives you the leverage you need in the rare case something such as this situation takes place. Also, the footer is an excellent location to give credit where credit is due. If you’re using a theme created by someone, give them some credit and link back to their site. If you’ve modified the theme, make sure you mention that as well.

The above graphic also shows a second sidebar which I have labeled “Community Building.” Not all blogs have a second sidebar so its primary function is left to each blogger’s discretion. For example, some people might want to populate this sidebar with ads for generating revenue. Since I’ve placed a couple ads in other parts of my site, I’ve decided to use this section for “Community Building” type features such as MyBlogLog. I’m trying to stay focused on building my readership right now. Later, however, I’ll spend a little more time thinking about the best type of ads to place on my site.

The purpose of each section might seem obvious; however, with all of the plugins, widgets, and ads you can put your blog, it’s all too easy to go wild and make your blog a confusing purposeless mess — don’t let that happen to your blog.

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Filed under: Blogging Related