Is your blog an effective tool for expressing your ideas?

In reality, your blog is nothing more than a tool that allows you to deliver what’s in your mind to the masses. Do you treat it that way?

If your goal is to deliver some sort of content from your brain to your readers’ brains, is your blog really doing that efficiently?

It’s all in the details. 

Let’s look at somem examples!

Do you have obvious, easy navigation?

Let’s face it – your site shouldn’t feel like homework. In fact, it shouldn’t feel like work at all. The person reading for leisure sure as heck doesn’t want to waste their time trying to find the contact page. They definitely aren’t going to Google you to find your Twitter account. Don’t let it be harder than it has to be.

What do your photos link to?

This is especially relevant if you link to other sources a lot. Most people scan, not read. If they see a great picture from another blog, they’re going to click it and expect to be taken to the source. If they’re like me, they open it in another link with the intention of looking at it later, and then get irritated when it’s just a link to the jpeg and the original source is nowhere to be found.

Why are you hiding your button??!?

If you have a button for other bloggers to post on their site, why in God’s name are you hiding it on some random page? I experienced this just the other day when I was going through my subscriptions and trying to find buttons for my Blogroll. At least five sites had them hidden on a separate page that had *nothing* to do with the damn button. For instance – the “about” page, or the “contact” page. If you want someone to promote your blog for you, why on earth would you make that more difficult for them?

Speaking of links….

Do yours open up in a new tab? Think about it – why would you want to link to a friend’s page, only to have your visitor leave yours? Learn how to link so that they open up in a new tab. You’re welcome.

Where is your “Home” button?

Do you have it nestled somewhere in the sidebar? If so, I hope your header is also linked. Clicking on a header only to find out it’s not linked to the home page is almost as frustrating as this guy’s life will inevitably be. 

This is just a smattering of examples of the details that can make or break your visitor’s experience on your blog.

I’m challenging you to take a veeerrrrryyyy critical look at your site and decide what needs to be changed.. and change it! I know I have a lot cut out for myself this weekend.

If you have any other suggestions for improving the usability of your blog, tell us in the comments!

(It’s not too late to join the Blog Better Challenge! Check out the first post here.)