I have been working today to increase DWG's reader retention and improve reader experience by adding widgets and other features. It has been pretty ad hoc because this is my only experience with building blogs or websites.
My fear of low reader retention is due to my preference for limiting my posts in order develop my opinions before posting them. Not only is this how I prefer to write, but I feel it enhances the quality of my posts. The drawback is that posting infrequently probably hinders reader retention; my blog probably does not stay on people's minds the way that it would if people could be in the habit of checking it every day or so.
I feel the features I add are important also as a way to enhance reader experience by creating a pseudo-website as opposed to a list of opinion pieces. While the posts are certainly the centerpiece of the blog, I think that - in a way I have yet to find the words for - adding features makes the blog feel more substantive. To me, it seems less amateurish with the right features and feels more like a place to spend time as opposed to passing through on a web surf.
The drawback to having more features, however, is that I run the risk of cluttering the blog and creating a situation where readers cannot focus. I find that a lot of major blogs do this, including the Huffington Post. Although these blogs are popular, the sheer volume of information that must be sorted on the the first page alone can create confusion and indecision. Simplicity is key to design these days.
Admittedly, my blog is helped by Blogger's layout and the fact that there is only one writer, but I have still had to work at keeping DWG simple while adding to it. One way to do this is to be discerning about which features to add. For instance, I resisted the temptation to add a news feed because (1) I already post links to web pages -including articles - I find interesting on DWG's Twitter feed; (2) I find myself ignoring most news feeds, and (3) it would probably be a partial list of items where anyone can get a full list at myriad well-known and oft-visited websites.
The second way to keep the site simple is organization. I spent a fair amount of time the last few days playing around with various layouts. Originally, I had most of the widgets in a side bar but that side bar just seemed like a dumping ground for sundry elements. So now I try to spread everything around the page according to what I want people to see and what people might look for.
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| this is an abridged page view |
I put the list of pages at the top, under the blog title and description, and the search box and partial Twitter feed in the right side bar but so as to be visible upon page load. "About Me," "Links," the blog email, the Most Popular list, and the blog archive are in the footer.
The footer is divided in three, so that the lengthy blog archive and Most Popular list have their own columns, while the three shorter sections share a column. I think it seems slightly cluttered but not overly so, and forgivably, since it is at the very bottom of the page, not immediately visible, and not a place the eye is always drawn to. I put the Blog Archive on the right because as you expand it, it shifts to the right, so it seems aesthetically suited to right alignment.
I have added to following five features to improve retention and reader experience, and am considering the sixth and seventh:
1) a Twitter feed (DownWithGT), updated fairly often, to establish an almost daily connection with fans of the blog. Also, so followers know when I have posted. An abridged version is on the blog page so new visitors find out about it and old ones have a reminder and another way of checking it.
2) an e-mail address, for comments and anyone who wants updates.
3) a list of most popular posts, for people new to the blog and who want to be told where to go.
4) The Round-Up, an every- or every-other-week listing of my favorite links that I posted on the Twitter feed, so that there is some reliability of updates, and a more solid reason to check back on a regular basis. I hope it also becomes a way to prolong visits, as people spend time every week or so visiting pages that I recommend, a la the Atlantic Wire's daily 5 Best Columns.
5) A reactions widget on posts. Although I would prefer that people leave comments, this doesn't really happen and I would like to add another way to engage with the blog. Also, it's a quick way to get a general understanding of how people feel about the posts. Customized, to add some personality to the blog.
6) I'm thinking about adding a third page, tentatively titled "Blogger's picks," with a list of my all-time favorite posts and my all-time favorite tweeted pages. I might also move the "Links" widget to this page and add websites like The Atlantic Wire and SB Nation. Kind of an organized links dump. It could be a way to prolong visits, a la the previously mentioned Atlantic Wire's daily 5 Best Columns. I don't think this would clutter or confuse the blog, as long as it is a separate page and neatly listed with the other two pages.
7) I would like to add other writers to the blog, so that it is updated with substantive content more often but the two people I've invited so far haven't written anything (yet?).
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