I found yet another extremely good article on my favourite usability website, Jakob Nielsen’s AlertBox. It was a very timely discovery because I was in the process of compiling a list of the user experience tips for Business Blogs. So here are Jakob’s top ten mistakes in Blog Usability. Read his full article.
- No Author Biographies – who are you and why are you an authority on your subject matter? Include an ‘About Me’ page to reassure your readers that you are indeed a authoritative source on your blog topic.
- Author Photo Missing – always include your photo on your blog. This makes you more personable to the reader (which is part of the reason for blogging, no?), your readers feel more of a connection with someone they can ‘put a face to’ and it makes you more identifiable in the real world at meetings, conferences etc.
- Vague Post Titles – a blogsite is still a website and the same rules for Web Writing apply. Users tend to read the first few words of titles so make sure those are the information-carrying words that describe your post. A good headline makes the difference between users ignoring your posts and taking the time to click through to read them.
- Mystery Links – it is not a good idea to write links such as “some people think” where the users has no clue what the link “some” will take them to. Life is too short to click into the unknown so make sure the link title explains to the users what they will find if they click it.
- Classic Hits Buried – if you have written really good pieces don’t relegate them off to the archives. Ensure they are always readily available to your readers and link back to them in your current posts.
- Calendar Navigation – calendars are a very poor way of navigating a website or blogsite. Will users really remember that the information they require was posted in March or April of last year? Forget calendars and use categories instead which any decent blogging system can cater to. Ten or twenty categories should be used at most and don’t tag your posts for every category – be selective and your categories will be more meaningful.
- Irregular Publishing Frequency – meeting users expectations is one of the guiding principles of Web usability. You should pick a publication schedule and stick to it. Post only when you have something relevant to post and consider holding back some ideas to post when you hit writer’s block!
- Mixing Topics – if you try to write about too many different areas you aren’t likely to attract a loyal audience. The more focused your content, the more focused your readers and therefore the more you raise your influence within your niche area. If you really have lots to say on different topics then set up multiple blogs, each of which focuses on your subject matter of choice. (Fiona’s note: some blog authors develop a following based on their writing style and their readers may be inclined to read their blogs on other topics too – make sure to link to your others blogs for this reason).
- Forgetting Who May Read Your Posts In The Future – before you click that ‘Publish’ button just remember that your words could be presented to you by a hiring manager a decade from now. There are already services available to companies that ’snoop’ your online background so think twice before you post.
- Hosting Your Blog On ‘Blogger’ Or Other Weblog Service – if your blog is hosted on blogspot, blogger, wordpress.com or any of the ‘freebie’ blog sites they own your destiny. They can degrade your service, inundate your readers with advertising, pop-ups, blinking banners and even promote competitors on your blog! Also a freebie blog looks less credible. It costs very little to buy a domain and run a self-hosted blog. If you are serious about blogging then get your own domain and take control of your own blogging destiny.
