Brian Shih of Brian Shih.com offers suggestions for Improving sidebar usability in his post on blog sidebar design.
Who wants to read about sidebars?
Think of your sidebar as a reader does, and you’ll soon enough realize that it’s a critical part of a blog. It’s your readers’ grounding point. The sidebar, after all, is how our readers know things–like who we are and what we offer.
In this well-researched post, Brian discusses the use of sidebar components, quoting experts and adding his own viewpoint to bring the article back down to the ground. He also takes examples from real-life–the blogs of Steve Rubel and Paul Stamatiou.
Though I disagree with Brian’s comments on a “popular posts” section–I’ve had great success with mine–this article is a solid review of design basics and worth the time of every reader–either as a first time hit or a quick reminder. That’s why I’m adding it to the Successful Blog Survival Kit.
Brian ends the post with his own thoughts on side bar usage. (Note the great example of a collaborative link–a thank you to a colleague for looking over the article.)
When WAS the last time you thought about your sidebar?
Thanks Brian for sharing this design post with us. A community blog needs to hear from many voices. I’m glad yours was one.
It’d be great to hear a response to what Brian brought to the table. So have a read, and come back to leave a comment. We’ve hardly talked design and navigation. What are your experiences with sidebars? Tell me what has worked on your blog?
Talk to me. Let’s discuss it. I get in trouble. when I’m alone. 🙂
ME “Liz” Strauss