Think of it like this: the art of making it as easy as possible for your blog's visitors to do exactly what you want them to do.
That simple, super-effective tip on putting your feed icon high up in your sidebar is usability at work. So is putting social media buttons at the bottom of your posts. So is putting popular posts in your sidebar. In fact, some of the coolest, simplest things you can do to get more subscribers, links and loyal readers come from usability.
Setting aside an hour or two to re-arrange your layout with usability in mind will pay long-term dividends for your blog's growth. Here are my top 5 tips to help you get started.
#1 — Be predictable:
When we want to know what a site is about, the first thing we look for is an 'About' page.
When we want to contact the owner of a site, the first thing we look for is a 'Contact' page.
When we want to leave a comment, we usually look to the bottom of a post.
When we want to subscribe to a blog, we look for the subscribe button at the top of its sidebar.
These things are so common that they've become standards — things we expect. When we can't find the standard, we look for the next most similar thing.
By adhering to these predictable standards you're actually making it as easy as possible for your blog's visitors to do exactly what you want them to do. Sometimes being predictable is not a bad thing!
#2 — Be obvious:
Look down at your keyboard and you'll probably be able to spot at least one key that you've never noticed before, either because you have no need for it or you don't know what it does. It could be the most useful key ever, but our hesitation when confronted with the unknown has probably stopped you ever pressing it before. What if it deletes everything you just wrote?
We don't like not knowing what the result of our actions will be, and so it goes with your blog. Non-obvious links and buttons will very rarely be clicked. In my experiments with private advertising, there can be as much as an 800% difference in click-through rates between ambiguous banners and ones which make it obvious where the reader will be taken when they click on it. Scour your blog and ask this question of every element: would a new visitor know what this does, or where it leads?
#3 — Subtract the unimportant:
By hiding important elements (your most popular posts, your feed icon, your comment button) amongst a dozen other unimportant things (widgets and recent comments) you're making it harder for readers to do what is truly important to you.
#4 — Limit options:
A category list with 10 categories is a lot more usable than a list with 50 categories. Too many options creates overload which leads to deferral: a visitor will not engage with that element at all. Your list of 5 most popular posts will get clicked more than your list of 20, and so on. Simplified options make it easier for the visitor to decide where they want to place their attention. Too much choice will actually hurt your blog's usability.
#5 — Do the little things:
A usable blog, aside from the above, is also made-up of many little touches that make your visitor's browsing experience easier.
Does your header image link back to your main page?
Does your blog have an about page?
Does your blog have a contact page?
Do your headlines match with your content?
Is it clear where your links will lead?
Do you use frequent paragraphs in your posts?
Do you have comment links at the bottom of your post?
Do you use sub-headings?
Are your posts less than 2/3 screen length wide?
Are you making your best posts easily accessible?
Are your links easy to pick out?
Points to review:
Predictability is a good thing for usability.
Be creative with your posts, but obvious in your layout elements.
Subtract obstacles to your most wanted actions.
Simplify options to make your elements easier to use.
Pay attention to little touches that your visitors will find useful.
©Problogger
On the icy barrenness of Antarctica, the Indian research station of Maitri has a new voice - the first ever blog by an Indian from the seventh continent.
A member of the 27th Indian Scientific Antarctica Expedition, 56-year-old Sudhir Khandelwal, has typed, so far, 39 posts and nearly 15,000 words, with another one and a half months of his stay to go.
A consultant psychiatrist at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Khandelwal records fascinating vignettes of daily life at himalayanadventurer.blogspot.com. He writes about the effects of static electricity that result in 'powerful' handshakes, eccentric food habits, hikes on the ice shelf and the saga of a Skua bird family nesting near the station.
Khandelwal is in Antarctica for four summer months to conduct a study of short and long-term effects of extreme isolation and climatic conditions on the general and mental health on expedition members.
India's second research base in Antarctica, Maitri, is located on the rocky mountain area in the eastern part of the continent called Schirmacher Oasis, where the average annual temperature is minus 10 degrees Celsius.
Naturally, maintaining a blog is not an easy task from Maitri station, which has no direct access to the Internet. Electronic communication is limited to a single shared e-mail address, with the mails uploaded and downloaded once a day by connecting to the Amos server in the Netherlands.
So, almost every other day, Khandewal writes and mails his musings to his elder son, a computer professional in San Francisco who uploads and maintains the website.
"It's been a hobby to write my interesting experiences and travelogues to share with family and friends over email. When I was discussing with my son, Kushagra, how to reach the mailing list for sharing my experiences, he suggested the idea of starting a blog," Khandelwal told IANS in an email interview.
With telephone calls being rather expensive, his family in India and the US find the blog the best way to ensure his well-being.
"I am usually looking at the clock when I am on the phone. His blog helps me visualise his stay in those conditions and keeps me assured of his welfare," said his wife Chitra Khandelwal, who lives in New Delhi.
Khandelwal's travel from India to Antarctica took about three days and four flights - from Goa to Mumbai, Mumbai to Johannesburg, then to Cape Town, and finally the last leg on a chartered Il-76 aircraft to a landing on the ice field at Novo air base, nine kilometres from Maitri on Nov 15, 2007.
"It looked like a huge white ocean with a tinge of blue here and there, then it looked like a white sand desert with patches of mirage appearing here and there," Khandelwal said.
As part of the summer team, Khandelwal lives in a pre-fabricated cabin with four bunker beds outside the main building. It is a rather comfortable stay with round-the-clock open pantry, a recreation room and a gymnasium.
Not surprisingly, one of the important members of the team is the station cook, Ram Das from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
"Everybody tries to keep him in good humour because their health and mood depend on him," Khandewal writes, tongue-in-cheek.
From fresh fruits and vegetables at the start of the residency period, the menu moves on to food items that are frozen, tinned or powdered.
"Current fads among many of the 26th (expedition) team members are Maggie noodles and eggs. They are now sick of eating frozen vegetables and daal (lentils) for the last many months," he said.
Therefore, when visitors from the neighbouring Novolazarevskaja Russian station came to Maitri for Christmas, they brought a much-appreciated gift - fresh vegetables.
The evening hours in Maitri are often the period to hone latent talent, with the station now boasting an in-house chorus, a trio of enthusiastic party dancers, Urdu poetry aficionados, wood artists, aspiring chefs and even an amateur hair stylist. The night usually wraps up with a movie from the well-stocked DVD library.
The avenues for entertainment, however, will become wide open once the under-construction Earth Station becomes functional in March, allowing 24-hour Internet access and even beaming Indian TV channels.
"I am persuading two members who will be wintering here (spending nearly 15 months) to also start writing a blog once they start enjoying full internet connectivity and web browsing," Khandelwal told IANS.
Meanwhile, with summer nights in Antarctica always aglow with dull sunlight, a full moon night evokes a nostalgic post.
"But the full moon won't shine as it would in Delhi. It will be there in the sky but with no moonlight at all. The bright full moon from the confines of the home makes all the troubles of living in Delhi worthwhile," he said.
Indo-Asian News Service
A Mumbai-based blogger and columnist won the Bastiat Prize for Journalism here for his regular weekly column in an Indian business daily.
Amit Varma won the award Wednesday for his weekly column 'Thinking it through' in Mint business daily from the Hindustan Times group. He has also been blogging for the last three years.
The Bastiat Prize for Journalism, instituted six years ago, after the 19th century French philosopher and writer Frédéric Bastiat, who believed in the institutions of free society, carries a cash prize of $10,000, and is given by the International Policy Network (IPN), with offices in Britain and the US, to encourage, recognise and reward writers around the world whose published works elucidate the institutions of the free society.
Varma beat five other finalists, including first runner up Clive Crook (Atlantic Monthly) and second runner up Jonah Goldberg (National Review). There were submissions from over 280 writers in 60 countries.
"I am pleasantly surprised to win the prize given the calibre of other finalists. I felt flattered to find myself in the final list," Varma told IANS after receiving the prize.
"Bastiat," he added, "is one of my intellectual heroes, his ideas are still relevant to modern India."
Bibek Debroy of International Management Institute, New Delhi, was in the panel of five judges.
Indo-Asian News Service