50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog
Photography: morning clutter by mary_gaston22
Tied to the internet productivity movement is the internet uncluttering movement. There are a slew of new websites dedicated to helping you unclutter your home, your work and your life.
I want to contribute to this movement with a manifesto for defeating blog clutter. Blog clutter is the stuff your readers really don’t need, and it serves mainly to get in the way of your content and other vital information. Your content and important pages are the signal, and blog clutter is the noise. You can enhance the first by cutting out more of the second.
The 50 tips in this article will help you unclutter your sidebar, your footer, your posts, and your blog as a whole, and in doing so, enhance the simplicity and usability of your content-centered blog design.
Read this first
I looked at a lot of blogs when researching this post. It wasn’t my intention to single out elements I thought where bad, but to identify things that a blog could do without and not have a negative impact on readers. I’m not suggesting you strip all 50 elements from your blog, but that if you’re looking to reduce blog clutter, these are all things you might decide to remove.
You will probably have arguments in support of some of these elements and I’m interested to hear them in the comments section. You might also have some additional reasons why some of them have to go!
Unclutter your sidebar
1. Move archives to their own page. There is no real reason that they need to be on your sidebar. A reader who has decided they want to dig deeper into your blog will be willing to navigate to a separate page. Reduce blog clutter by linking to a ‘Monthly Archives’ page instead.
2. Remove ‘meta’ sidebar links. Bookmark your Wordpress login page instead. Unless you have multiple user accounts this element is not useful to your readers.
3. Prune your categories list. Categories perform an important navigational function but their use is limited when you have a lot of categories. The longer your list, the less likely readers are to go through it. Prune your categories down to at most 15 or 20.
4. Remove recent trackbacks widgets. They don’t provide value to your readers. Individual posts should already have sufficient trackback records and this ‘doubling up’ is one of the main causes of blog clutter.
5. Replace feed buttons for specific services with one general button. If a reader is savvy enough to read feeds then they will know how to extract a feed link and add it to their reader of choice. You can reduce a lot of clutter by using the universal feed icon.
6. Remove recent comments widgets. Displaying half a sentence of a comment removed from its context is not going to be of much interest to your readers. Displaying a comment count on each post is all the social proof you’ll need from comments.
7. Remove MyBlogLog and similar widgets. I know some people love these. They benefit the blogger (slightly) and provide little (if any) value to readers, particularly for the amount of space they take up. You can still have a thriving community there without displaying the widget.
8. Remove top commenter widgets. I have heard plenty of stories about people spamming blogs with dozens of comments in order to make the list and get a backlink. This undermines community more than it adds to it. If your top commenters have made only a few comments then this can also undermine social proof.
9. Remove reader polls in the sidebar. Polls are fine when included as part of a post, but they serve only as a distraction when included in your sidebar.
10. Put your blogroll on a separate page. You can link to the blogroll or links page from your sidebar. If a reader is interested in seeing your recommended sites they will be willing to travel to a page where they can be easily viewed and returned to.
11. Remove Technorati profile widgets. Once again, they don’t offer anything to your readers. There might be some social proof in a high authority, but most readers won’t be familiar with the Technorati authority system and will confuse a high authority for a low ranking. What does ‘8,730′ mean to someone who is not a fellow blogger involved in Technorati?
12. Put counter links in footer or remove them. Your readers aren’t as interested in your daily uniques as you are.
13. Remove Pownce/Twitter widgets. You can link to your Twitter or Pownce profile but out-of-context messages from these services will only distract and possibly confuse your readers. They also take up quite a lot of sidebar real-estate.
14. Put blog directory buttons and links in your footer. Blog directories are of much more use to bloggers than they are to readers.
15. Remove Alexa widgets. These essentially function as a more complicated form of stat counter. Few readers will understand what the widget means.
16. Downsize inordinately huge RSS buttons. I am probably going to be less likely to subscribe if someone is trying to hit me in the face with an RSS button. These buttons are important but become clutter when they’re overbearing.
17. Move your disclosure policy to your ‘About’ page. People will want to know who you are before they’re interested in your disclosure policy. Make it easier by putting all this information in one place.
18. Remove links to automatic translators. This is well-intentioned clutter, but clutter all the same. While the idea of making your site available to non-English speakers is a noble one, in practice, these translators don’t work well enough to be of use. Languages can’t be translated meaningfully word for word, and the result of your translation will be gibberish to the user.
19. Don’t place multiple RSS subscription buttons next to each other. Two buttons will not make readers twice as likely to subscribe.
20. Remove ’spam blocked’ counts. Do your readers really care how many spam comments Akismet or any other service has blocked? Akismet already comes with every copy of Wordpress that is downloaded. It doesn’t really need more advertising.
21. Remove widgets showing which countries your visitors are coming from. The internet is quite old now. It’s no longer amazing to us that people can visit a blog from overseas.
22. Remove ‘Blogshares’ buttons. Your readers are not as interested in how your blog is performing in the simulation as you are.
23. Remove placeholder sidebar headers. If there’s no content yet then remove the header until you have the content or links to go with it.
24. Remove e-mail subscription forms. Many readers report confusing these with search boxes. Diffuse reader frustration and fight clutter by linking to a form on a separate page.
25. Remove calendar widgets. Your archives page already caters for readers who want to dig deeper into your blog.
26. Choose a category cloud or category list, not both. If you have two identical category lists presented in different formats, one of them is clutter.
27. Remove buttons and badges for other sites. You can easily transfer them to your blogroll/links page if you can’t do without them.
Unclutter your posts
28. Remove as much non-link text as possible from your post-footer. The function of a post-footer is to display tags (if necessary), a comment link, a social bookmarking button or two, and the date and author (if not already displayed at the top of the post). There is no reason to write a long preamble to these elements — it only makes the important stuff harder to get to.
29. Remove time-stamps. Unless the reader is from your state or city and knows it then time-stamps lose all meaning. You might write a post at 7am but in the next state it could be 8am. In another country, it might be 8pm. The time of day has little meaning on the internet.
30. Remove RSS feeds for individual posts. If a person wishes to track a conversation they can bookmark the permalink. People tend to subscribe to RSS feeds only when they determine a source of content to be ‘for keeps’. The more RSS feeds you offer the more you’re diluting the strength of your central feed.
31. Remove Technorati tags. You already have tags and categories for internal use within your blog. Displaying Technorati tags can point people away from your content and dilute the strength of your own categories.
32. Edit ‘posted by administrator/admin’ text. This is clutter because it’s not giving your visitors any information. Replace ‘administrator’ with your name, or the author’s name.
33. Remove ‘permalink’ links if the post header is already a permalink. Anyone who knows what a permalink is will be able to extract it from the post header.
34. Remove ‘Add to Technorati favorites’ buttons from posts. One link on the sidebar is enough. A link there also makes more sense because you are adding the blog as a whole, not the individual post.
35. Remove permalink forms from the end of your posts. Every blogger worth their salt already has the ability to extract a URL and turn it into a link.
36. Cut down the number of social bookmarking buttons visible at once. With twenty buttons at the bottom of every post the important ones are likely to get lost in the clutter. Use a drop-down menu or a service like AddThis which takes you to a separate page with plenty of options.
37. Remove the ‘Popularity Contest’ plugin post-footer. This adds clutter to the footer of your posts and isn’t self explanatory. How will readers who do not have the plugin know what ‘Popularity: 3%’ means? Out of context, the statistics given usually aren’t very flattering, either. Nobody wants to see a positive combined with a low percentile, i.e. ‘Trustworthiness: 2%’.
38. Remove the ‘Related Posts’ plug-in if you’re light on content. I like this plug-in, but I’ve seen it used on too many blogs that didn’t have enough posts to fill out the list. Wait until you’ve posted a significant body of work and then re-add the plug-in when it’s able to fulfill its purpose.
Unclutter everything
39. Remove welcoming messages. More often than not these are a distraction with the intent of getting you to subscribe to a feed. Sure, they’re a well-intentioned distraction, but I’d recommend letting your readers get straight into your content. At worst, these messages can seem like nagging.
40. Don’t double-up social bookmarking buttons and links. Readers are not twice as likely to submit your articles to Digg because you have a button link and a text link in close proximity. Stick to the little button links. If a reader uses this community they will recognize the icon just fine.
41. Remove bookmark this site links which open up your browser bookmark window. The process is not much more convenient than opening the window from your toolbar.
42. Remove Content Ads. You know, those double-lined links you see on some blog posts which are really ads. These make your content an eye-sore to look at and works on the basis of tricking readers. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
43. Remove all advertising if…. On most new blogs advertisements are simply clutter. Sweep them under the rug until you start getting enough traffic to earn more than small change.
44. Prune under-performing ads. If an ad is making you next to nothing then remove it. This will strengthen the message of those ads you’re displaying that are working.
45. Move biographical details beneath qualifications in your About page. New readers are much more interested in your qualifications for writing on the topic than anything else. Placing less important details first (number of kids, where you were born, and so on) is clutter in the way of the most important stuff. You can include biographical details but insert it after.
46. Don’t bury your e-mail address among a dozen other means of contact. Most readers will contact you via e-mail. Give prominence to your e-mail address and include other forms of contact after.
47. Remove feedburner headlines. If you’re using them as navigation for your own site, replace them with a static recent posts list instead. If you’re using headlines from other sites then consider removing the widget. This is a distraction from your own content.
48. Replace contact forms with your e-mail address as an image. Contact forms prevent readers sending you attachments and decrease the sense that a real person is being contacted. Presenting your e-mail address as an image simplifies your contact page and keeps the spam bots at bay.
Unclutter your footer
49. Put footer ribbon content in your sidebar. Most readers won’t scroll right to the bottom of your main page, so putting important information just above your page footer really isn’t a good idea. Things like categories, a picture, a brief bio and popular posts should be brought up into the sidebar and out of the nether regions of your blog.
50. Remove links to the version of Wordpress you’re using. This information is unlikely to be interesting to very many people.
I have to say I felt pretty smug knowing that I had just decluttered my sidebar a few days ago and specifically I had reduced the size of the RSS icon. There’s more that’s unnecessary than most of realize, but keep in mind the purpose and the goals of the blog before throwing out everything. Not all of your tips apply to all blog designs or configurations.
I think you’re making overly broad assumptions about what readers want. I have always gravitated toward recent comments and trackbacks and top commentator info because it gives me an indication as to the liveliness and quality of interaction between the blogger and her audience. I find they draw me in, and I’m not the only one.
Replacing your email address with an image is a bad idea for several reasons: blind people hate it; it’s not copyable, which is an annoyance; not everyone has access to email when they want to contact you (no account for email client on current computer, no internet-based email). The form is right there, all you do is fill it out and click the button. Nothing easier, as long as you’re smart enough to keep the form simple.
Great post–you brought up a lot of tips I hadn’t thought of, so I might have to re-declutter! :D
Excellent list, Skellie.
I agree with most of it, and I think I’ve employed most of it on http://www.cupofchai.net as well.
As for categories, I tend to challenge people to keep it down to 5 categories. I think a short list of strong categories tells readers where your focus really lies. I’d rather blog about a few strong topics rather than dilute and venture into too many things. Often, multiple categories can be merged to something more power- and meaningful.
Great great post! Stumbled and I really think that this is one thing which I would like to follow from top to bottom!
@ Michael: Those are all fair criticisms. I can only really speak from my own experiences and I knew that I would run the risk of some generalization. I do encourage every blogger to use their own judgment when considering whether to remove an element, and to weigh up my suggestions with their own thoughts.
@ Arjun: I agree that with categories, less tends to be more, though if you have a lot of posts split up between only a few categories it can be difficult to sort through the information. I’ve got to admit, the only reason my categories list is that long is because it fits snugly with the design ;)
@ Tipsosaurus: Thanks a lot. You probably won’t agree with everything on the list but I hope it’s at least thought provoking!
Fantastic list, but there are a few I’d disagree with.
4. Remove recent trackbacks widgets. - If you get enough trackbacks that this would change quite often, why not use it to encourage more? Links never hurt.
7. Remove MyBlogLog and similar widgets. - They’re fun if you’re a MyBlogLog user, and many bloggers are. I just think that the widget is too big usually… :(
8. Remove top commenter widgets. - Why not reward your best commenters?? This is my favourite widget! :)
12. Put counter links in footer or remove them. - As a visitor, I think the RSS count is really useful. It can tell you a lot about a blog, very quickly.
24. Remove e-mail subscription forms. - Depending on the blog, that would be a massive mistake I think. One of my blogs had just under 20 readers originally. I added the email form about a month ago, and I now have over 70 readers. It’s the best change I’ve ever made.
30. Remove RSS feeds for individual posts. - Would you include the email subscriptions with this?
43. Remove all advertising if…. - I agree with this one, but it’s not always possible. e.g. If I removed the advert on my site, I’d be left with a big empty column. :(
48. Replace contact forms with your e-mail address as an image. - Contact forms are incredibly handy for contact I think. If I had to remember an email address from an image, fire up my own email app (Which is usually closed, so it doesn’t distract me), and then type my message, I’m a lot less likely to bother. :(
50. Remove links to the version of Wordpress you’re using. - I agree to a point. No need to show a version, but why not link back to Wordpress? It’s not required, but morally, isn’t it the right thing to do?
All in all, fantastic post. Every blog could find some tips there that apply to them. :D
Hey Michael, thanks for giving the post such consideration. You raise some good points.
Re: 4. I’m not sure that displaying recent trackbacks encourages more links. I guess my reason for including this is that most of us already display trackbacks in the comments section of posts, and if we’re talking about being hard on clutter, doubling-up has to go ;)
Re: 7. I know, a lot of bloggers love these and I’ve had blogs that used them before — they’re fun to look at. But they don’t enhance your content, and you know I’m all about content-centered design ;)
Re: 8. I guess there is a community-building argument for these.
Re: 12. I was referring to stat counters with that one. I do think displaying an RSS feed count is a good idea, but a link to a sitemeter page maybe not so much.
Re: 24. Did you have a link to a form on another page before that, though? I’m not advocating getting rid of e-mail subscription all-together. I’ve got it on Skelliewag :)
Re: 30. I’m talking about separate RSS feeds for a single post and its comments. I don’t think e-mail subscription is offered for that?
Re: 43. You could spread your sidebar content over two columns? This would bring more of it into the top areas of your site, which visitors interact with most heavily.
Re: 48. You and Michael Martine have made me reconsider that one. I am starting to see that this method has its benefits.
Re: 50. I don’t disagree with linking back to Wordpress, but maybe a small button would suffice?
I’m glad you enjoyed the post overall. I knew nobody would agree with every one of the fifty points so I was interested to hear other people’s perspectives. Thanks!
Hi Skellie,
Brilliant posts. I normally cannot stand loooong lists, but here I almost hung on to the end :-)
Perhaps because I just redesigned my blogs, which was much needed. Although I do have a lot of content do I not think I clutter, but perhaps am I not being entirely unbiased.
I would love to hear what you think.
Will stumble this as well as it deserves more readers :-)
Thanks for the in-depth reply. :)
4 - That’s true. I’ve only seen this plugin being put to really good use on mashable before. It’s used on the homepage, which would be quite encouraging for social networking based blogs to link to mashable. I agree that most blogs won’t need the plugin though.
7 - lol, fair point. I can’t particularly see the use either. :lol:
24 - No, just the RSS. I’m not sure how a plain link would have fared. Could have done just as well perhaps. In terms of getting the 2 forms mixed up, I can partly agree with you. I’ve seen sites that have done it completely wrong (Having the 2 forms look similar, but the email one coming first…). A good way of getting around that however is to have text in your search forms. (e.g. the search bar on my site says “Search…” :) )
30 - There’s a plugin for it. It’s installed on my blog. Personally, I don’t subscribe to them (I like as few automated emails as possible), but after seeing how many people like getting RSS via email, I thought it was worth trying. It doesn’t tell me how many people are using it though, so I can’t say how useful it has been so far…
43 - True, but once you scroll down a little, you’d have a very empty sidebar. :(
50 - Agreed. :)
Hi Skellie
Hope you won’t mind me playing devil’s advocate and disagree with some of your points.
Overall, I’d definitely agree that less clutter is good. However, I’m less sure about some points…
5. Replace feed buttons for specific services with one general button.
I was of the same opinion until I read somewhere that some people who are only vaguely familar with RSS may be more familiar with specific buttons like “subscribe via google”. I agree they are messy, but I now use those “chiclets” because I want as many people to sign up as possible.
6. Remove recent comments widgets.
I think this can be useful, because it gives the impression of a “busy” blog.
OK, there are a few more, but I guess it just depends on the look and style we’re hoping to achieve. It’s well known that people prefer not to eat in restaurants that appear empty (social proof!), and I think we need to be careful not to “de-clutter” our blogs to the point where they look unread! :)
Skellie, I’ve cluttered up my secondary blog by critiquing my main blog using your list of 50. I wish I had the URLs of the Japanese and Filipino blogs i mentioned. More widgets and music and c-boxes and chatter and flooble than you could shake a stick at!
@ Jan: Thanks Jan. I’ve just had a look at your blog, and I can tell you it has quite a clean look overall. There are elements from the list currently present, though, so you might want to evaluate them, They are: recent comments in sidebar, a category cloud as well as a category list, archives in sidebar, and the popularity contest stat in posts. Possible reasons to do away with these elements are listed in the list above — you might want to have a look at them and see what you think.
I might also suggest giving your selection of ‘Asides’ a more descriptive title. Other than that I do like your design - it showcases a lot of content.
@ Michael: There is nothing wrong with an empty sidebar below a certain point. It provides more white-space around your content making it easier to read. I think the urge to fill up empty space with stuff is in fact the biggest culprit when it comes to clutter ;)
@ Paul: You’re more than welcome to disagree — the counter-arguments have been really interesting and thought-provoking for me.
Re: 5. It is possible that they increase subscriptions but I guess that’s hard to measure. If it were the case then I’d probably excuse them from the clutter cull because subscribers are so valuable. I guess I was operating on the assumption that people who read feeds know how to extract them from the universal icon, but that could be wrong.
Re: 6. They do serve a purpose when it comes to social proof but my rationale was that the social proof benefit wasn’t worth the clutter (they do tend to take up a lot of space). I’ll agree with you, some good arguments have been made in favor of this one.
Your point about the restaurant is true but I think social proof mainly resides in the number of comments on individual posts and in having a high feed count, and no amount of uncluttering will (or should) remove those core elements.
@ Dave Lucas: Thanks Dave, that was really interesting. I guess I was approaching some of those points you disagreed with from the perspective of only considering reader benefit. There are certain elements of clutter that can be more convenient for the blogger that you’ve identified, so if you are taking your own convenience into account there will be a stronger argument to keep a lot of those elements, I definitely agree.
Thanks Skellie, Appreciate the Mini Review :-)
The cloud is a tag cloud and not a category cloud and since I show my tags no where else I figured it would be a good way to add a little jazz and something to play with for those just exploring.
I sort of like the recent comments although you do have a point about them not being terribly useful. Perhaps I should look for something to replace them with.
The archives will go to their own page eventually. Only with only 4 months of blogging am I not sure it makes sense to do that already. Perhaps I could make it work thought.
The popularity stats sort of appeals to me. It doesn’t really make sense to display them in individual posts though so again if I can find something better I will.
Renaming the Asides (which I am sure not even all bloggers know what is) have been on my mind. Only can I not come up with a better name: “Sorta Unrelated, but still somehow related” is just too long :-)
Before the redesign it was much worse so scoring high on a few points is something I can live with.
Thanks again!!!
Hey Jan, don’t worry about replacing your recent comments widget with something else if you decide to remove it. The point is to remove clutter, after all ;) Don’t be afraid of a little white-space.
Nice! I’m bookmarking this one. You have listed several things that I need to do.
Hey Bloggrrl, thanks for stopping by. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if you blog starts to look more minimalist in the coming weeks ;).
[...] 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog - Skellie writes an extensive post on ways to unclutter your blog. I am not a big fan of clutter myself, because it has a negative affect on user experience. For anyone who wants to say good bye to blog clutter, this is a must read. [...]
I already have the most uncluttered blog on the web :P
P.S. Skellie why aren’t trackbacks showing up? I recently gave you some link love but it hasn’t shown up here.
Nice post skellie. I have saved this list. I have to keep the MBL widget though as it is more for the readers and commenters than myself. People seem to like it there and like seeing their faces. That is the feedback I have received at least.
[...] 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog from skelliewag. This article has a lot of useful information about keeping a clean look on your blog. [...]
@ Mohsin: The trackback is below the comments. Thanks for the love! :)
@ Sara: A lot of bloggers love the MBL widget, that’s true. Glad you enjoyed the post!
[...] but what about the rest of the blog? Cue Skellie. Skellie has written up the most fantastic list of 50 Ways to De-Clutter Your Blog. Whilst I may not agree with them all, I can guarantee that you will find at least a few points [...]
Awesome post, I like how you have created images for your top content, I might do the same ;)
@ Glen: Glad you liked it. I do get a lot of positive feedback on the images so it might be something to try out :)
[...] main motivation for uncluttered my blog is influenced by Skellie’s post about 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog. The post is a little bit broad in assumptions, so I follow only 25+ tips from that post to make [...]
great list Skellie… stumbled it on the 16th to refer back to it … I need to follow the advice on the sidebar …. will be working on it soon…
@ Pearl: Thanks for the stumble — I think I may have added you as a friend on SU. Your site is a little cluttered but certainly not a serious case. Still, will be interesting to see the tips put into practice :)
Hi, Skellie!
Thanks for the excellent advice!
And, by the way…You’ve been stumbled…again!
Regards,
Jeanne
Thanks Jeanne, heading over to your blog now :).
Hi Skellie, great post. There is a bunch of applicable tips that I can use. My most recent post is about organizing the code that you tend to add to your pages when you install a WordPress plugin.
You’ve got a new subscriber. Thanks for the useful content.
Hi Jason, great to hear that you found the post useful. Your blog is pretty clean but anything can be a little less cluttered :)
Hope you enjoy your subscription.
[...] Is your blog becoming a dumping ground for all sorts of junk? Here are 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog [...]
hehe thanks for adding me as a friend and I’ve added you too… I am on that bloggingtofame thing going on and after that is over, I think I can definitely take those two badges out… :)
[...] 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog by Skellie [...]
[...] 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog by Skellie [...]
What I’ve gotten in the habit of doing is creating themes with one sidebar and a big bottom bar. The bottom bar gets cluttered, but it is so far below the fold that it doesn’t have a lot of impact.
What do you think of something like that?
Well, even if I don’t agree with all the suggestions on the list, at least you’re making me think about all of them, which is good. I may say goodbye to some widgety items shortly - thanks to you!
Great list. I will definitely try to implement some of these ideas in to my blog.
@ Engtech: I don’t think ’sweeping clutter under the rug’ is the answer, or at least, a real minimalist would say that anything you’re willing to sweep under the rug is also worth doing away with ;). I do see some useful navigational options there (the Featured Posts are a cool idea). I would probably recommend culling everything below that point, moving the Popular Posts to the sidebar at the expense of something less necessary (perhaps the ‘recently added’ widget?).
One thing I’d also suggest is replacing the landing page with a traditional blog presentation style with content in descending order, from recent to most recent. I think readers will want to get into your content straight away. New readers, who aren’t yet sure whether they should read you or not, probably won’t take the time to read through all the navigational information. You could perhaps put it on a ‘How to use this site’ page, or something similar.
But they’re just my individual preferences so don’t worry about it if you don’t agree. I’ve actually been lurking at your blog for a while so it’s certainly not deterring me or anything ;).
@ Webomatica: I was definitely expecting many (if not everyone) who reads this post to disagree with some of my points, but the main aim was to get people thinking about each one and to make them a little more aware of possible cons. I’m glad it had that effect on you :)
@ Matt Wolfe: Look forward to seeing what you come up with.
[...] from Skelliewag.org wrote “50 tips to Unclutter Your Blog“, which I loved, loved, [...]
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Great Article (as always) Skillie!
I have the MylogLog and BlogCatalog widgets for social proof. I use the ones with lots of small pictures so new visitors can see a number of “faces” of people that read my blog.
What do you think? Is it just taking up space, or a valid form of social proof?
[...] [BLOG] 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog (skelliewag.org, 16 saves, 11 inbound links, 26 diggs) [...]
Hey glblguy. Good question about MyBlog log. I know a lot of bloggers have it there because of perceived social proof but there are a few things to consider:
Each image in the widget is scaled down from their original size. They display smaller, but they’re still the same size as the originals. The first row of images is 53kb all together. If we take that as an average x it by no. of rows that’s 53kb x 10, so your widget is about 530kb!
That’s a lot of loading time for whatever social proof it provides, but I suspect that having it low on your sidebar means most people are likely to look at comments as an indicator first. I think it’s weighing down your sidebar too much to be worth the social proof, but it’s up to you whether it goes or not.
I’m also not sure about the content in your footer ribbon. Theme designers seem to use this as a place to stick everything they can’t fit anywhere else — the equivalent of sweeping elements under the rug. I think anything that you can bear to stick down there is probably clutter anyway.
Hope that gets you thinking, anyway — ultimately what you keep and do away with is up to you :)
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Skellie (sorry typo’ed your name in the first comment).
You are right about size. I noticed last night that my page load times were a lot slower. I actually don’t like having lots of “widgets” on my side, and am a big proponent of Simplicity. I only added it has folks had suggested it was good for social proof.
You have me reconsidering now…not sure if the potential for social proof is worth the slow page loads.
Highly respect your advice, and appreciate you taking the time to reply with an informative response.
By the way, it’s cool to see you on Daily blog tips, congrats!
[...] have only worked my way down to the third link so far, which is 50 tips to unclutter your blog. My sidebar is very full - what links do you like and which annoy you? Should I move the archives [...]
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@ glblguy: My pleasure. As you can probably tell, I do enjoy talking about this stuff ;)
The Daily Blog Tips gig has been great — a nice chance to do some straight down the line meta-blogging, the kind of thing I can’t really do here. Hope you’re enjoying the articles there.
Excellent list. I recently moved my blogging home, and left behind a lot of sidebar clutter in the move, rather along the lines of your recommendations here.
Something else I consider clutter: large header images. Most of them serve mainly to push content down the page, and off the initially visible part of it.
[...] 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog [...]
I can agree with some points that you mentioned and I can agree that some bloggers tend to overload their blogs with silly widgets, but delivering all 50 tips together makes me wanna say - “Erase everything, don’t blog at all”…
Hi Marina. I understand that it can feel like that but there are a lot of great blogs that don’t have any of the ‘clutter’ items on the list. Removing all those items would still leave you with the most essential parts of a blog: the content, the comments, an about page, a contact page, archives, categories, RSS link, and a few other creative things.
I’m also not necessarily advocating erasing everything, but just raising each point to think about and evaluate. The main aim is to get bloggers thinking about the extra stuff they add to their blog :).
Thanks Skellie for an excellent post!
Its amazing - I disagree with just 2 of your points.
24. Adding the email subscription form to another page and just linking to the form page - reduces the number of subscribers. I have tested this out. Every additional step reduces the response rates. A better idea is: to add “Email” inside the text field.
49. All the links that only new visitors are likely to visit should go in the footer. That includes: popular posts, archives, about me and photo. Why clutter valuable sidebar space with things that readers will read only once?
Hi Ankesh, thanks for linking to the post in your Blog Clout round-up. I appreciate it!
Re: 24 — I’m not so sure it takes longer to do it that way. Here’s the process for each, broken down (courtesy DBT).
Form directly on page:
1. Type email address
2. Click on the link
3. Type CAPTCHA letters
4. Click to complete subscription
5. Open email
6. Click on activation link
For accessible via link:
1. Click on the link
2. Type email address
3. Type CAPTCHA letters
4. Click to complete subscription
5. Open email
6. Click on activation link
So it actually takes exactly the same amount of time.
Re: 49 — I’m actually unsure that most new visitors scroll all the way down to the bottom of a site… in fact I’d hazard a guess that few do. My rule is that if you can bear to put content in the nether regions of your blog then you could probably do without it, anyway ;)
Thanks Skellie.
You don’t really need Captcha when you send an activation email. So the steps would be:
1. Type in email
2. Click Submit
3. Open first email
4. And click on confirmation link
Re: footer. Good point. My understanding is this (although I have to do a bit more testing on it…) - When you send a letter via mail - The first thing people read after the headline / salutation is not the first paragraph. But the P.S. line.
If you can design a good footer with contrasting colours, many people who didn’t leave in the first 5-7 seconds will scroll down till the bottom of your blog too.
Mmm… OK Ankesh, you got me on the first point, it does seem to be quicker. But I still think that anyone who was excited enough about your content to receive daily updates would not be perturbed by a sign-up process that took a few more seconds than other ways of doing it. But you say you’ve tested both, and there was a noticeable difference?
I do agree that perhaps most people skip to the P.S. but that’s because most emails are short, the P.S. will be visible on screen (or with a tiny bit of scrolling) and the reader also knows they’re likely to find a conclusion at the end of the piece. 99% of websites don’t have any interesting content in the footer so most users don’t actually know to look for it. If they do see it, they’ll probably stumble down there by accident.
But that’s just my opinion — the new ProBlogger redesign uses the footer ribbon format so maybe it’s actually a good thing, but from a usability perspective I can’t see how it works.
Now, I want to stress, I’m not trying to prove that I’m ‘right’ but just explain my reasoning about both those points. Your arguments in favor of those items were just as convincing so I guess it comes down to a matter of personal taste ;).
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Your list is excellent(!), but seems to take “declutter” as simply removing items. Another type of clutter is a lack of global thought on how what remains is presented.
For example, if you take the various ways one might want to dive into a blog (categories, archives, and search) and present them in a haphazard manner…. say, each in its own typeface/style, separated by wholly unrelated items… that’s a cluttered presentation. A search box can be considered special and separate if it’s placed where a search box is normally found (usually upper right or an uppar area of a sidebar), but otherwise you want some unity.
Another form of clutter is to take original content and present it so that it looks just like an advertisement (in its placement, formatting, etc.).
Another form of clutter is to put all the stuff one would find on the front page and repeat it on each post (list of categories, etc.).
Another form of clutter is to take 2/3rd of the screen real-estate and throw it away so that you can have two short sidebars (of mostly clutter), relegating the whole reason for the page (the post content) into a thin column 1/3rd of the page wide. Whitespace is important when used properly, but only when used properly.
Sort of unrelated to the visual clutter being discussed, another form of clutter is to not noindex non-leaf pages (e.g. the front page) because that causes someone following a link from a search engine to find different content than the search engine found when it indexed the page.
I very much enjoyed your list, and appreciate your having created it, but it’s worth noting that your blog’s presentation is still very cluttered to the point of being called “haphazard.” (Mine is less cluttered, but less shiny and spiffy, so maybe that’s a tradeoff that geeks have to make…..)
Hi Jeffrey, thanks for your detailed response. It’s interesting to hear from someone who thinks this site is cluttered, as I’ve never received anything but positive feedback on its simplicity and usability. I’m really proud of it and wouldn’t change a thing, but it was interesting to hear a very different take on things.
[...] offers up a list of 50 Tips to Unclutter your Blog. Skelliewag.org is the newest addition to my feed reading menu. These tips are great and if you [...]
Thanks Skellie, I enjoyed your article and linked it on my italian weblog, which I am currently redesigning. I have always been an advocate of minimalist and functional design, and the more I grow old, the more I tend to subtract or do without, in my work.
Minimalism has its risks, though: at its worst, it verges on conformism and lacks in personality. White space can also be simply decorative and not functional, and sometimes people tend to sell as minimalist what is, actually, just a bit bland.
Re: 29. Timestamps: on some weblogs these are actually the permalinks, instead of post titles. A solution I also used years ago, but now I regret it: post titles are a much more logical option, for permalinks. So I tend to agree with you: timestamps don’t add much information relevant to posts.
However, I still like timestamps on comments. Looking at this long list here also, they could be useful when you add multiple comments to the same post, especially if comments are not organized as a numbered list.
You might want to re-read what you wrote 2 hours ago, for example, before adding something else to the discussion. Timestamps do provide an “anchoring” system of a sort, especially in long threads.
It’s a minor detail, of course. But I still think they do provide some extra information to the reader.
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Hi Paolo — I can definitely see you’re a fan of simplicity. Your blog is a perfect example of minimalism in action, and there’s nothing bland about it.
In regards to timestamps, I was mainly talking about timestamps that are not permalinked. I do see how dated and timestamped comments could be of use, particularly in a thread with a lot of comments… like this one!
Just stumbled upon this. Great post. Keep up the good work!
[...] Essential Blogging Skills & 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog — I actually came across Skelliewag, through GLBL’s post about her Free Clutter-Busting [...]
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blah, everyone’s got an opinion, I disagree with 90% of what you wrote.
and besides, what kind of creds do YOU have? I never even heard of you till now…
color me unimpressed with this hack you call a blog.
-Me
Hi Chuck — thanks for taking the time to read the post in its entirety and add a comment, even if you disagreed with it.
[...] Simplify your layout to enhance what’s best about your site. [...]
you’ve open my mind..i think to make a little declutter in my sidebar :D
thx yah
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Great Article. I definately am in need of declutter management lol. I have bookmarked your site and will be implementing some of your suggestions. Now what I need is declutter info for my house. Got any of that? lol
Thanks for the tips it will be put to use, from the post your article did its job …got us all to dig a little deeper to see what our blogs need. I will be returning for future articles.
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Great post, now I have to go and do some housekeeping. I thought I had uncluttered the sidebar but realize I may have just thrown more crap on it.
Great tips. I’ve got a new theme coming soon and I plan on doing a LOT of housekeeping when I put it in place. This list will be very helpful. Thanks! :)
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Great list. There are definitely some blogs in need of cleaning out there.
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Skellie, this is a fabulous list of suggestions. I only started my blog a few weeks ago and quickly rejected a lot of the cluttering options. It’s nice to have someone else confirm my instincts! I don’t have enough content yet for the archives to be a problem, but I will definitely be moving them to another page by the end of the year.
I think you’re spot on about the categories, but that’s also my biggest weakness. Since I cover a fair number of topics, I end up making each one into its own category so that users can quickly find their favorite television show in the sidebar (it’s an entertainment blog). But that list is quickly going to become unmanageable, so I’ll have to find a way to shorten it. Thank you for giving me something to think about.
I’ve added you to my RSS subscriptions, as you seem to produce genuinely helpful content.
Great read! As I’m getting ready for 2008 and what I want to offer my readers, this will come in handy.
Now does anyone have an easy way to condense a category list at the same time converting post that lose a category to a new one? ;)
[...] Saturdays there always was clean up day in my family when I was a kid. So I cleaned up my blog or uncluttered it like Skellie would say. I dropped the useless affiliate ads that made no money at all. Moreover [...]
[...] Traducido de 50 Tips to Unclutter Your Blog [...]
Great tips! I’m sick of seeing cluttered blogs and I’ll be uncluttering my blog soon. I hope a lot of bloggers will follow the tips.
This should be required reading for all bloggers. Great list!
I wish certain bloggers could see how their pages load while surfing on a slower connection…not all of us have high speed internet.
The beauty of a simple clean design rules!
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Hello, very nice site, keep up good job!
Admin good, very good.
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