Five Things You Should Not Do On Your Home Page

Blog design is what makes or breaks your blogging success.

Most bloggers don’t invest money on the design part; they expect money from blogging without actually investing a penny. That’s the major reason most bloggers fail!

If you want to give better user experience, spend time and money on the design elements of your blog(s).

Most people immediately press X button on their browsers after seeing cluttered home pages. If you want to avoid it, here are few things that you should not to do on your home page.

Badly Designed Logo

A professional logo is a must if you are serious about making money blogging, no exception whatsoever. A bad logo or no logo creates a really bad impact on the online readers.

When someone first lands on your site what do you think creates great impression? It is your blog design; especially the logo is the first thing that anyone notices. So invest some money on creating an appealing logo for your blog(s); either hire a professional logo designer or use Fiverr services to create a great logo for $5.

Not having a Tagline

How can someone easily understand about your site within less time? Does your blog give an easy description within 3 seconds? If not, it’s time for you to create an elevator pitch or tagline for your website or blog.

Creating a great tagline for your blog isn’t easy especially if you are unaware of your targeted audience.

Here are 3 simple ways to create a great tagline for your blog:

First know your target audience
Analyze what you can do for them (through your blogs)
Create a tagline according to that using 3 to 5 words

And that’s it!

Say No to Pop Up’s

Why anyone should care about your popup’s if they are surrounded by so much of digital information? Don’t expect someone to like your Facebook page (Facebook popup) or sign up to your email list without knowing much about your site. Especially home page popup’s are more annoying, they can kill your blog growth and user experience.

If you really provide great value to your readers, they will do whatever you say, agree? Yes, promoting your products or optin form and displaying it all over the blog is good, but don’t make it bad by showing annoying popup’s. Even if you are a lover of popup’s, make them cute (less annoying) and make sure you are not displaying them to already connected people.

Too Many Widgets in the Sidebar

Sidebar is the most distracting thing on any blog design; if used right, sidebar is the most converting place on your blog.

You can convert normal readers into subscribers
You can sell more products by giving exceptional visibility
You can turn people to Facebook fans or
You can briefly describe about your site

But most people, especially the new bloggers simply clutter their blog’s sidebar by filling it up with unwanted widgets or plugins. They use almost every widget that they find fancy under the sun. You know what? It works! It works as a readership destroyer.

If you want to give a great first impression, then make sure you are using as less space as possible on your sidebar. Less is more in blog design, minimalism is the latest trend!

If you are thinking what to place on your sidebar, here are few suggestions.

Display your email optin form (email list is a must for any serious blogger)
Show an easy way to connect with you on social media sites like Facebook, twitter, G+ etc
Display your popular posts
Put most converting ads
You can also display ‘resources’ that you use on your blog

Worst Usage of Footer

Footer is also one of the most noticeable parts of your blog. When you fill the footer with all the unwanted links and widgets, your visitors will go away immediately after reaching your blogs.

Make sure you are focusing on two primary things on your blogs (before creating the perfect footer that can bring you more conversion rates).

One is: What is the first thing you want from your visitors or readers? (For most bloggers it is: email list)

Other is: What is the second thing you want from your visitors or readers? (It can be anything from clicking on your tweets to reading your most popular posts).

Use the above two cases while creating your footer and don’t use too many links to make your footer look crazy.

Do you have any more points? Please share them below; I would love to hear your advice.

Here’s a post that talks about blog design and conversion: How to design a blog that converts

Or watch this presentation

Like this presentation? Feel free to embed this on your blog. Use the code below!

Ian Mason is the owner of Web Hosting Billboard. He loves to write articles related to SEO, web hosting and software development.

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http://www.blogingrace.com/ Vijesh

Hi Ian,
Nice tips on how not to spoil our home page. Facebook popup is been used widely by many bloggers but I know it is very annoying and irritating, it is like increasing the bounce rate all by ourselves. I should also mind to give the footer a professional look.
- http://www.probloggingsuccess.com/ Jane Sheeba
  
  Vijesh, yes recently Facebook pop up is quite annoying in most blogs. I don’t know if its a bug but most of those pop ups cannot be closed!
- http://www.mindthenews.com Juuhhii Agrawal
  
  True…in fact I hate any kind of pop up as and when it arises…..when it arises on each and every page i browse i just hate that site enough to want to delete it forever………..
http://www.youwantinfo.com Rahul

Hi Ian,
You are rights. Popups are really annoying, especially when they occur repeatedly. I don’t even visit those blogs who apply this tricks to get likes or increase followership.
- http://www.probloggingsuccess.com/ Jane Sheeba
  
  Ha, Rahul that’s right. This is yet another issue with popups - they appear even if you have already subscribed!
Grace

This is very important tips that help the blogger knows what to do.
Home page is headline of the whole blog. Thank you for this tips it would include keywords to have a nice home page that attracts readers.
- http://www.probloggingsuccess.com/ Jane Sheeba
  
  You’re welcome Grace!
http://www.slymarketing.com Jens P. Berget

Great tips Ian. I have been experimenting with a tagline for a while, but that part is difficult, and I still haven’t found the one I want to use. And, when it comes to pop-ups, I agree with you, and even though I am still using them (because they convert really well), I have set mine to show only after people have been spending a long time on my blog.
- http://www.probloggingsuccess.com/ Jane Sheeba
  
  Jens you’re right. Even though popups are annoying they convert well! So its good to set them in an un-annoying manner. Making them display at the end of the post (Like Pippity) or after a set time delay is a great idea.
http://www.knowitwhat.com Ashutosh

Absolutely true, the role of the homepage is same important as that of the content.
This is due to the fact, when any user visits your site, the first thing his eyes catch is your homepage, theme, it’s looks, widgets. Really very informative post
keep sharing!!!
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Ashutosh,
  We say content is king for any blog, but if my homepage is not attractive, people will never read my content.
  
  Thanks for the comment.
suryabhan

hi Ian
As i just started my blog so i am gonna use these tips from starting. All points are great but among all i found SAY NO TO POP point most worthy because if i open any site and i found pop up ads their i get iterated and just close the site and move to next site. use of pop up ads may increase your clicks on ads but user will never prefer your site again as he we get irritated from the pop-up ads that is what i think .
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Suryabhan,
  I am sure these points will help you to make your blog better. All the best.
- http://www.mindthenews.com Juuhhii Agrawal
  
  Hey Suryabhan…..
  All I can tell you is all the best n its a very competitive field…along with your homepage I would suggest to also edit your content so as to make your blog better……
http://www.digitalinformationworld.com/ irfan

Good ideas Ian Mason, personally I hate popup whether it be on home page or any other post page.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Irfan,
  I am glad that you liked the article.
  
  Thanks.
pieter

home page is the first page which is crawled by search engine it has to be perfect and according to google norms for a successful SEO campaign
- Ian Mason
  
  Hey Pieter,
  Whether it is crawled by the search engines or not, is a different issue. The main thing is that we must concentrate on the Audience of our blog. So, the above factors will be helpful in the second case.
  
  Thanks for the comment.
http://www.barry-wells.com Barry Wells

Hi Ian,

You’ve shared some great tips here. I especially like the mentions about pop ups, they’re a pet hate of mine. In my view they take the readers attention away from our content, which is what we want the readers to take in.

I know that they work when set up right but so many people just slap them up.

I totally agree with you about over loaded sidebars and footers, another pet hate and most of them look a mess anyway.

Thanks Ian,
Barry
- Ian Mason
  
  Hey Barry,
  I am glad that you liked my article. As far as POP-UPs are concerned, just go through the comments in this article, and you will find out many haters; we are not the only one who hate it
  
  Thanks.
http://onenaijablog.com Babanature

Nice Post lan,
Pop ups are bad but depend on how you use it. Your blog should be like your house or like your baby that you should treat with care and make it as neat as possible. Thanks for this lovely post and do have a lovely weekend
- Ian Mason
  
  Thanks for your comment, mate
http://www.notordinaryblogger.com Okto

Hi Ian,

Great tips you gave here!
I do agree about taglines.
In the virtual world, there’s no time for cool tagline. People who don’t know us, our business, our products or our services land on our website. In a fraction of a second, they decide whether to leave or to stay.
We need to start building a tagline with the purpose of our site. Decide what we have to offer. Decide the focus of our site and stick with it.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hey Okto,
  I am glad that you agree with me. Taglines have become important for any blog or website, so I advise everyone to focus on Tagline part of their business.
  
  Thanks.
http://www.varshyltech.com Anil Kumar

Nice points, specially pop up issue irritates common visitors like me. Blog owners always look the blog throught users’ eye!
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Anil,
  I agree with you, blog owners should look at their blogs from the point of view of the visitors.
  
  Thanks.
http://www.gadgetbooth.com Jordan Singh

Hello,

Excellent post! Yeah homepage design must be clean to attract the visitors. The first thing which annoy most of the visitors is popups and secondly the page loading speed.

However we should first consider making our blog’s home clean and simple.

thanks
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Jordan,
  I agree with you, Blog owners must consider to make their homepage clean and simple.
  
  Thanks.
Pramod

Hi Ian,
Nice post. from your Post i have got some idea about my home page.I have done lots of mistake in my home page. I will resolve this problem…
thanks for sharing this Article ian.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Pramod,
  I am glad that you learnt your mistakes after reading this article. All the best dude.
  
  Thanks.
http://www.globalcraze.com/ Chetan Gupta

Yeah you are right,
Without tagline, No one can guess about a blog in 3 seconds.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Chetan,
  Haha, you got my point. This is a very simple yet common mistake; Blog owners ignore this part completely.
  
  Thanks for your comment buddy.
yogesh pant

yes, the presentation of your blog should be done by a very keen analysis of the readers that visit your site. Your site should shun the usage of the pop-ups in the homepage and should not use too many sharing links either. The perfectly designed logo and a eye-catching tagline will be of the great help.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Yogesh,
  Yes, I agree with you. The presentation of our blog should be done by a very keen analysis of the readers that visit our site.
  
  Thanks for the comment.
http://www.AffiliateHelp.Info Jon Rhodes

My biggest pet peeve is when video or audio plays (usually loudly) automatically. I’ve talked with quite a few people about this and nearly everyone does the same - immediately click back and never return.
- http://www.probloggingsuccess.com/ Jane Sheeba
  
  Oh yes, Jon. I do all my very best to jump out of such sites as soon as possible They’re not only annoying to us, but if we had the speakers on, it can scare the hell out of others at our company!
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Jon,
  Yes, those video ads are very irritating. I simply hate those sites which use video ads that starts automatically.
  
  Thanks for your comment.
- http://www.mindthenews.com Juuhhii Agrawal
  
  agree with you Jon……
  I jst wish I cud kill the admin at the time that happens……..
http://www.flakesfusion.com/ Imtiaj

Too many ads on the homepage also hurts. It confuses visitors where to click next.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Imtiaj,
  That is a good point. Too many ads are also not good for any homepage.
  
  Thanks for your comment buddy.
Ralph Blunk

Hi Ian,

I totally agree with you. My mistake is having too much widgets in the sidebar. Now, I already made significant changes and I’m happy with the results.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Ralph,
  I am glad that you learnt your mistake from this article and have also implemented it. All the best.
- http://www.mindthenews.com Juuhhii Agrawal
  
  too many widgets do 2 things…….
  they make your site look ugly
  they also help to confuse your visitors……
  i usually avoid them like a plague……..
http://nopassiveincome.com/ Erik Emanuelli

Good post, Ian.
I completely agree with you.
Above all, pop-ups. I hate them.
Sometimes I visit a website for the first time, and I need to leave right away, due to a boring pop-up!!!
Thanks for sharing, nice content, Ian.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hey Erik,
  I am glad that you agree with me. Pop-up’s are irritating, but most newbie bloggers still use it. They don’t understand the fact that most of the people hate pop-ups.
  
  Thanks.
saanvi

I simply love this. There ain’t no two ways about it, if the above “Rules” are ignored than a sites overall SEO will suffer…and more important is the immediate withdrawal of most site visitors…These turn offs equal lager bounce rates…
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Saanvi,
  
  Thanks for your comment.
http://webloggerz.com/ Ansh

Right Sheeba, Homepage is the most important page and it has to be fast loading and lesser in size.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Ansh,
  I agree with you that the homepage should load very fast.
  
  Thanks for your comment.
http://www.tauedu.org/school-of-nursing.html Lavindra

from your Post I actually have got some plan regarding my home page.I have done ample mistake in my home page
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Lavindra,
  I am glad that my post helped you to understand your mistakes.
  
  Thanks.
http://www.templatesreview.com Evan

Great great great, as always, you know I just toyed with a free logo creator, the first one that appeared in Google search and it is so easy to create a decent logo with no money and just a bit of creative mind that I’m really surprised how come people/ blog owners just neglect this LOGO rule and go for something standard…
- Ian Mason
  
  Hey Evan,
  They do neglect it, even when there are hell lot of ways to get a logo, free as well as paid.
  
  Thanks.
Sarah

You’re right Jane on the point mostly newbies fill up the sidebar with unwanted widgets/ plugins. Yes it is correct i did the same too when i was newbie 5years ago :D.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hey Sarah, This article has been written by me, LOL
  
  Yes, newbies often make this mistake, even I did the same mistake
  
  Thanks.
http://incometherapy.com Jeremy Norton

I usually get irritated of pop-ups in a blog especially those which I cannot see the “x” button right away. That is really a big no-no in a website.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Jeremy,
  I liked the way you said “That is really a big no-no in a website”
  
  Yes, I also have the same feeling when I visit these types of website. That’s why I added it as one of the points in this article.
  
  Thanks.
http://coversphotos.com/ Ritivik

Logo and popup windows this two things are irritated to user most when they was land to website home page if they are not properly designed in your website. Design beautiful logo for your website and try keep away from popup for batter user engagement.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Ritivik,
  It is a fact that Pop-ups are very irritating. Still, people use it, maybe because the conversion rate is good. However, we should think from the point of view of the visitor.
  
  Thanks for your comment.
- http://www.mindthenews.com Juuhhii Agrawal
  
  i dont think logo irritates….
  in fact its one of the easiest way to make your blog memorable which prompts users to come on your blog again n again……..
  if u hav a proper logo that is………
hiren

thanks for sharing your knowledge. home page is very important page for any website so using your tips i quite some mistakes in my website. thank u.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hey Hiren,
  I am glad to hear that you followed my tips. All the best for your blog.
  
  Thanks.
marytlou

Pop ups are annoying and so is a badly placed a badly designed, placed logo. I personally agree these should not be placed on Home Page otherwise audience will not go further than the Home Page and leave. Thanks for the guidelines.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Marytlou,
  POP-UPs are very annoying and I can understand that; most of the comments on this article have been about POP-UPs. People simply hate it
  
  Thanks.
http://www.leonbailey.me/ Leon

Great read! I agree with everything. I don’t have an actual tagline per say. Its included on my logo.
- Ian Mason
  
  Hello Leon,
  If it is included in your logo, then the job is done. The point is to make the visitors understand what your blog is all about.
  
  Thanks for the comment.
  - Leon
    
    Good! I am not an outcast then! lol. No problem at all! I respect good reading!
http://www.parfum.my Aman

Hello Jane, thanks for sharing. I can briefly say, The homepage is what many people see when first entering a website, and it can lead to a lasting impression (negative or positive) that can affect their decision to return to it.
Max Sebring

This is very informative. Actually, I am planning to invest on redesigning my blog. This article is a go signal for me. Thanks for sharing!
http://www.mindthenews.com Jhanvi Gautam

i find this post very interesting….
i m a new blogger n dis one has successfully helped me to customize my site……
thankx for sharing……..
http://www.swiftprintuk.com mitchell

thanks jane for sharing too important writeup with us as home page is amongst the first part which got notice by search engine for better indexing its surely have to meaningful and shows the exact idea behind the website
http://teckop.blogspot.com Teckop

First of all i want to appreciate you for being a problogger!
A blogger or webmaster has to launch his site after all the editing work has been finished. If he always change the design it tells that he is just a beginner, not an expert. The design must be cool and seo optimized to make the users get attracted.