Many of the top notch companies hire usability experts to make sure that the products which they build are user friendly. Usability tests will be performed and the results will be used to make the necessary modifications in the interface and the work flow. When it comes to blogs there are some simple usability tricks which will enhance the user experience. The average attention span of a reader is very less and it is hard to make an impression in those few seconds. Apart from the basic pointers like having a proper about page, contact page here are some usability pointers which you may want to implement in your weblog.

1. The F-Pattern

F-Pattern

Image: SURL

According to the results of the eyetracking study conducted by usability guru Jakob Nielsen the reading pattern on the web is more or less in a F-Pattern. The first few lines of your post should convey the essence of what you are trying to say. If you have noticed many advertisers prefer this region to place their huge banner/CPM ads. Whether to use that space for advertising or to grab the user attention is a decision which is up to you. If you have a catchy image related to the post it is also wise to post it in the top region. You can install a click tracking script like crazyegg to analyze what your readers click on.

2. Proper URL structure
The URL should say what your post is about. If you are using WordPress it is better to have domain/post-name [Eg:socialcouch.com/web-usability-for-blogs] rather than having some random number appended. The permalink structure can be easily edited from the WordPress dashboard. The domain/post-name is also search engine friendly and will help your content to get indexed easily.

3. Remove Unwanted Widgets
The web page real estate is very precious and never waste it by placing some unwanted widgets. More importantly widgets which make use of flash, silverlight etc should be avoided. This will not only make your blog look ugly but at the same time it will increase the page load time.

4. Stop Ad Blasting
It is understandable that every blogger wants to monetize his/her blog but it should not be done in a compromising way. The ad placement should not hinder the page navigation for the user. It is always better to disclose that a certain link or banner is an advertisement. It is a common practice among bloggers to make the ads look similar to the blog content so as to improve the click through rate but this should be performed in an informed manner. Auto playing video ads or ads which produce sound are a big no-no!

5. Search Engine Juice
Search engines are a huge traffic source for any website but the content should be written keeping human readers in mind rather than bots. Using unnecessary keywords inside the post with the hope of improving the search engine results should be avoided. The users will definitely get annoyed if they irrelevant text or links which pop out of no where.  At the same time it is good practice to link relevant posts written in the past within the articles.

6. Easy Navigation and Accesibilty

The first time user should be able to spot the things which he is looking for easily. For example the feed subscription button should be placed in a highly visible location in the first fold. It is also advisable to present the about page, social media profiles and all other things which you feel important in the top naviagtion menu. The user should be able to easily comment on any blog post and the optimal place to put the ‘Post Commemt’ link is at the end of the post and not ater the title although having it in both places doesn’t harm. At any given point the user should be able to reach the home page with a single click. The logo or the banner should be hyperlinked to the main URL of the blog. One other good practice is to display your best articles in a prominent region.

7. Themes, Colors and Fonts

Choosing the right theme is definitely one of the key usability aspects for blogs. It is the one which will reflect and present all your content to the reader. The theme which you choose should be compatible with all web standards. The colors used should be pleasant to the eye and it should not hinder the readability of the posts. Having dark text on a light background is generally preferred and most of the users find it comfortable. If you choose the right theme you can stop worrying about the colors and the fonts as they will be built accordingly. Check My Colors is a nice website which will help you to analyze the color contrasts on your page. The theme which you choose should be compatible in the maximum number of web browsers possible.

I am trying to make Social Couch as user friendly as possible and if you ask me if i have implemented these principles, the answer is NO but i am trying to! This is definitely not a complete list and if you have any other points to improve the usability factor for blogs do post it in the comments.