Are bloggers killing themselves with their designs?
Note: I am writing this more for myself so first off I don’t lose the linked post I talk about in this post. As well I think it is a valid discussion bloggers should be having.
The blogging world is wide and varied and when it comes to blog layout we are seeing some shift away from the typical top to bottom reverse chronological displays. More of the news type sites are experimenting with a magazine style made famous by Brian Gardner with his Revolution theme for Wordpress.
On the whole though the reverse chronology layout of content remains the rule of thumb for the vast majority of bloggers. However there are rumblings that this hallowed ideal of blogging may not be the best for that majority of bloggers and one of the best posts I have read so far on the subject is by Chris Pearson.
Darn near every blog is the same, and this is thanks to the fact that just about every Content Management System (CMS) on the planet has the same default IA structure for blogs. Generally speaking, blogs are presented in reverse chronological order – that is, the newest, freshest content is presented first.
Unfortunately, this setup is speeding towards antiquity. It works for news sites, but unless your site falls under this heading, then I’m going to suggest that this is likely not the best setup for you! With that in mind, what’s the problem here?
Chris goes on to lay out a really good argument as to why bloggers should seriously consider bucking the status quo of blog design and start thinking about their content from the incoming reader’s point of view.
I know it has got me thinking.
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October 18th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
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October 19th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Interesting perspective, but you didnt mention the alternatives you are currently considering?
I’ve been having a think about incoming readers, and in all fairness most of my content is written in a way that isnt really bound by time. These are general business and life lessons that i am sharing, and will affect different people at different points in their lives.
One thing im using currently is “Popular posts” the plugin for Wordpress, but i really need to experiment in this area much more.
Would be interested to hear your updates when you find something more conclusive
Regards
October 19th, 2009 at 11:15 am
The thing is that I really am only in the ‘trying to figure this out myself’ stage and don’t have any concrete ideas at this point. When I do however I’ll make sure to follow-up this post.