What do you think, are Ads more important than content?
I think there’s a balance.
Sure, Ads serve a purpose to promote a product and service and make money. But when the Ads over run the website, the content gets lost. This makes it difficult to really get an idea of who the owner is and what the website’s purpose and message is.
People like to know who they are visiting and what resonates with them. I often think blog owners forget or not aware of the importance of writing for viewers – not just showcasing themselves and what they have to offer.
People are smart. They know what they’re looking for and want. If you’ve been following my posts, you know I write a lot about the viewer experience and their short attention span. If I come across a website that is overly, visually busy, I’ll move on – so will other viewers.
So, let’s take a look at this website – https://serenityyou.com/ – and I’ll share some suggestions.
At first glance, this site looks inviting. I like the tree image in the header. It’s simple and easy to read and the message is clear – It’s all about lifestyle.
Blog posts are on the home page which I think having them on a different page would be better. I think the homepage should be a clear introduction to what the website offers.
I was attracted to this post “Feeling Happy in My Own Skin” and I enjoyed the given tips, So my visual journey began BUT I was immediately distracted by all the ADs within the post and on the sidebar. I didn’t know where to look now and more importantly, I stopped reading the post. My eyes were scattering about . . .
I like this website. It has an Alexa rank of 417, 166 and many comments, organic traffic which is good. The owner writes a post just about everyday which is VERY good and increases the site’s ranking. The owner is involved in many promotions for parents, family, children, and related products as well as promoting other websites. But the Ads, promotions are everywhere which is very visually confusing.
My thoughts are this is a nice messaging website – serenity evokes calmness. But all the ADs all over the place dominating space is screaming – look, look, look! Which is the opposite of calm, right?
This blog has the potential of presenting a serine and useful site overall if it were organized better. Many websites are unorganized and switching things around can create a positive shift enhancing a visitors visual experience.
Some suggestions
- Check the theme. What options do you have to change the layout?
- What kind of theme support do you have? Many times support can help you change the layout of your website.
- Are you using a free theme? You may want to purchase it to get the support for it.
To emphasize content more on this website I would recommend
- black text color to make it stand out
- increase the font size to maybe 16. This will make the content bolder, more noticeable, and easier to read to the viewer.
Here’s a drawing I did for more suggestions in moving pages around and organizing the homepage better.
Homepage
We want to keep the softness of this website by creating an introduction to viewers that puts them at ease and in a calm state just by looking at the layout of the homepage.
- An organized menu and categories
- Blog page – listing all posts instead of the homepage
- Shop page – where all the links to Ads are. Now the owner of this blog has MANY links to various products and is overwhelming.
- Quiet the sidebar or not have one at all on a single post.
Viewers rule the internet – period. That’s why research on viewers what they like, creating customer avatars, using SEO and keyword tactics are so valuable. Because you’re trying to attract viewers! So thinking about how you can keep viewers attention on your blog requires designing a website with the viewer in mind.
