Last week we talked about the major fatal mistake that most businesses are making – this is going to take it a step further by talking about the types of things you should and shouldn’t have in your sidebar.
When you plan the types of things you want to have in your sidebar, you’ll need to rearrange them so that the most important are “above the fold”. {Above the fold is just a fancy way of saying that they need to be at the top of the page without having to scroll down}. Before you start plunking down your widgets, you’ll need to consider the goals of your website. If you’re hoping to get people to follow you on your social media platforms, you’ll want those little suckers up near the top of the page. If you want people to start buying your products, that’s what needs to be near the top.
If there’s a widget that doesn’t serve a purpose, don’t use it! Two that come to mind that I often see is tag clouds and archives. Archives definitely have their place on a website, but I’ve never come across a reason for a business to plop a tag cloud in their sidebar.
Need some ideas on what to put in the sidebar?
:: a list of popular articles
:: social media icons
:: newsletter opt in
:: buttons for your products
:: a search button
:: press mentions
:: a video
:: RSS feed
And whatever you do, make sure you take the time to track what’s going on within your sidebar. If people aren’t clicking, trying changing things up, moving things around or removing certain things that don’t do well.
Let’s hear it – what’s in your sidebar?
