“How can you improve a site so that it is more user-friendly, drives traffic, and encourages reader loyalty?”

I was recently asked this question by some good friends who are starting a blog.  I thought it would be helpful to post the feedback I shared with them here, in the event that it can help others who are also setting up a new blog.

Keep in mind that these tips are definitely not all-inclusive.  There are many other things (like content, to name one, haha) that are needed for a blog to be successful.  I’ll save those topics for a future post.  In the meantime, here are “Six Ways to Make Your Blog More User-Friendly”:

1) Add Photos:

Photos tell a thousand words.  In addition, photos help to break up a long text post, making your post more interesting and user-friendly.  You can use (free) photos from Flickr that are designated as “Creative Commons” so long as you attribute the photo as requested.

(How cool - this photo happened to be on Flickr’s homepage today: it’s a creative commons photo by Kris Krug, one of the fantastic speakers who presented at Gnomedex last month. Congrats for making Flickr’s homepage, Kris! Super cute photo : ) )

2) Choose a Good Theme:

There are a lot of great (and free) professional themes for WordPress on the Web. It may take some time to find a theme that best suits your site, but it’s worth the time since a good theme provides a better user experience.

The key to a user-friendly theme is to make it aesthetically interesting and easy to navigate.  White/light backgrounds are the best because they make reading a LOT easier.

The easiest way to find a free theme is to do a Google search for the keywords: “free wordpress theme”.  Alternatively, when you come across a blog you like that is powered by WordPress, check out who designed the theme.  In many cases, the designer has other themes that are different but have a similar caliber, quality, and style.

3) Add Video.

Video is really engaging and it’s an area that’s exploding these days. Video can bring life to your site, so consider ways to incorporate video.  For example, do you have an “About Me” section? Instead of a written description, how about creating a video to tell people what you and your blog are about?

Microsoft Movie Maker comes (free) with Windows XP and Vista operating systems.  Apple users can use the pre-installed Apple iMovie.  Both products are fairly easy to use, free, and produce great results.

4) Page Navigation:
Take a look at other sites you like - what pages do they have?  Depending on the purpose of your blog, you may need different kinds of pages.  For social activist sites that aim to create community around social action, some page ideas include:

• “About This Blog” (to let people know what to expect from your blog)
• “About Me” or “About the Team” (so that people know who is behind the blog
• “Contact” (so that visitors can get in touch with you)
• “Get Involved” (or some kind of “call to action” for non-profit blogs)
• “Events” (if you host or organize events)

5) Subscription via RSS:

To make it easy for visitors to receive your latest posts, set up an RSS feed and put an easy to see RSS icon on your blog in a visible location.  You can register your site with Feedburner, and follow the steps noted there to get your site set up.

6) Incorporate Social Media:

Social media is on fire these days!  It makes blogs a lot more fun, and provides a great way to drive traffic and build community.  There are so many social networking sites to choose from - it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

Getting started with social media is like learning to ride a bike: start small - with training wheels, until you get comfortable. Then, try a bigger bike - or step up your engagement with social media to a higher level.  In the beginning, start small.

If you want to make your blog more interactive by using social media, some common social media tools to consider adding to your blog include:

• Twitter: Twitter is a way to share thoughts and ideas, making it perhaps one of the best platforms for engaging in conversation and establishing and building relationships with others online.  There are a lot of great existing blog posts on “how to twitter”, so be sure to check those out. If you’d like to share your latest twitter conversations with visitors to your blog, you can add a “twitter badge” to your site to show your recent conversations.  Twitter helps to raise awareness of your blog, and gives others an easy way to talk with you.
• Blog Communities: sites like MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog provide a great way to help others find out about your blog.  You can put a badge on your site that shows who has visited your site and who has joined your community.
• Video Comments: there’s a great plug-in by Seesmic that makes it possible for visitors to leave you video comments. This is really fun and a great way to add interactivity to your site.
• Flickr: People love to see photos and you can create community and raise brand/blog awareness through a photo community you establish at Flickr.  On your blog, you can add a Flickr badge so that your most recent photos show up on your blog.
• Distribute & Share Your Blog: I recommend making it easy for visitors to share your blog posts with others.  A great plug-in that helps distribute blog content is called “Share This“. Be sure to check it out, it’s fantastic!

The tips mentioned above are a few worth considering as you set-up your blog.  Keep in mind again, that it’s important to start small and evolve as your skill and comfort level increases.

I’m sure there are a bunch more tips to add, please feel free to add any tips I missed by leaving a note in the comments below!

P.S. Interesting how in the process of thinking about tips to help my friends, I realized that this blog could also use some of these tips, like photos and video. Stay tuned …

; )