Sidebars are an essential part of any website design, as they provide navigation and other important information to your visitors. Unfortunately, there are some common sidebar mistakes that can be easily avoided, as well as some simple solutions for correcting them. In this article, we’ll take a look at what those mistakes are, and how to fix them.
- Not Making the Sidebar Visible and Easy to Access
The biggest and most common mistake made with sidebars is not making them easily visible to visitors. Sidebars should be placed prominently, either on the left or right side of the page, in order to be easy to spot. This will result in more visitors visiting and using the sidebar, which can help with overall website navigation.
- Overwhelming Visitors with Too Much Content
Another common mistake is putting too much content in your sidebar. This can easily overwhelm your visitors and result in them leaving your site before they’ve had a chance to explore. To avoid this, make sure to only include relevant and necessary information in your sidebar, leaving out anything that isn’t absolutely essential.
- Ignoring Responsive Design
Making sure that sidebars are designed for different screen sizes is another key factor for website success. With more and more people using mobile devices to access the internet, sidebars need to be optimized for different sizes and be optimized for touchscreens as well.
- Outdated Content
Finally, simply maintaining your sidebar content is key to keeping your visitors engaged. Make sure to regularly update any static content such as contact information and any links to other pages or external sites. This will help keep your site fresh and make sure your visitors always have the most up-to-date information.
By taking the time to avoid these commonly made sidebar mistakes, you’ll be able to better engage your visitors and provide them with a more enjoyable user experience.