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It’s time for another bitch-fest blogging gripes post! In the past, I’ve complained about grammar and spelling mistakes and I’ve come right out and told you why I won’t read your blog. Today I’m focusing mostly on the visual appeal of your blog.
Visual Appeal is Essential
The way your blog looks is important. I’ve talked about themes and color schemes before, and they are all important, but today I’m going to talk about something that can take away all your hard work in a flash: Ugly pictures.
Ugly Ads
While advertisers may get good response for pimply skin pictures, pale, bloated and hairy bellies, and other ugly photos, it turns me off of the blog that I’m trying to read. It’s bad enough when these pictures are in the sidebar, but more and more often I see them either at the top of the post, or pocketed within the post. Yuck. I not only will not click on that ad, I might not be back to see more. This is one of the milder ones. Please, not in the middle of your recipe.
Enough with the popups already!
Are you old enough to remember the early days of the internet? Sadly, I am, and I remember popups were the most hated thing on the world wide web. So hated that finally someone gave us the ability to Shut Them Down. Apparently that is no longer an option. Popups abound.
Yes, I have a popup on this blog. One. That is designed to pop up every 20 visits or so. That takes up a couple inches. I’m still a little conflicted about that popup, but it has increased my mailing list so for now it stays.
Some sites have three or four popups. Or one that continually re-pops up. Or huge ones that takeover the whole page. I guess the site owners think they’re worth it. Not to me, as a blogger or as a reader.
Crazy Related Posts
I know you’ve seen them. Usually at the end of a blog post, sometimes on the sidebar, captioned “related” or “don’t miss!” Horrible pictures and stories.
Seriously? No, I do not also like.
Sloppy Sidebar
I may be a little over the top, but it drives me crazy if all my sidebar ads and badges are not centered. I’m a little bothered when the sizes are off too, but I haven’t fixed any of that lately.
If that doesn’t bother you then fine. But do try to make sure that your sidebar is neat, the links work, and you don’t have a lot of outdated stuff.
Bad photos
Several months ago, I prefaced a recipe for vegan and gluten-free brownies with a story about my fall while running. It included a couple pictures of my bloody knee. I followed that recap with my recipe, which included nice photos of the brownies. One commenter noted that seeing the bloody photos made her sick to her stomach. She had a good point (even though she was quite rude about it), and I took down the photos.
Yeah, I know we’re not all Ansel Adams. And I admit I’m not the greatest photographer in the blogosphere. But I do try. I first try to take the best picture possible, then edit it as necessary to correct lighting and color flaws. And if I have one I want to use for Pinterest, I make sure it’s the right size, overlay it with text, and label it so that an interesting description will show up when it’s shared.
I wrote a whole post about Pinterest mistakes, but apparently some people aren’t listening in regards to bad photography, and small, dark, generally ugly photos. Think of the big picture when you’re taking your pictures. You may not use Pinterest, but your reader might, and if they pin your great photo, it will benefit you and your blog.
As a side note, if you’re going to participate in Pinterest “sharing” threads, share a great pinnable image that clearly indicates what the blog post is about (or literally states with an overlay of text). I don’t want to pin a close up picture of your face (sorry, even if I love your blog!), or a bad picture of your meal, or anything else that does not represent your post and look professional and attractive.
Not every post is (pick it) Pin/Stumble/Flipboard worthy
I get it that Pinterest is a great marketing tool. And I myself have had success with going viral on both Stumbleupon and, to a lesser extent, Flipboard. But that being said, not every post in pin/stumble/flip worthy.
Now this is just me, but here are the types of posts that I don’t typically share on any of the above social media channels. Life update posts (unless you had a kid or something), giveaways, product reviews. Now, of course, there are exceptions. If for example, my product review contains a recipe, workout, or other timely information, yes, I will share it. And, as far as Pinterest is concerned, you are welcome to pin whatever you want on your own boards. Just please don’t expect a lot of repins.
My point is just that, when it comes to your blog, looks are important. While you can’t always control the content of the advertising on your blog, you do have control over placement, and you have the ability to decide that if an ad is really so ugly that it’s chasing potential new readers away, it might be time to take down that advertisement.
What do you think? Do ugly ads bother you?
My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!
Sunday Blog Hop with Jenn
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Anything Goes with Marilyn
Bonnie, the Pin Junkie
Tip Tuesday with Debbie in Shape
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Michelle, Sarah, and Angelena Marie
Wednesday Wisdom with Nanna’s Wisdom
The Running Coaches’ Corner with Rachel, Suz, Lora Marie, and Me!
The Blogger’s Pit Stop with Kathleen
Let’s Get Real with Karen.
Friday Fitness with Jill
Fitness Friday with Miranda
That zit one… gross!!! Is that real?! 😛
the thing that bothers me the most are the giant pop up ones that block the page and a difficult to figure out where the “close” button is. Most of the time I just close the whole page.
Ok, I’m guilty of the side bar pics being too big. It looks fine on a desktop or phone but with an iPad it overlaps the text. Gah!! I know I need to fix some but it’s been a huge pain in the butt. Thanks Debbie for putting it front and center in front of my face!
I love this because you so make such great points and I can’t get caught in the notion of beauty being in the eye of the BLOGholder.
It’s not always.
Too many ads, slowing down your site, is one of my biggest pet peeves. The Blogher and Mode ads especially. I might not make tons off my ads, but they generally do not interfere with the running of my site!
I HATE people sharing non share worthy posts in Facebook groups. I do not want to pin what you did this weekend, that makes no sense and isn’t what Pinterest is for!
This. So much.
So I totally agree with all of this! I do not have any ads at all on my site bc I fear what they may look like and if I will be unhappy. The pop up videos are terrible! I am wondering if it’s worth it?
Exactly why I got rid of my related posts plugin. It was so darn ugly! Ads are currently something I’m trying to get under control. It’s not always easy.
Yes, my side bar is ugly… However I only have 1 ad network on my blog and I will NEVER EVER add more. I remember when I took off ALL the ad companies except for MODE on my blog, my blog loaded in 4 seconds as opposed the 50 seconds it used to take!!!!!!! So I have to say I am thrilled with that.
WHAT I HATE is pop up subscription boxes! THEY ARE BEYOND ANNOYING and I will NOT SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR BLOG AT ALL if you’re PUSHING IT in my face like that.
End Rant. LOL!
I’ve seen some pretty weird “related” posts, too! And I’m totally with you about the pop-ups! I think I’m a bit forgiving about bad photography, seeing as how I’m a bad photographer myself, lol!
I hear you Debbie and second everything you have said. I CANNOT STAND pop ups and I immediately click off the post. It is very frustrating! I’m glad I’m not alone I thought I was just being a ‘grumpy old woman’ 🙂
I generally read blogs from my iPad and pop ups cause blogs not to pop up so I can definitely relate to that. Ugh some ads are just so I tasteful. My biggest gripe is actually people choosing sponsored content that doesn’t match their blog.
Pop up are my big bugbear, especially when I am typing a comment and don’t realise it’s popped up in the way! I also hate the weird related posts, some on lovely family friendly sites are pretty offensive. I also hate the sites where you have to click through 10 pages to see the 10 things you have been promised, I understand people are trying to make a living but sometimes I just click away.
I do check my site from other peoples computers now and again, and mobile devices just to make sure what they see is what I see. I would hate the thought of visitors having a bad experience and me not realising it.
Oh Yes, I so agree with you. I am certainly tired of the pop up ads which occur the minute I click on a site. If I do not have a chance to read a blog, how do I know I want to follow. I also agree that not every post needs to be shared in every form.
Hi, Debbie. I’ve been tempted to sound off on these items as well, especially the ugly ads. I actually wrote to a blog owner recently to say I was stopping my email subscription because it always included a disgusting, ugly ad that I couldn’t stand looking at. In most cases, I give fellow bloggers a pass because I know how hard and time-consuming it is to publish blog posts. I often cringe when I find mistakes on my own blog when I think I have checked and re-checked. It’s embarrassing how often I miss things! Found you from SitsGirls Saturday link-up.
Thank you for writing this post. I hate pop-ups,especially the ones that follow me around to every page when I’m just trying to get a feel for the blog before I give my email address. After I close it once it should stay closed for the duration of time I’m on the blog. Next up are the awful ads. Love your example. They’re so gross and sends me right off of the page. Oh, I have one more – ads with audio. Ugh. They’re so annoying. Wow, I feel so much better now. 🙂 Thanks! Visiting from SitsGirl Sharefest. Have a great weekend. I know I will now since I vented. LOL.
I know! Aesthetics are so important ~ sadly every one has a different idea of it! Would love to see your posts in the Practical Mondays Link Up:)
Great post. I continue to work on making my blog better. I personally hate pop ups. I will tolerate one, but if there are more than one, I leave the site. I rarely even read the pop ups any more because I know it is just advertising. Yes, I know we all want to increase our readership, but….I haven’t used one yet. Not sure if I will cave or not. Thanks for the great insights.
Pop ups drive me crazy too. It always slows down my connection and kills my phone when I view sites on mobile. Sometimes I can’t even find a way to close them. I have not used one on my site because I don’t get enough traffic as it is. LOL! This was a fun post to read. I really enjoyed it. #SundayBlogHop
Great tips. There are plenty of related post plugins that will actually share your own content, I much prefer those!
Pop-ups are definitely annoying – if you are a repeat visitor to a blog, you should not see a request for a pop-up every single time you visit! That drives me nuts!
I’ve moved my badges to my footer but have had some difficulty getting them all centered the way I’d like.