Optimizing the Layout of Your Blog Homepage

This is a brief post that will talk about the importance of having a unique and well designed homepage on your blog. I will talk about what should be displayed on the homepage, how it should be displayed, and why you should move away from the standard blog homepage.

The standard blog homepage

Most blog themes have the exact same layout for the homepage: a list of your latest posts descending down the content area. This has become somewhat of a standard in the blogosphere, and when you visit someone’s blog, it’s what you expect to see on the homepage. This type of layout has almost become what defines a blog, and is the layout for many blog themes, including the WordPress default one: Kubrick. But this type of homepage doesn’t do much for the reader. It makes it hard for them to sift through your content and forces them to do a lot of scrolling.

What’s wrong with the standard homepage?

1. Too much content for the reader to digest
2. Organized by date, not by what you want the reader to see
3. It doesn’t stand out from any other page

The homepage of your blog should be a place where all of your best and most recent content is displayed in a way that’s easy to read.

Ways to make your blog homepage more reader friendly

1. Display the content of only one post (it can be either the latest post or one that you’ve marked as featured)
2. Display a list of recent/popular posts without the content – only titles. This let’s the reader decide on what he/she wants to read without being bombarded with content they don’t find interesting (make sure you have good titles!)
3. Use post images and titles instead of post content to titallate your reader
4. Display only a brief excerpt or description about your posts
5. Use a featured content slider/gallery (great one for WordPress here)
6. Use a grid layout instead of a big list of posts to put more content above the fold
7. Include other content about your blog besides posts (about info, contact info…)

A good example of a nice blog homepage can be found at http://nettuts.com or http://pulseblogger.com

Conclusion

Remember that your blog homepage should be a place where all your latest and greatest content is displayed in a manner that’s easy to read and easy to digest. When a reader hits your homepage, they should instantly know what your blog is about, the type of content you publish, and what your first three or more posts are about.