The sidebar, or sidebars in a Wordpress theme have a job to do, just like you the blogger. They should contribute to the blog and enhance it. Trying to get the sidebar’s appearance as you want it, is a question of try, try, and try again. To help you decide what your sidebar should be doing, here are a few questions to ask yourself, when designing that sidebar.

General sidebars

Sidebars generally, contain categories, blogroll, and page listings of the blog. Different themes have different layouts, but normally at least one sidebar has these elements to it by default. These are in the main useful, and many sidebars still retain them, there is always however, room for improvement.

What is your purpose of the blog?

The nature of your blog will have an impact on what you add and remove to your sidebar. You may wish to provide quick access to different areas of your blog, or you may wish to use the sidebar to showcase certain works that you have created. It maybe something decorative to liven up the theme.

The theme

The sidebar is part of the theme, and like a jigsaw all the pieces of it should fit together. You do not want to put anything in the sidebar that will cause an overall imbalance. This is especially important as the theme sets the mood and tone of the blog.

Clutter

Sidebars offer limited space, so it is always a good idea not to create cluttered ones. An overly packed one could detract from some of the content, especially the ones that take up the least space. Remember, the size of a sidebar element is not relative to the importance of it, and you want to ensure that your readers do not miss anything.

Make a list

If you are faced with having lots of options for the sidebar, and you can’t quite decide which ones to have, make a list of all the elements you want, then number them in the order of importance. Keep five, and forget the rest. Once you have established which ones you are keeping, decide the order and put them up there for all to see.

Try changing the order.

If parts of your blog seem to be neglected, it could be because people are not scrolling down far enough to see the element. Try moving the element higher up the sidebar, and see if its popularity grows. If it does, then you know it is a visibility problem and you can address it using the methods described in this article. If it is not, then it is obviously for another reason.

Pictures

Pictures in the sidebar are really down to personal taste. I use them in my personal blog, as I tend not to put them in posts even though I know I should. There is a very good plugin that pulls through free flickr photos to the sidebar. Again, it is something that needs to be explored.

Use Analytics

Google Analytics can provide a site overlay. This will tell you what parts of the blog are most clicked on. If no one is clicking items in your sidebar, it maybe time to think again. The sidebar should be useful, so if it is not seeing much action, something has to be done.

Dead wood

Get rid of the dead wood on a sidebar, if you have determined that nobody likes it. It serves no purpose and is pointless.

Sidebars, if populated properly can add to your theme and your blog. They can improve navigation, and can be a true benefit to readers if you get it right.

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