I have visited 1000 of blogs and websites only this year. Some are good while others are so difficult to navigate that I just go on to the next one. That is the case nowadays, that if I find one site difficult to navigate I will just move on to their competitors, because there is always someone who have a similar site. Therefore I have created a list of a few things that you HAVE TO HAVE on your website in order to keep you visitors and not annoy them. (Except for interesting content etc… ;)

Mistake 1: Only a contact form

I hate to use contact forms and therefore often end up not contacting the writer if that is the only option. Sometimes I do use them, but the occasions are rare, and I’m sure thatcontacts forms means missed opportunities.

Fix: Add your email address at text similar to annelie[at]annelienaes.com or as a picture, to avoid spam but make you easily accessible for your visitors.

Mistake 2: Not having an option for comment subscription

I think I have mentioned this before, but it is important enough to point out again. If I comment on a blog I’m interesting in find out if anyone else said something about the post or my comment. But I would never have the time to go back and check myself. However, if I receive an notification on my blog, I might not only check back for more comments but I might also check for new interesting content.

Fix: Disqus and other plug-in offers this feature automatically, otherwise you fix it by adding a comment subscription alternative for the commenter.

Mistake 3: Not describing with the abbreviation title of your blog means

Most blogs with abbreviation but the long title right under, such as PMP – Portal Media Player. However, there are examples where the abbreviation is so common for frequent visitors that they did not find it necessary, however, for a new visitor it might be very confusing. This has even happened to me with on the website of a smaller Swedish newspaper, which I happened to come across through a Google search. Very annoying and easily fixed, so just make it clear!

Fix: Add a description to the abbreviation under it, or just don’t use them in the header for example.

Mistake 4: Not letting your readers know what you write about

A tag cloud is to many just a blur and they don’t  see the need of it. Please make sure you are not one of them. I often visit blogs where I cannot tell if the author is actually writing on the subject him or her claims to because the latest posts have been covering other topics. With a tag cloud you and your visitors see what you are actually writing about. (Assuming you tag your post based on the content)

Fix: Add a tag cloud or some other indicator of what the blog posts you have published is about.

Mistake 5: Not letting your visitors know what they searched for

Some search functions are better than other. But at least you should make sure that your readers know what they are searching for. If the words “Nothing can be found” comes up after I made a search and I cannot see what I searched for I will just assume that there is nothing to be found and I will continue looking elsewhere. However, typing mistakes are easily made so if your search function shows the search term that was just written, maybe I will try again because I misspelled the word.

Fix: Install a search functions which shows the search term after you pressed “enter”.

Inother words there are many small things that make visitors leave your site in search for something better, think about these ones, and I’m sure there are many more, and hopefully you will have your readers attention a little while longer.

Any other “must-haves” you would like to add?