User experience is an incredibly important part of your website. Even with the best content in the world, a poor user experience will lead readers away from your website and can have negative effects on your blog’s growth.
Today I’m sharing 5 things your food blog needs to make sure your readers have a great user experience on your website.
Easy to Find Search Bar
- Easy to find on mobile (don’t hide it in the sidebar which is hard to find on mobile)
- Have multiple search bars
- Built in wordpress search is NOT great, consider using something like Slickstream to really enhance the search experience
Organized Navigation
- Keep only the important navigation links.
- Use the footer for the non-essential links
- Think about the most important content on your homepage and consider adding those categories or sections to your navigation
Limit website interruptions
- Defer pop ups so they are not immediate
- Limit pop ups to ONE per page
- Look for multiple pop ups (email, follow on social, GDPR or cookie consent, etc.)
Organized Content
- Use lists to organize content
- Break up long paragraphs (this is great for your RPM too!)
- Use images as part of your content, like ingredient shots and step by step images
- Use styled Gutenberg blocks to help your content stand out (Also see Episode 31 of The Vine Podcast)
Provide a natural reader experience path
- Don’t rely on chronological organization of your blog posts
- Create pathways for people to dive into your content further
- Allow your readers to “choose” their path/adventure through the way your homepage and navigation are organized (See Episode 27 of The Vine Podcast for homepage tips)
- Remember how people land on your website and move through it (Listen to Episode 100 of The Vine Podcast)
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hey friend, i’m madison
Food blogger turned web designer
I’ve been where you are. Growing fast, feeling overwhelmed by the tech side of things, and realizing that somewhere between hitting 100k sessions and launching that new revenue stream, the foundations of your business got left behind.
I started out as a food blogger, so I get it. The constant juggling. The feeling that your site doesn’t match who you’ve become. The frustration of working way too hard while your brand and tech hold you back.
That’s why I created Grace + Vine Studios—to help monetized food bloggers like you finally catch up. Whether it’s your branding, your website, or just figuring out what the heck comes next, I’m here to help you build a business that reflects where you are now and actually improves your life instead of consuming it.
