For years the only type of blog or website template you could get was the long, two column version. You know the kind I’m sure, the one that has you scrolling… and scrolling… and scrolling some more to read the content despite the fact that each post has been assigned its own URL. It has always felt a little bit like falling down a rabbit hole to me and somewhat of an exercise in tedium. To mediate this common negative perception, template designers introduced the “Recent Post” widget that sits on the sidebar providing a short cut to newer content. That helps a little but it’s not a great solution. Static websites are boring and do not convert; that’s why businesses must upgrade their web experience to dynamic website designs.
There are many millions of blogs out there that will never have a business purpose. They are hobby blogs and a labor of love and self-expression for the people who maintain them. They will still build an active micro community around the site with similarly minded friends, family and readers. We find the entire act of blogging beautiful, whether for business or for personal pleasure. But if your purpose is for business, you need to be a little more informed about the performance of your site, if you hope to get exposure, sell PPC advertising or position yourself as a potential brand ambassador.
Understanding Static Display and Dynamic and Responsive Website Design
The difference between ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ blog or website designs equates to page views. If a website is boring, how likely are you to remain on the site, or drill down into other pages to learn more about the products and services they offer? And if the website has a really bad mobile view on your smartphone, that’s the kiss of death. Any site that is difficult to navigate on mobile is self-limiting and in some cases, can even incur search engine penalties based on quality and performance.
Occasionally you hear hobby bloggers and staunch defenders of the static site design complain that dynamic formats are ‘gaming’ page views. It’s a silly notion when you consider that each blog post can take a half hour to a full hour of time to compose and lay out. Does that page deserve its own viewing? Absolutely! The page view is the reward for the writer who is placing quality content up for readers. In fact, that might be the only tangible reward (along with page rank) that the author receives. Unless you have built an e-commerce site, and then the measurable reward for your website is tracking the sales conversions it receives.
Dynamic themes and site designs get more page views than static ones for a reason. Readers prefer them. It makes it easier to browse content and become intrigued where rotation of posts with images is part of the format of the website. Interesting picture? Must investigate! And that’s pretty much how a dynamic site works. There is no ‘gaming’ of ‘the system’. There is no established system to be gamed, only your own individual preferences and intention for your site. Your blog doesn’t need page views to be relevant or meaningful to the author unless the blog’s performance is critical to a business plan. In that case, performance is everything as the author will tool the site to the best possible advantages for traffic in order to attain affiliate sponsors and advertisers.
If you want to view site metrics or compare other websites and their performance against your own, download the free software from Alexa.com and install the shortcut bar. With one click you can view the information of other websites and evaluate them. How well is your website performing against other local competitors? What are they featuring on their business website that can inspire you to augment your own with some interactive pages and opportunities to win over new customers?
Whether you are a content writer, a social media entrepreneur or someone who just loves to blog, it is worth understanding how little changes can impact the proliferation of your content on the web. For most people a successful blog can be a gateway into new professional opportunities and residual income. If you build it (correctly) they will come. And your pages, and site will convert to leads, sales and opportunities. At Social Me Multimedia, our website design team is focused on providing an eye-catching and high-performance web experience for your customers.
Contact us today to discuss your needs, and start a conversation about your new web design.
