The Ramification Of A One Column Design
Do you like this design? You may have something similar on your blog very soon. Yeah, a design similar to what has been showcased on CSS Clip, CSS Based, CSS Container, and others!
You may remember when I moved over here, I said,
“I like to try different designs; it’s too easy to become restricted by what feels comfortable, so I’ve went for a one column design, and simplified things.”
Well, as much as I’ve enjoyed this look, it just might be time for a change. Before you think I’m crazy, hear me out.
The Story
Since I moved over to this domain 15 days ago, this site has seen (according to Google Analytics) well over 13,000 pageviews. Not bad (comparitively). However, one stat has been really bothering me. Since the launch with the new design, I’ve been averaging only 1.68 pageviews/visitor. Comparing that to previous stats, that’s quite a decrease.
Now, I know a lot of my visitors have come from StumbleUpon, and Weblog Tools Collection, which doesn’t help to push up pageview averages. However, I can’t help but wonder, if I had a 2 or 3 column design with a visible sidebar, showing links to other posts, etc, that I might have kept some of those visitors a little longer.
Help me
Therefore, I need your help. Before I launch into a new design, what is your view, and if you have a blog, what are your stats like? Do you think a more traditional layout would have helped to keep some of those visitors a little longer, or, do you suppose it’s just down to the type of visitors I’ve been getting?
Please share your thoughts…
I really like the 1 column themes. It is a relief after surfing 1000’s of sites with hundreds of links and ads. But yes, if you want to find other things on the site, sometimes can be hard, especially for average users. maybe a tag cloud at the top under you name. Cool Site Thanks
Definately harder (or maybe just laziness?) to navigate to other pages with the one column design.
Perhaps a ‘floating’ column to the left or right might be a compromise between a one column design and a two/three column design?
Just so you know, I’ve had trouble getting on the site on several occasions lately. It just comes up with various errors. Obviously it’s working fine today though.
I tried a one column design, but it didn’t quite feel right for me. I ended going back to a two column design again. I wanted the space for the text, as I don’t like a whole lot of clutter. I don’t know if I have achieved that yet, or not.
I haven’t seen any of your designs that I didn’t like, though, Armen.
Allen - I appreciate your insight. I suppose it’s a battle between aesthetics vs. usability. I started experimenting with DOMtabs under the header, but it just didn’t look balanced.
I see you’re just starting out. You’ve got quite a task in your hands to break into the niche you’ve entered, but, I trust it works out well. Be the first to the news, and create some viral content, build relationships, and you’ll (hopefully) get off to a flyer.
Kyle - Hey bro! It’s like this; most Internet users are whizzing around, looking at heaps of different sites, and unless you place things in front of their eyes, they’ll miss it altogether. It’s part of a properly fuctioning site, to help in areas of accessibility.
A floating sidebar is an idea, but, probably a compromise. It’ll most likely end up looking like an after thought.
Jason - Good to see you bro. Yeah, were they off-site 404 errors when you visited any page other than the homepage, or was it something else?
I loved the recent post by Pastor Mock. Especially where he says,
So true!
MrCorey - Hey there my ill friend. Feeling better yet?
Your site is definately not cluttered. However, you could do with increasing the font size in the sidebar, and maybe the padding between the links too. Just a thought.
Thank you for the compliment too, although I’m not quite sure how accurate it is
I have to say that I like more than one column. I like choices, and the info in a sidebar gives me more stuff to pick from. As an aside, what I want to know is how you get 13,000 in 15 days!? That is awesome!
For those who know you, one column doesn’t restrict extra page views, but for those who are first-time visitors, I imagine a 2nd or 3rd column, with ‘popular articles’ etc. would certainly help increase those page views.
Congrats on being featured in those other sites! Well done!
Neena - Thanks for the input. I appreciate you being honest.
As for the pageviews, if I had a larger reader base, I reckon it could have been more. I mentioned the two main sources in this post, and they came because of the ‘Resources for Web Designers’ post, and the themes I’ve released.
David - Again, I appreciate your view my friend. I think so too.
Yeah, it’s not quite classy enough for the big ones, CSS Mania, and CSS Remix, but, maybe in the future.
hmmm, like the theme, its really cool. smooth and beautiful
Another day, another design!
I like this one aswell though - much easier (or less taxing!) to navigate! An unusual (but nice) colour scheme too!
Jonty - Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.
Kyle - Something like that. Yeah, I got a few ideas off Kuler, and this is what I came up with. It has already made a difference as to how long folks are staying too.
I radically revamped our site almost a year ago and I’m very happy with the single column layout. It puts the focus on our content. And I think it makes for a cleaner look. Certainly not all multi-column blogs are bad but quite a few do seem very cluttered to my eye.
Of course, the fact that 2Dolphins is not intended to be a for-profit blog does affect this - I have no need for a sidebar for ads & widgets.
I’m hopeful that the tabs along the top and the few items down in the footer address most of the navigation needs, but I really haven’t received much feedback on that - other than a couple of fellow bloggers who scratched their heads over the fact that I don’t have a sidebar.
Rob - Sidebars are a given now. Most expect to see them. If they don’t, from what I can gather, they don’t stick around to try and find what options there are next. That’s why I got rid of the one-column design, and I’m glad I did. There has been a consistent improvement in my page views.
Dude, of course your pageviews have fallen off. You’ve got fewer pages. A more useful metric for you to measure would be average time on site. If that has dropped, then change your layout. If it has increased, keep it. Pageviews is not the right number to be looking at in this situation.
Ryan - I’d have to disagree. This site had hundreds of pages when I was using the 1 column layout. More than enough for people to look around. As soon as I changed the design, it increased, and even when I don’t post for days, the page views are still higher than when I posted daily with one column.