Sidebar Mistakes You Might Be Making (+ How to Fix Them!)

Sidebars are very important real estate on blogs. It’s where the reader can find out more about the author, discover other great articles, and connect with the blog on other platforms.

The sidebar can easily make or break a blog. If it’s done wrong, the reader might not want to come back. So let’s find out what sidebar mistakes you might be making, and then fix them!

Too Cluttered

This is one of the most obvious sidebar mistakes. You want the focus of your blog to be the content, so if your sidebar is distracting, it ruins the whole site.

Once a sidebar has too many colors, fonts, images, and links, your eyes start to hurt. The sidebar shouldn’t be forced upon your readers; they should notice it and be intrigued enough to click on additional content without it being shoved down their throats.

How to Fix It: Go through your sidebar and see what your eyes are drawn to first. Is there one piece that sticks out the most? If there isn’t, there’s a good chance your sidebar is too cluttered. See if too many things jump out at you and distract you. Simplify everything with similar colors and take out unneeded information.

You’ll notice on my sidebar that there are three squares that “stand out:” my photo, the link to my Etsy shop, and my Instagram. However, these don’t clutter up my sidebar because they aren’t right on top of each other. In fact, unless you’re way zoomed out or have a large screen, you shouldn’t be seeing two of these things that the same time. There’s plenty of white space to break them up.

Having Two

I’ve seen a few blogs that have two sidebars (typically one on either side of the main content), and I have yet to see it done successfully.

This goes back to the previous note: when I see blogs with double sidebars, it makes the entire website feel very cluttered. In fact, I actually feel claustrophobic when there are sidebars on either side, because it’s like they’re closing in on me. I don’t know which side to look on, and I get overwhelmed.

How to Fix It: If you’ve got enough information to fill two sidebars, chances are these are things that deserve their own page. Re-evaluate what you want to catch the reader’s eye and put that into one sidebar. Remove the other entirely.

Having None*

I include an asterisk with this, because there are blogs who have done a no-sidebar blog successfully (xosarah.com, for example). But it’s difficult.

When I started blogging, I tried to have a sidebar-less theme. At first I really liked it because I wanted the content to be the focus. But eventually it started being really impersonal because the readers couldn’t get to know me.

How to Fix It: I saw two ways out of my predicament: adding a sidebar or adding a bio below my content. I ended up changing my theme and adding a sidebar because that was what worked best for me at the time. But if you’d prefer, you could definitely add an Author Bio section below each and every blog post so readers can put a face to the name.

Not Having a Photo

Similarly, a sidebar is practically useless if it doesn’t tell me who you are. That’s one of the first things I look for when I read a blog post; I want to know who the author is and why I should pay attention to their writing.

How to Fix It: Include a photo of yourself so your readers can get to know you a little better. Make sure it’s relatively simple so it doesn’t make your site cluttered, and it’s clear enough that they can tell what you look like.

Having the Wrong Hierarchy

The order of your sidebar widgets is extremely important. Not only does it keep it from looking cluttered, but it also affects what the reader will be looking at.

For example, I prefer to have my photo “above the fold” of my blog. Meaning, when someone opens up my blog, they see my photo without having to scroll down. This is because it’s my blog, and I want people to identify it with me. It gives it personality.

How to Fix It: Depending on your own preferences, you might have a different hierarchy as someone else. And that’s fine! Figure out what aspects of your sidebar are most important to you and put them in an appropriate order based on that. Some people, for example, put a high priority on their email lists, so they have that near the top. Others prioritize their shop, their social media, etc. Find out what’s best for you.

Too Long

It’s always really awkward when a sidebar goes beyond the content of a webpage. Sometimes it’s unavoidable (like on my Affiliate Disclaimer page), but it shouldn’t be the norm.

Your content should almost always go beyond the sidebar. And this doesn’t stop at blog posts, either. Just because you aren’t looking at your About page every day doesn’t mean you can ignore it. Your about page should be longer than your sidebar, too.

How to Fix It: Moment of honesty, here: at this moment, my About page is shorter than my sidebar. But that’s because I know I need to update my About page, and I’ve got a plan on how to do it. So you’ve either got to make your sidebar shorter or your content longer. Or both.

Too Many Ads

If you read my post about why I removed ads on my blog, you knew this was coming.

I’m personally not a fan of ads, especially in sidebars. They clutter everything up and take away the focus: you and your blog. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for sponsored posts and other types of marketing, but display ads aren’t my jam when it comes to blogs.

How to Fix This: Work on other ways to make money from your blog and remove all of the display ads. You’ll only be getting pennies from each click, so don’t feel too bad about it. Instead, approach companies about doing sponsored posts, giveaways, etc.

Tag Clouds

I don’t see these around too often, thank goodness. But when I do, I cringe.

Tag clouds are pretty outdated. They’re big, ugly word banks of different tags you’ve used throughout all of your blog posts, and let’s be honest: no one really clicks on them. If you’ve come up with a way to utilize tags to direct readers to other posts, great. But I have a feeling tag clouds aren’t included in that plan.

How to Fix This: Just remove the tag clouds. Now.

What are your biggest pet peeves when it comes to sidebars? Any advice for me? Let’s chat about it in the comments!