I have been doing blog critiques for a long time now. Something I have noticed during these critiques is that almost everyone I talked to I told them very similar things about what they should remove from their blogs. I wanted to give my two cents on what things you need to remove from your blog now. Remember this is my opinion. If you love having these things on your blog then by all means keep them! I just get asked this question A LOT.
Things You Need To Remove From Your Blog Now
Excessive Ads: You do not need to have multiple ads on your sidebar. Unless you are raking in hundreds of dollars a month from them, they need to go. Having ads in between posts, on your sidebar etc really clutter things up and make your blog hard to read and navigate. If you partner with Nordstrom a lot and make a lot of affiliate money from it, then by all means have a Nordstrom ad. But if you have ten ads from different stores and you really aren’t making much, you should probably remove some. Plus, in between each post you have a Google AdSense ad it’s just way too much!
Buttons: A long long time ago every blogger would have buttons of other blogs they read on their sidebar. Now, it’s just extra clutter you don’t need. It doesn’t mean you don’t love and appreciate other bloggers, but your blog will look cluttered with it.
Network Badges: A lot of bloggers have badges from Networks they do sponsored posts with on their sidebar or on the footer of their blog. Guess what, you do not need them! You can ask the network for an invisible badge. I have a few invisible badges from networks on my blog, and it’s great because they are getting what they need (your analytics) and you are getting what you need which is the ability to work with them without having it clutter up your blog.
A List of Tags: I use tags on my blog. Tags are great. They are great for organization, SEO, etc. But no one needs to see the long list of tags you use. I see so many blogs that have an entire half of their sidebar dedicated to the long list of every single tag they put in a post. Please remove it. It’s taking up space and cluttering up your sidebar.
The rest of the clutter: Look around your blog and ask yourself “Does this need to be here? Is it helping me?” If you have several links to your Pinterest account, do you need a big graphic with your recent pins? If you like having your Instagram photos on your blog do you want them on your sidebar or would it look better in the footer? Just really ask yourself a lot of questions about placement and what makes sense.
Remember that brands LOVE a clean space. Other bloggers love blogs that are pretty, functional, and easy to navigate. Your blog is representing your brand, and you and it should look and feel like a comfortable and fun place!
What are some things you need to remove from YOUR blog now? I would love to know!
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I hope you found this post helpful! If you enjoyed hearing about things you need to remove from your blog now, make sure to check out my other blog advice posts!
I really enjoyed reading this post because it made me really sit and think about what it was that I needed to have on my blog. The best bit was definitely the tip about invisible badges. I might try and look into that. I shoved mine all at the bottom, but they are still taking up space!! Thanks girly!
Victoria http://www.lovehaightblog.com
GREAT TIPS! I don’t have any ads, tags or buttons but I do have badges and I really don’t like them. I will look into getting invisible ones to make my blog clutter free!
I hate tags in the sidebar! I’ve always wondered why people have that giant list right there. And I didn’t know about the invisible badges. That’s so good to know! Thanks!
Thanks for the advice. It is really helpful to new bloggers. I guess after browsing around other blogs, you see many different patterns and in turn don’t know what’s good to represent or not. This information does put things into perspective. Thanks for sharing!
I used to have the tags in the sidebar which was fine in the early day, but I realized that as it grew it was taking over way to much space on my sidebar.
I had no idea Networks could give you invisible badges (you can tell I’m a newbie haha!). I also just got rid of the label list in my sidebar – it was way too cluttered!
De-cluttering is always good for the soul 😉 I think it’s also important to run through old posts sometimes and make sure everything is still working properly. Some posts are just better off deleted.
Yes yes yes!!! Blog clutter is so distracting!!! I am immediately drawn to sites that are clean and functional. This is a really great post for ALL bloggers – new and experienced!
YES!! I’m slowly working on cleaning up my sidebar! I got rid of a lot of network badges but then a few were having problems so I had to put them back and now they’re visible again. I need to just spend a saturday cleaning everything up again!
Wow these were all great tips! I agree that a blog looks way more professional when it has less ads and business. I love the clean, crisp look that your blog has.
I’m so happy to read this! I totally agree. I love to read a blog with a clean layout and no clutter, but so many blogs are the opposite. Thank you for sharing your tips!
Good ones. I need to clean up my network badges because I’m sure some of them can become invisible badges or some of them I frankly don’t get any work from anyway so I should just delete! And I can probably remove my tag cloud too.
When I first started blogging, I had a whole lot of clutter and I just kept it for quite a while. There are still some things I could stand to remove, but it looks way better than it did!
Great tips! I love more simplistic looking blogs. The worst thing is clicking on a blog post, only to be bombarded with ads. Especially when they take over the background of the blog.
I agree with your list! The cleaner the blog, the longer I tend to visit. Often times, I will close out of a blog window that is full of ads or widgets, because it overloads my senses. I love “white space” on blogs!
This is awesome! Definitely makes me rethink my blog. I feel like I’m constantly trying to simplify and make it more minimalistic but I’m never sure how to when I “need” all those links and things. That’s a great idea to have invisible networks links, how does one even do that?
Oh god! My posts are populated with tags and tags and tags. Tags officially rule my posts! I really need to start using them a lot more wisely ey! Great advice, thank you!
Yes, yes and more yes! I see so many blogs that I just can’t stand to stay on. Even if they have great content, it is distracting. I love the minimal look.
Yuck, I hate when people have their tags visible. Also I keep my blogger networks on my blog still but I keep them under my footer navigation where it says “partners”
These are great tips! I don’t have a blog roll on my blog but I miss reading it on other’s because it was such a good way to find new blogs to read! I understand why we don’t have them, but I totally miss them! I need to look into adding tags. Thanks for the great information!
I get SO turned off by bloggers who have 4000 ads on their blog. But I love bloggers who share the buttons of other bloggers because that’s how I find a lot of my favorite bloggers. <3
I have been blogging for 4 1/2 years and the 2 things that turn me away from blogs are:
Massive amount of ads
Video ad or subscribe button that pops up immediately on site
Definitely good things to keep in mind! I’ve been contemplating putting ads on my blog and just have mixed feelings about it since it’s so easy to get too cluttered!
This is such a good post and I agree with all of the points you made! I have definitely found that I am more drawn to blogs that are not cluttered. Thanks for the reminders!
I like my site to be really clean looking. I have a few buttons & ads, but nothing excessive.
Thank you for this post! I went through to make sure that I didn’t have any clutter on my blog, and I think I’m good!
I’m realizing that there’s a few things I can remove from my blog. Thanks, Neely 🙂
I just realized how many tags I had, thank you! Deleted!
Great post Neely! nothing bothers me more than a cluttered blog! Great tip about invisible badges too!
Rachel | http://www.theconfusedmillennial.com
I really enjoyed reading this post because it made me really sit and think about what it was that I needed to have on my blog. The best bit was definitely the tip about invisible badges. I might try and look into that. I shoved mine all at the bottom, but they are still taking up space!! Thanks girly!
Victoria
http://www.lovehaightblog.com
GREAT TIPS! I don’t have any ads, tags or buttons but I do have badges and I really don’t like them. I will look into getting invisible ones to make my blog clutter free!
Great advice! I don’t like it when blogs are really slow and removing the clutter definitely helps with that!
I hate tags in the sidebar! I’ve always wondered why people have that giant list right there. And I didn’t know about the invisible badges. That’s so good to know! Thanks!
I took off ALL ADs except for ONE ad network and it sped up my load time by 45 seconds!
Thanks for the advice. It is really helpful to new bloggers. I guess after browsing around other blogs, you see many different patterns and in turn don’t know what’s good to represent or not. This information does put things into perspective. Thanks for sharing!
I used to have the tags in the sidebar which was fine in the early day, but I realized that as it grew it was taking over way to much space on my sidebar.
Love the tips Neely! I need to work on those invisible badges like ASAP!
I had no idea Networks could give you invisible badges (you can tell I’m a newbie haha!). I also just got rid of the label list in my sidebar – it was way too cluttered!
I used to use tags on the sidebar, so glad I took that off. It was overtaking my sidebar overtime! And yes too many ads on a website drives me nuts!
It is time for my blog to get a makeover, I’ll have to see about getting invisible badges! Thanks.
Great tips! I removed ads last year and am glad I did. I also like the idea of removing networking badges (I have some of those up).
De-cluttering is always good for the soul 😉 I think it’s also important to run through old posts sometimes and make sure everything is still working properly. Some posts are just better off deleted.
Clutter yes! Pet peeve for sure.
Yes yes yes!!! Blog clutter is so distracting!!! I am immediately drawn to sites that are clean and functional. This is a really great post for ALL bloggers – new and experienced!
Great tips! I definitely need to declutter my site a lot!
Greta | http://www.gretahollar.com
YES!! I’m slowly working on cleaning up my sidebar! I got rid of a lot of network badges but then a few were having problems so I had to put them back and now they’re visible again. I need to just spend a saturday cleaning everything up again!
Wow these were all great tips! I agree that a blog looks way more professional when it has less ads and business. I love the clean, crisp look that your blog has.
The excessive ads make me crazy. That, and multiple pop-ups. If a pop-up comes up while I’m typing a comment, I just leave!
I’m so happy to read this! I totally agree. I love to read a blog with a clean layout and no clutter, but so many blogs are the opposite. Thank you for sharing your tips!
These are such great tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Good ones. I need to clean up my network badges because I’m sure some of them can become invisible badges or some of them I frankly don’t get any work from anyway so I should just delete! And I can probably remove my tag cloud too.
These are wonderful tips! I’m still getting to taking care of some of the things you recommended for me… #momproblems. 😉
When I first started blogging, I had a whole lot of clutter and I just kept it for quite a while. There are still some things I could stand to remove, but it looks way better than it did!
I love the look of a clean blog! Clean layout, clean template… Yes!
Tori
http://www.mooretori.com
Great tips! I love more simplistic looking blogs. The worst thing is clicking on a blog post, only to be bombarded with ads. Especially when they take over the background of the blog.
Great tips on the network badges. I am going to ask for an invisible one 🙂
I agree with your list! The cleaner the blog, the longer I tend to visit. Often times, I will close out of a blog window that is full of ads or widgets, because it overloads my senses. I love “white space” on blogs!
Erin | http://www.awelderswife.com
I try to stay mostly clutter free but I definitely need to rework my sidebar a bit!
Great advice Neely!
xxox
Laura @ http://www.cookwineandthinker.com
I enjoyed the article. I have tried to clean up my blog but with your tips, I will give it another once over. Thank you.
I think there is a balance you can strike between all of it. Most of that depends on your audience and your blog layout to begin with.
I love this advice! I try to at least once a month look at my blog from a user stand point, it helps to streamline things so much!
This is awesome! Definitely makes me rethink my blog. I feel like I’m constantly trying to simplify and make it more minimalistic but I’m never sure how to when I “need” all those links and things. That’s a great idea to have invisible networks links, how does one even do that?
Oh god! My posts are populated with tags and tags and tags. Tags officially rule my posts! I really need to start using them a lot more wisely ey! Great advice, thank you!
http://www.shewillneverlose.com
I probably should remove some of the ads from my left side bar–the ones that never get clicked!
Thanks for sharing this great advice. I think I’m doing okay right now but am going to make sure to stick to these rules.
This was great advice! Time to go declutter!
These are all excellent tips. Thanks
Great advice! I’m definitely in need of doing some decluttering!
Good post! I know I need to go through mine and clean it up a bit more.
Such a great and helpful list!
This is great advice! And I love the style of your blog, it’s so clean and appealing!
Great tips! I try to keep mine as clean as possible but I am sure that I could do some cleaning up from my side bar!
Great advice! I can’t stand to look at a cluttered blog, this is great info!
Yes, yes and more yes! I see so many blogs that I just can’t stand to stay on. Even if they have great content, it is distracting. I love the minimal look.
Yuck, I hate when people have their tags visible. Also I keep my blogger networks on my blog still but I keep them under my footer navigation where it says “partners”
xoxo, Jenny
I remember blog buttons! I used to use them like 3 years ago. Now I have to remove some badges.
These tips are spot on. I often visit blogs and feel like they have excessive ads and pop-ups. It’s nicer to have a neat and clean design.
These are great tips! I don’t have a blog roll on my blog but I miss reading it on other’s because it was such a good way to find new blogs to read! I understand why we don’t have them, but I totally miss them! I need to look into adding tags. Thanks for the great information!
This is so great! I need to add tags asap!
I get SO turned off by bloggers who have 4000 ads on their blog. But I love bloggers who share the buttons of other bloggers because that’s how I find a lot of my favorite bloggers. <3
I have been blogging for 4 1/2 years and the 2 things that turn me away from blogs are:
Massive amount of ads
Video ad or subscribe button that pops up immediately on site
Yes to all of this!!! I am the queen of invisible buttons!!!
Love this! Thanks for all the great advice. I only have one ad on my sidebar. I hate when things look spammy!
Very good tips. I’ll keep these in mind for my new blog.
Definitely good things to keep in mind! I’ve been contemplating putting ads on my blog and just have mixed feelings about it since it’s so easy to get too cluttered!
This is such a good post and I agree with all of the points you made! I have definitely found that I am more drawn to blogs that are not cluttered. Thanks for the reminders!
Helpful post. Made me go back and take a look at my sidebar again lol. Many thanks!
This is so true! and your site looks FANTASTIC! Great tips and thanks for sharing!
Keep Smiling!
Molly | http://www.stylemissmolly.com
This is great advice. I love a minimal sidebar 🙂
These are all excellent tips. Thanks