I have a lot of respect for Jakob Nielsen, and he has posted his top ten design mistakes for weblogs. While sometimes I think he is a little on the extreme or impractical side, I really like these usability tips for weblogs and I think he is dead on for every one. His article runs a little long, so here is a condensed list for those of you who just want to check to see if your blog is in line Jakob style:
- Have an “About Me“ page with a photo of yourself.
- Use descriptive posting titles - name topic and in our case, the technology.
- Don't add links that are “read more here and here“. Tell users what you are linking to since no one likes to click into the unkown.
- Don't let your good stuff get buried by time. Keep a running link list in a good place on your blog to your golden posts that provide value so any old or new blog visitor can benefit from past posts.
- Use categorization for your posts, but don't assign too many categories to one post. Try to keep your posts neatly organized and minimize post overlap in categories.
- Blog frequently. Daily, weekly or monthly.... pick a schedule and stick to it.
- Minimize mixing topics.
- Not only do you need to worry about current bosses and workplaces, but think about future ones too. Watch what you flame.
- Get your own domain name.