Comments on: Time to put your blog on a diet?

By: David Airey

David Airey — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:50:46 +0000

Hi Shonnie,

Great tips. There have been many many times I’ve taken a second look at my blog and thought, “That doesn’t look right. I don’t need it anyway.”

All too often I see third-party widget after third party-widget, needlessly cluttering a blog.

By: Shonnie Lavender

Shonnie Lavender — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:45:34 +0000

Thanks for your “second” of these ideas, David. Nice new site by the way. You do make some really eye-catching logos. Have fun!

By: Kathy Hendershot-Hurd

Kathy Hendershot-Hurd — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:21:33 +0000

Not only can those widgets “junk up” your blog…some of those widgets can be positively HARMFUL too boot!!!

I had a HORRIBLE experience with one that seemed innocent in the “Blogrush” sense… and as a result my blog’s (not the one above) PR went from a 3 to a zero overnight!

You’re so right… sometimes less is MORE!

By: Shonnie Lavender

Shonnie Lavender — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 02:28:06 +0000

Thanks for sharing your experience, Kathy. I think it’s helpful to share such experiences so others can perhaps avoid similar problematic steps.

By: Aprende Coaching

Aprende Coaching — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:30:04 +0000

already reduced the number of widgets I had, too many not really useful that had been there for ages!

By: HeyStephanie

HeyStephanie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 04:33:01 +0000

“They can distract your readers from your larger purpose — giving them useful, relevant content that they want.”

I agree with that statement 100%. When I come across a great blog post, I get distracted and I end up doing two things:

1. If the content is relevant and interesting, I subscribe to the RSS feed and never come back to the blog (unless there’s a video or image I can’t see through Google reader).

2. If it’s not (1, I move on to the next interesting blog.