In a two-column layout, where should the sidebar go? Should it be to the left of the content, or to the right? This is an important question to consider.
First of all, what are you going to put in the sidebar? Is it going to be for navigation? Are you going to use it for extra, less important things, like widgets and blogrolls?
I’ve found that navigational sidebars are more effective when placed on the left, rather than the right. Meanwhile, sidebars with less important things should go to the right, as you want people to focus on the content more. I find a left-hand navigational sidebar more comfortable than one on the right, don’t you? Maybe it’s the whole reading-from-left-to-right thing.
So, remember this:
- Sidebars that are mainly navigation should go on the left because it feels more natural to look for navigation there. If you have a lot of navigational links, it might be a good idea to put them in a sidebar.
- Sidebars that are mainly less important things should go on the right, which distracts from the content column less. If you don’t have many navigational links, and you can put them in a horizontal navigation bar near the top, you’ll probably want to go with this option.
The top spot in the left corner of the screen is the most precious screen real estate. Yes, it is the left to right reading ‘thing’ (at least in the western culture). A good spot for your Opt-In form or Adsense for example. Anyway, thanks for your tip.
I think the top left should always link back to ‘home’. This is why on my site I have my logo there (which is clickable to home) as well as a Home link there.
The top-left is also close to the “Back” button that is used so much by people who haven’t discovered tabbed browsing. See this:
http://www.webmaster-source.co.....b-browser/
While I think that there is some merit to having navigational links on the right, I honestly believe that if things are well placed in an area that the reader might expect – you will have the same effect on the reader.As far as SEO optimization, I believe that content should be first, sidebar(s) on the right. This also fits right along with the notion that your readers should also be exposed to your content first, after all – isn’t that why you blog?
When I'm scrolling through a site my mouse always seems to be on the right side of the page. I think this is linked back to the time before scrolling mice and you had to use the scroll bar.
I figure I can't be the only one who does this, so, this is why I always keep my sidebars on the right.
I feel that if you are trying to maximize SEO, then the column should be on the right. If you are trying to promote ad clicking (and don't mind a high bounce rate) then keep adsense or hot ads on the left sidebar.
It doesn't necessarily matter from an SEO standpoint. The DIV for the sidebar can be located anywhere in the source code. (After the content, of course, is best for SEO.) You can position it on either side by doing the CSS a little different.
I've been using the default right sidebar on my site for a few years. Just today I decided to switch it over to the left and I like it better, perhaps simply because it's a new look but it just seems much more useful on the left.
thanks for the post! i think, if there are no ads on blog, sidebar should be on the right hand side
If all else fails, double sidebar your blog and hope something happens. I’m a find of right hand bars myself, if you’re trying to offer your content first (which you should be) it just makes sense.