Keep the design of your articles simple
Something I never really understood about some of the people who are writing and publishing articles is their need to add a lot of elements within their articles that are not necessarily related to the content presented or that simply aren't enhancing the reader's experience.
I'm sure you all read, at some point in your life, an article written by someone who decided that it was a good idea to put 10 - 15 images after each section just to make sure you have something to look at after you get interrupted from reading.
Just like that, other people decide it's a good idea to create 10 different subsections for their articles, despite not having to do it. And I'm not talking about long articles that would need them. I'm talking about less than 1000 words articles that have a few phrases in them and 10 subsections.
The reader isn't there to read the titles of your subsections. Those titles aren't there to replace the content.
Readers are interested in the content - that's why they read articles. They want to get something out of your work, be it entertainment, information or a new skill. Not allowing them to do that in the easiest and fastest manner won't benefit you in any way.
I see the use of too many images and subsections within an article as being similar to those annoying ads that appear on TV right in the middle of the show. Sure, in that case it can make sense, especially if we're talking about a 2 hours movie - people need to go to the bathroom, or maybe they are hungry.
But when it comes to articles, readers don't need 2 hours to finish reading one, and even if they do, they can simply stop and do whatever they need. Then they'll pick up from where they left. It's not a hard thing to understand, yet so many people seem to get it wrong.
Stop adding too many elements in your articles and focus on the most important part - sharing the content. If what you write sucks, then people aren't gonna suddenly adore you because your subsections and stock images are incredibly good. If you can't write, then get better. But if you can, then stop annoying people with so many elements that have nothing to do with the content you share.
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Thank you, I really appreciate it! :)
I see occasional posts with footers longer than their content being shared. Some part of me dies each time people think there is nothing out of place with that kind of composition.
Exactly, I sometimes don't read the content if the layout is just horrible, I don't want to spend 2 minutes trying to figure out what I should focus on, subsections titles or whatever's written with normal text.
And the images... oh the images... for some people using one image at the beginning of the article that would describe what the topic is about doesn't seem to be enough. At least 5 images is what some of them strike for, in less than 1000-500 words articles.
It's a shame, because maybe some of those people would actually have something interesting to say. But they seem to find an audience anyway. Some people just don't care about the design of the content they consume. Or maybe we just like "fancy" things.
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