9 Tips To Optimize WordPress Sidebars for Better Conversion Rate

WordPress web development is one of the most preferred methods of building a website and its convenient features attract users from other platforms who take help from agencies who provide facilities for migration such as PSD to WordPress conversion services.  Below, we have shared nine tips to optimize your WordPress sidebars for better conversion rate.

People pay a lot of attention in designing the header footer and body of their website but the sidebar is usually neglected when it can be very effectively used for converting visitors into users. Let’s take a look at some valuable tips to optimize WordPress sidebars which will help in providing a better user experience and improve website traffic.

Minimize The Number Of Widgets

The sidebar is the space on one or both sides of a webpage which is usually populated with widgets for displaying popular posts, search box, advertisements etc. A common mistake that most people commit is stuff this limited space with as many widgets as possible which only leads to bloating and making the website slow. A specific purpose for the sidebar must be identified like using it to display your social media accounts or promoting a new product. This will help in finalizing the widgets that can be included in that space in an appealing manner that will drive user engagement at the same time.

Remove All Default Widgets

WordPress comes with some pre-existing default widgets which if not removed will only affect the visual appeal of the website. This will be detrimental to visitor traffic and therefore all unnecessary default widgets must be removed immediately. It is also not a complex task requiring technical skills and a user can simply drag an unwanted widget to the “Inactive Widgets” section to make it disappear from the interface.

Prioritize The Placement Of Widgets

It will be wise to strategically plan the placement of widgets as it can help in enhancing the user engagement and the time spent by visitors on the website. Once the widgets have been selected for inclusion in the sidebar, try to arrange the order from top to bottom in which they will be visible to a guest. Putting the items that you want the visitor to spot immediately will naturally be placed on top with the rest of them being placed similarly in decreasing order of preference.

Customize Sidebar According To The Page

Another mistake that is seen in most websites is creating a uniform sidebar for all pages which is not only wastage of precious space but also negatively affects the overall user experience. Customize this space according to the page on which it will appear like a landing page must have a sidebar with a contact form or email subscription form widget to improve the chances of converting visitors into users.

Optimize According To Mobile Devices

Website owners must take into consideration the rising traffic coming from smart devices as compared to desktops and optimize WordPress sidebars accordingly. The scrolling action needed for navigating an interface on a mobile device makes it necessary to keep all the target elements on top so that visitors can see them easily. It is a very important point and must be considered as people are taking help of such devices is not only visiting websites but also conducting sale and purchase transactions.

Always Use Floating Widgets

One of the best ways to target visitors and encouraging them into taking the desired action is using floating widgets. It will ensure that irrespective of the direction in which people are scrolling to view a web page, the widgets remain constantly in view so that they can use them whenever they wish to. The appropriate call to action buttons can be placed in the form of widgets to improve the conversion rate of an interface.

But here it is also important to note that Google AdSense policies does not allow to show ads on floating sidebar. Hence, request you to please go through the Adsense policy thoroughly before implementing this tip.

This tip will work best if you are not using Google AdSense Ads in your WordPress sidebar.

Add Only Internal Links

Placing links on a sidebar that direct traffic away from the website is a big mistake and owners must only place internal links that take visitors to other related content or pages. This will also increase the time that people spend on your interface and the longer they remain on a website, the brighter are the chances of them turning into users.

Resize And Optimize All Images

Images may be used as design elements or for any other purpose in the sidebar and care must be taken to ensure that all images are properly optimized. Choose the most appropriate format and resize the images so that they do not affect the loading speed of the website. A failure to do so will result in increased loading time which will lead to high abandonment rate.

Review The Sidebar At Regular Intervals

The sidebar must be periodically reviewed in order to assess whether all the elements included in it are still useful for the website or not. It will also help in assessing whether the order in which they are displayed needs to be changed or not and will ensure that the area remains attractive and productive.

Conclusion

All the above-mentioned measures to optimize WordPress sidebars will help in improving the engagement of visitors with a website and increase the number of people who take the desired action. If you face any problem with widgets of your WordPress site then feel free to contact us or share your message in below comment box.