What Happened To Left Sided Navigation?

OK the title is a contradiction and we'll get to that in a minute. Firstly, I want to speak about a certain design style (MFA), and what you should aim to achieve with your layout. With most blogs the most important thing is content, and rightly so. But what if your content is not easy to find?

Can I have some Website With These Ads..

For MFA sites (made for AdSense) the main objective is to get your visitors to click some Adsense ads. Usually this is done by having the biggest ads all above the fold and in between the content. Most MFA's don't even have a navigation bar.. if you want to leave, you're either clicking an ad, or closing the window, and we all know which is the easier option, especially since Google's targeting is 90% spot on.

Imagine this scenario.. you've fired up Google-Search looking for an old duck, herb, and Carrot recipe. You arrive at an MFA-recipe blog and find a half decent, 140 word recipe. Good article but you want to continue your search.

Now, what would you do?..
1. close the window, open the browser and repeat the Google search. (unlikely)
2. Hit the browsers back button. (possibly)
3. Click an inviting, relevant banner which states to have the "best duck, herb, carrot recipe in the world" with pictures of fresh carrots etc. (definitely)

This is not a webmaster accident, and it's certainly not bad designing. This ugly layout is marketing-gold at it's finest, and something we can all learn from.

So We should Build Ugly Layouts?..

No, you buffoon! What you should do, and what is now common in MFA as shown above, is decide what you want from readers and what specific action you want them to take. By knowing what you, or your client wants visitors to do, you'll know what route to take.

For example: SocFx (Social Effects) wants to gain frequent, and return visitors. I know by putting out great content targeted to my readers they'll be more inclined to become loyal. I further show them my great content by displaying related posts just below current articles. If the Related posts aren't of their fancy, I've positioned the category listings in the sidebar which is aligned with the article for easy viewing.

This layout isn't a theme, it's a choice..

By understanding my goals, it helps me to ram as much of my content down your throat which will hopefully leave an impact just big enough for you to share the post with your friends, or.... become a loyal reader

You need to know your destination before planning your route! ~

Oh yeah, what did happen to left sided navigation?

Louis