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April 21, 2026

Reading blogs as they are

A few years (or maybe last week? I don't remember), one reader commented they did not know how to navigate my blog. (All my blogs are one column with no sidebars like this blog you're currently reading.) I guess I should have asked them to explain but I didn't want to make a fuss so I let it go.
    Even if you are new to a blog, all you have to do is click on anything (ie, a post header, an image, any word that looks like links, etc), it goes somewhere - is that not simple? Even if you're used to blogs with a sidebar, that shouldn't matter. But that's probably not the problem. I really don't know the problem was. Does anyone know?
    That comment made me think about how blogs are viewed. In the beginning, blogs are designed for large screens (such as a computer) but you can still view them on a small screen (such as a phone) but in a more simplified way mostly as text or just not with a lot of the graphics/images or with the structure of a blog. Now with more powerful phones, viewing blogs is almost like viewing them on a computer only everything's smaller.
    I'm not much of a phone user so I cannot say if viewing a blog on a phone is worst than on a computer screen but the small size does put me off. But I mostly prefer viewing blogs on a computer screen and in a browser and seeing all the elements at once in their proper place and looking at images and graphics at regular sizes. I don't think you get the full experience of a blog on a small screen even if it is designed to look exactly the same as on a computer. 
    Besides, bloggers work hard to get their blog to look a certain way and set up all these little nuggets you probably dismissed or couldn't see too well on a small screen. Mostly, a blogger's hard work deserves to be seen properly.

Do you have problems navigating blogs? Do you prefer to view blogs on a small or large screen?

15 comments:

  1. I have no problems navigating your blog. Because the - for me - essential navigation instrument for a blog: The Blog Archive, is in place. I have to scroll down to find it, whereas it might be situated in the sidebar in blogs endowed with these. But that's a very minor point. The existing - or not - of this Blog Archive makes or breaks a blog's accessibility to me.
    As I do not even own a Smart Phone, I always read blogs on my computer. I think I could now read blogs on a 'phone, the letters would be too small, and if I enlarged them to a readable size, the lines would be at best four words long :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charlotte: I have seen blogs with no blog archives even though it seems they have years of posts.

      It's true, on a phone, everything's smaller so you have to either increase the text size or squint.

      Thank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  2. Small or large screen works

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christine: Yes, but which works better for you? That's what I'm asking.

      Thanks. Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  3. Until I read Charlotte's comment, I had never scrolled all the way to the bottom to see the information there. I do like it when a blog has a search function with it because occasionally, I want to refer to a post someone did and that helps me find it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Live and Learn: I guess this is why some people like sidebars - they are up there with the rest, unlike a footer. A search tool is a good tool - most blogs have them.

      Thank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  4. I don't have problems navigating blogs. I prefer larger screens, but I can certainly read them on a phone. I don't like commenting with a phone, but I will.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Al Penwasser: I've never actually comment on blogs using a phone so I don't know how easy that is but I assume it's the same as on a computer but maybe harder to type.

      Thank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  5. Definitely large screen, and your blog is NOT difficult to navigate. I appreciate that there's no blinking and fidgeting ads and pop-ups! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tamara: My blog will never have anything blinking or flashing or pop-ups if I can help it. I put or don't put in my blog what I want other blogs to be like.

      Thank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  6. I suppose I visit enough blogs that I know where to look. When I saw no sidebar on your blog, I thought to look at the footer or header. I have navigation everywhere on mine - LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Samantha: Same here. I always look about if I don't see something, isn't that how one read blogs? I notice you have a return to the top arrow button at the very bottom of the blog which I appreciate.

      Thank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
  7. Your blog is well organized. I just checked whether there was anything I would have missed but everything is really good. Sometimes, I find blogs where I can't find whether they've reviewed a certain book or a post they have written before. But that is not the case on your blog, don't know what kind of problem they have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marianne: Some blogs are harder to navigate especially they don't have the usual things - sidebars, links, etc.

      Thank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.

      Delete
    2. True. And thank you.

      Delete

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