Add to my RSS reader – Add to my Website clutter!
RSS feeds are gaining extreme popularity and are unstoppably close to appealing to the mass market. They are everywhere we look and undoubtedly synonymous with “Web 2.0”; they are an older technology who clearly represents the future. However, feeds are still an untamed beast let loose in the wilds of the internet with little control or attention to visual design and user-experience. We have a feed, but it is as though we don’t know what to do with it. This is my second post picking on the design of feeds; today I am going to focus on the “add to my reader” phenomenon that is cluttering websites more-and-more.
I’ve used Fadtastic as my example of choice. I thought it fitting since they playfully call attention to web design “fads” – often in a rhetorically negative light. They, like many other sites have opted for the lengthy and unnecessary list of feed readers for which their users can subscribe from. Fadtastic is by far not the worse culprit of this painful visual experience. Scarlet Blaze is an example of more syndication options than I know what to do with – than anyone should know what do with. Just do a Google search for “myaol.gif” and you are bound to come across an abundance of “great” examples.
So, what is my problem with this abundance of “subscribe to” lists? Well, simply it is the adding of clutter of your website which I am sure already has half-a-dozen elements fighting for attention. How important or useful are these colorful little buttons to begin with? Lets think about this logically. Only first-time visitors are really getting any benefit; most of your returning visitors most likely already subscribe to your feed or have made that conscious decision not too (for whatever reason). Sure, I buy the argument that helping the first time visitor subscribe is crucial for conversation rates (turning a first-timer into a long-timer) – but at what cost and is your method even doing that? If your user is using a feed reader you can make the safe assumption that they are reasonably technologically literate. Your user will find your feed and subscribe if they want too; thrusting a variety of options to which they need to filter through isn’t going to help your cause. I should mention that Firefox 2.0 and Internet Explorer 7 are both making this even easier for the common user!
A lot of complaints should warrant some subjective and opinionated solution, don’t you think? Of course! I say you keep offering your long list of links, just keep creativity and innovation top-of-mind in keeping your visual design and user-experience in tact. Everyone (who uses feeds) has come to recognize the infamous feed icon – use that little 20×20 icon to its maximum potential; exploit it and make it an amazingly powerful visual cue. What I’ve done is add a hover state to my “Add to” icon (well, first thing I did was make it an add-to icon instead of just a simple feed icon). On hover the user is then and only then presented with a list of “add to my” buttons for quick and easy subscription appeasement (I’ve include only the popular ones I’ve deemed appropriate for myself). However, the key to this solution is limiting that long list of “add to” to a hover action – presenting options when they are wanted (providing the user an experience as opposed to forcing one). It is a simple, subtle and obvious location for multiple actions directly related to feeds. On click is where the real beauty of XML really comes into play. As described in a previous post, “Well Designed RSS feeds – Would all web designers please stand up?”, I’ve highlighted the power of XSLT by completely branding and customizing my feed’s XML page for the optimum user-experience. Again, adding the list of “add to” in a nice and subtle location as well as presenting the user with a preview and explanation of the feed.
My solution isn’t “the solution” by any means; just a solution I’ve found effective for my site and those I’ve been currently working on. I feel as though a lot of design decisions being made recently around new “web 2.0” type technologies are being made as rapidly as their deployment. We need to invoke our creative and innovative minds to truly present the best visual decision for the ideal user-experience.
- October 31st, 2006
- 24comments
- I am a proud member of the 9rules network
havent used IE, but the firefox 2.0 solution is dreamy.
Definitely check out IE7, it is much better than I expected. I do love FF2’s new spell check feature!
well, IE doesnt value me, as a mac user, something i’m all to eager to accept.
“Scarlet Blaze is an example of more syndication options than I know what to do with – than anyone should know what do with.“
What’s bugging me even more about that site than the syndication options is the ridiculous amount of “Submit To…” buttons at the bottom of every article. Lets count them: Del.icio.us, Furl, Spurl, Digg, BlikBits, BlinkList, Blogmarks, Co.mments, Conotea, De.liri.us, Digg (yes, twice), Fark, FeedMeLinks, Linksagogo, Ma.gnolia, Netvouz, Newsvine, Raw Sugar, Reddit, Shadows, Simpy, Smarking, Tail Rank, Wists, YahooMyWeb. That’s 25 (if you count Digg twice). Is that really necessary? I’ve only used Newsvine, Digg, and Del.icio.us, so I can’t speak for the others, but don’t they all have a Bookmarklet?
I like your mouseover solution, however I have a question: don’t all of those readers accept standard RSS feeds? If so, why are those buttons necessary in the first place?
Andrews, the reason the buttons are so crucial is primarily attributed to the infancy of feeds to the mass market. XML is an unknown beast to many web users and the “add to” buttons seemingly make it a much friendlier entity. It is ease of use – making subscribing to your content just one-click away; instant access and immediate gratification. Many people utilize bookmarklets for this, but a user isn’t always on their primary machine when stumbling across a site of high interest.
As I stated, FF2 and IE7 might be the start of removing the need for such graphical buttons.
http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/93-its-the-content-not-the-icons
Garak, great link!!! Glad I beat them to it or I would have felt like a follower. It is always refreshing to know you are thinking slightly in the same directions as the blogs you read religiously.
Wow - I’ve never been used as an example before!
Anyway, after reading 37signals’ article as well as yourselves I’ve put it on my to-do list to scrap this area of fad and to replace it with more of a guidance on the RSS feeds available at fadtastic. A good wake up call my friend.
I think this article is only relevant on a design/tech related site however as the buttons are still a lot of use for the non-savvy reader. Your thoughts on this? Could the genre of site deem whether these buttons are useful to the reader?
I hope you enjoy reading us.
Andrew, first I do highly enjoy Fadtastic – one of many daily visits for sure.
I honestly believe the non-tech savvy user still hasn’t adopted “RSS”. It isn’t mainstream yet – it is popular only among those in “the know”. The whole idea of a XML and a reader is still rather intimidating, perhaps even scary.
I believe IE7 (because of its popularity with the mainstream public) more than anything else will help bridge that gap between those actively using and those reluctant to start (or even unaware).
I do think the buttons are still necessary at this point in time – the primary point of my post was on the visual presentation and user-experience of those buttons.
“Many people utilize bookmarklets for this, but a user isn’t always on their primary machine when stumbling across a site of high interest.“
Very true. Maybe portable, flash drive-based browsers (ala Firefox Portable) will start to change this. In the meantime the least that could be done is something like your mouseover solution, or a drop down menu such as this.
“It is always refreshing to know you are thinking slightly in the same directions as the blogs you read religiously.“
Indeed, and I think the drop-down is a better solution than not having them at all, for the reasons you explained in 2.2 above. Is your implementation home-grown? I’ve not looked at the source yet, but it looks great.
Not home grown (can’t take the credit for that). Using the same thing I used to use for drop down menus, P7 javascript solution
I agree that the visual clutter is hard to stomach - if you add the Submit to . . and the Add to . . ., it’s a ridiculous amount of extra stuff. What’s that horrible business-school mantra - that people are either driven by fear or greed? That’s definitely on display with these - fear that all the cool kids are doing it, so we have to as well, or greed at the thought of all that traffic being dugg will get you.
As a sign that social bookmarking/ news sharing sites are becoming more popular it’s interesting and encouraging, but I hope the excess flair will soon have had its day.
David, great comments. I do think there is something to adding all these buttons and being like the “cool kids”. Its funny how some of these “new” things when they are new can be attributed to being “in the know” and an “industry leader” of so
Martin,
Thanks for taking time to respond. I used to display a dropdown not dissimilar to the one here but it bugged me with the whole javascript/accessibility issue. I’d reinstate it if anyone could recommend an accessible, standards compliant version.
I’ll do a little research — I am confident the solution exists. This is just a “drop down menu” and I know there have been plenty articles on accessible and standards compliant drop-down menus — I was already using P7 from an older design version of MarylandMedia and so this method look less than 10 minutes to implement (I got lazy).
This should do it! A web standards accessible approach to my drop down solution
Credit where credit is due, thanks to Nick Rigby’s A List Apart Article
I am going to fully test this before converting, but so far so good!
Thanks muchly. This will come in handy. Might have to rearrange my feed area as this is unlikely work work in a column with something below it I guess. Will let you know when it’s implemented. Cheers Martin.
Something I have been wondering about recently is if/how/what RSS feeds take away from your blog. I don’t consistently use a feed-reader because I found myself not participating in discussion like I did when I wasn’t using a reader.
If you run a blog, then odds are that you would like people to comment, and participate in your writings. If a person is viewing your content from a feed-reader, are they less likely to actually venture over to your site to post a comment than they are if the comment form is right there staring them in the face?
Also, people that run blogs watch their traffic religiously. If all of your readers end up using a feed reader to enjoy your content, then how does that ultimately effect your traffic, and do you get the same kind of information in your traffic statistics when a user is using a feedreader?
I go the other route (with my sites, and my clients’, unless they have a serious objection) - offering full posts in the RSS feeds. It’s a convenience to the user (while offering only the first post is a convenience to the site owner, who wants to drive people to the site - why exactly? Just for traffic figures? For ad revenue?).
My take on it is that you want to build a relationship with your readers, and not annoying them is a part of that. Sure, if they’re reading the feed post in full they might not be coming to your site, but you’re still reaching them - in the way that’s simplest for them.
On a usability point too - full post RSS feeds make much more sense on mobile devices, where driving people to the full site is an extra extra inconvenience.
RSS is a great tool. I love it. I have a problem choosing exactly what I want to see in my feeds, but I think it’s going to evolve into a good part of the web experience. I hope that there are no hackers thinking of intercepting these and filling them with spam.
I think I’ve read of RSS feeds getting “hijacked” and re-directed to other sites, but it would seem to me at least that it would involve hacking the site itself, and not just intercepting the feed. Then again, who knows?
Interesting topic (never thought about it really) — anyone got any good supportive articles on this? I’d definitely be interesting in reading more. Thanks.
Here’s one about podcast feeds getting hijacked for ransom.
Hijack Hysteria Hits Podcasting World
And here’s one that discusses some of the potential legal consequences of such behavior
RSS Hijacking: Is It Copyright Infringement?
Both discuss the same situation:
“Briefly, a third party has created a URL that links to the official RSS feed from Erik [Marcus’] podcast. This URL has been spread throughout podcast directories as if it were the official link to subscribe to Erik’s show. If someone subscribes to this feed, it does deliver the podcast, provided that the third party interloper maintains the link back to the official feed. Now, this third party has refused to maintain the link to the official feed without a monetary payment. To add to the problem is that ITunes picked up the interloper’s URL as the feed for Erik’s podcast, so anyone who uses that program as their podcatcher cannot get the show. Erik reports that his traffic is now down 75%.“