So I have heard sites that are “web 2.0” described as “what I expect to see.” Designers are caught between what is cool and striking, and what will work for your audience. And the audience is always right. But does the audience have different taste in American vs Europe?
I have noticed – and this is just me – that it seems like many British and European-influenced sites have left sidebars.
- http://davidjonsson.com.au/branding.html
(well, this is australian, but still)
- http://mastbrothers.com/
(okay, so this has an outpost in Brooklyn, but still. It’s very hip)
This guy actually IS British, and he finds that it’s a wash (left vs. right sidebar), in terms of usability/popularity/conversions/etc. Maybe the right sidebar is sllllllliiiiiiightly more effective. Could it have something to do with them driving on the left side of the road?
However, American Neil Patel (a gentleman who, based on his profile picture, I would not want to fight for the last piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving – he looks intense. But fun!). Sorry, I digress – anyway, Neil has found that left sidebars get more “actions,” (eg, email opt-ins) but with right sidebars, more people actually read his content.
What do you think? Which do you like better? Which seems to work better on your site? Why?
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