Get rid of unused elements in your designs

Just in case you didn't realize, a couple of days ago I have removed the unused header here on Web International Awards. When the blog got redesigned last year in March, that header was planned to hold huge thumbnails — if huge thumbnails is correct. However, things took off and I didn't have time to finish the header and really implement post thumbnails for the most popular articles that we've published.

Finally, I got some spare minutes, and I completely removed that ugly header and awful message it contained. The reason why I am giving this advice is that soon after the unused header was removed, the number of pages/visit improved with around 20%, and that can't be just a simple coincidence.

Therefor, be careful to keep the main content of your sites as high as possible. Perhaps if I fully developed the features of the header it would have resulted in better traffic towards older articles, but I think it is more important to keep new visitors as long as possible on current articles.

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Further reading

• 1. The change is here. Hover events come to mobile devices
• 2. Should I use on hover behavior?
• 3. Javascript DOs and DONTs. Complete with 17 examples from real web
• 4. Consistency. Key element in extraordinary UX

Published on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 1:00 pm in design, layout, usability.

About Bogdan Pop

Bogdan Pop is a young Romanian entrepreneur who runs WebRaptor. He is a web developer with awesome design skills, who enjoys writing about everyday's work and usability. He relaxes by taking photos every once in a while and by mixing french electronic music. Connect with him via Twitter.