I launched a new design here on Leaving Work Behind a few weeks ago.
Most bloggers launch a new design in the hope that it will boost key metrics like average page views and bounce rate, with a view to ultimately boosting their bottom line. I took a contrarian approach based upon a vision of what I wanted the site to be. As I said when I announced the new design, “Sometimes you just need to do something because it feels right.”
It feels as right today as it did back then, but I know that some of you were interested in how the new design would perform. It’s a question I was keen to answer too – after all, it’s not every day that you get to observe the effects of such a radical design change.
In this post I’ll reveal just how the design has affected key metrics and then ask you for your comments and/or suggestions as to what I can do to make the site even more effective!
Out With the Old, In With The New
I loved the old Leaving Work Behind design when I first launched it, but over time my adoration faded. It got to a point where I wanted to step away from an image-heavy, ‘commercial’ design and bring the site back to its simple roots.
Leaving Work Behind is largely a reflection of me: the principles I hold dear and the actions I take in an attempt to improve my life. The design no longer felt like a reflection of what I feel is important: an appreciation of the happiness that can be found in relatively simple living. Don’t get me wrong – I like having my creature comforts and gadgets – but over the past several months I have gained a far better appreciation that those things do not ultimately determine one’s happiness.
And that is exactly why this new design is so simple. The old design felt thoroughly overwhelming to me, and I wanted to create something that provided a comforting simplicity and brought clarity to the visitor’s experience.
I’m also a massive geek and wanted to have a crack at designing the site myself. Given my limited web design skills, my involvement necessitated a simple design!
The Numbers
I put little thought into how the design would affect metrics. I decided that if I followed my heart and built something that felt right for me and the blog, engagement would improve naturally.
Fortunately, I was correct. A comparison of the weeks before and after the launch of the new design tell an encouraging story:
Before (29th October to 11th November)
After (12th November to 25th November)
As you can see, all of the engagement metrics have moved in the right direction:
- Page views per session are up 19%
- Time on site is up 1%
- Bounce rate is down 10%
Considering that the pessimist in me was hoping that the metrics wouldn’t go too far the wrong way, I’m pretty pleased with these numbers!
So far so good. But I’ve not addressed what is perhaps the most important metric in most people’s opinions: email subscribers. How have they fared since I switched designs?
Not well.
The conversion rate of unique visitor to email subscriber was pretty poor before the design change – 1.7% during the first twelve days of November. But things got much worse when the design changed – the conversion rate almost halved to 0.9%. In fact, in the last week I’ve lost more subscribers than I’ve gained!
I’m not surprised in the slightest by this. Putting the design to one side for a moment, I removed two key conversion tools on 13th November: my Optinmonster exit-intent popup and my Many Contacts bar. I don’t know if the design really made things worse, or if the removal of these conversion tools did the damage.
Either way, the vast majority of bloggers would tell me that I should work hard on increasing the number of email subscribers I have. I’m not so convinced. While the commercial argument that email subscribers are more valuable than any other type of visitor to your site, part of me wants to acquiesce to the “they’ll subscribe if they want to” mindset.
What Next?
As it stands, I’m pretty happy with the design. What I’d most like to address is a means by which visitors can more easily navigate through the site. My proposed solution is to add an Archives to the navigation bar, but I’m not rushing into anything just yet.
The key question is arguably what to do about email subscribers. Like I said, I’m in no rush to make major changes, and I’d love to know what suggestions you might have on that front. In fact, I’d love to read any comments and/or suggestions you have about the design, so fire away in the comments section below!
Matt says
Hey Tom. I’ve been following your blog for a little over a year now. I like the changes, although at first I thought it was a little sparse. After reading this post I get the feel you’re going for. This design seems to be much cleaner and not nearly as ‘heavy’ as the last. I always enjoy reading your posts and hopefully someday will take the same plunge you have! All the best!
Tom Ewer says
Good use of the word ‘heavy’ – that’s exactly how I felt about it. Thanks Matt!
Kaya Ismail says
Hey Tom,
Any particular reason for dropping OptinMonster?
Tom Ewer says
Two things Kaya:
Cheers!
Beth says
Thanks for sharing the numbers … I’d say it’s doing really well! As for the subscribers, you’re probably experiencing a downward shift because your message is shifting a little. I think it’s just a minor recalibration and will start moving upward again soon.
Tom Ewer says
Interesting perspective Beth! Either way, I’m feeling very laissez-faire about email subscribers at the moment.
Fran Civile says
Like Beth I think that your number of subscriptions are matching agreement with your declared philosophy and that’s a good thing.
I like your new image and I agree with your views on a good life!
Fran
Tom Ewer says
Thank you Fran!
Debi says
If I may ask, Tom, what percentage of the site’s traffic is from search engines? From social media referrals? I ask because, while I love the visual simplicity, your new design may be a bit confusing to new visitors.
Those first on-page seconds are critical for new visitors, and while your design’s simplicity helps to quickly convey answers for their first two important questions (Where am I? What can I do here?), there isn’t even a hint at the third-and-crucial question (Why should I do it?) above the fold. (A “clarity trumps persuasion pdf” google search will provide a reference with insight to this reasoning.) I might test a ManyContacts bar with your This Isn’t Just Another “Make Money Online” Blog opt-in box headline and see what happens since that would keep things clean, I think.
Also, the second question’s (What can I do here?) answer is somewhat vague at this point, imho, and your archives idea might help. With the same “keep things clean” goal in mind, I’d probably try adding drop-down categories to the nav-bar Blog link.
Thank you for the transparent follow-up info. I was curious how the new design would work out for you stats-wise because I do really like the “feel” of it.
Tom Ewer says
Hey Debi,
Nice idea with the drop-down bar…I’ll think about it.
Regarding your first question, all engagement metrics are improved for search engine traffic, which accounts for 63% of total traffic.
Cheers,
Tom
Bonita says
Glad the design has worked out for you and most of the numbers are headed in the right direction.
I like Debi’s idea about having a drop down menu under the navigation bar blog link. It follows the same logic as offering a table of contents in a book so readers aren’t left with 50,000 words to sort through to find things of interest.
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Bonita!
Nico says
Nice to see the bounce rate go down. Were there any other factors at play that resulted in that jump in unique users?
Tom Ewer says
Nothing specific – probably just greater numbers from publishing more posts in that time period.
Justin says
Hey Tom!
Just thought I’d drop by to say I really like the new design. Much cleaner/neater and I’m guessing everything loads a bit faster too? A much more “pro” blogger feel here now.
Two things:
1. I’m with you on the email conversion paradox. Yes, your conversion rate might have went down, but it all comes down to the value and engagement of the subscribers then, doesn’t it? I’d rather gain 400 subscribers per month that are 80% engaged than 1,000 that are 20% engaged. Plus…you want the RIGHT audience/customers signing up as well. We saw a similar decrease in conversions with our redesign but, with some tweaking, we were able to get that back up in a much less spammy, in-your-face way.
2. Don’t dig the tagline on the homepage. I get your point, but you include the stop phrase” Make Money Online” which is a bit of a turn-off. Yes, you’re not like the other guys…but the other guys say that now too! Talk more about what you stand for than what you stand against, IMO.
Best of luck!
Warren says
Good points Justin. Tom, maybe you could try: “Learn How To Not Let Work Dictate Your Life,” or “Slave To Your Job? Let Me Show You How To Change That.” Something like that.
Not only can ” make money online ” be a deterrent, but it’s better to be specific with what it is you want to help your readers with.
Then I would use the “double optin” approach (which I’ll be implementing myself as well) instead of the straight email field like: “Yes, I Want to Know More” or ” Start Here.” Having one button places less pressure on the reader to subscribe.
Just some ideas for ya!
Keep inspiring,
Warren
Tom Ewer says
Hey Justin,
Yeah – it loads a lot faster. The old design was a behemoth!
Cheers!
Tom
Warren says
Hi Tom,
I really love the new design. Then again, I also loved the former too. It seems like a lot of blogs are going this route — simple, with flat colors — I love it though! In the end, it really does depend on your vision for the blog.
I’ve must’ve switched my design three times before finally creating one that provided a better user experience and attractive look. But I also know, I’ll be changing it again in the future.
I think it’s important we continue to make changes over time, so we don’t become stale.
By the way, did you use the same programmer and designer as you did on the former site, or was this all you? Thanks and…
Keep inspiring,
Warren
Tom Ewer says
Nope, this was all me Warren! Thanks 🙂
Patrick says
Really like the new simpler design of your site.
I’m not brave enough to lose the sidebar and widgets on my blog, though.. 😮
Tom Ewer says
Haha, I know what you mean 😉
Jerry C. says
Hey!
The new design is great. Clean, blue, white – it gives a calm sense of respect. 🙂 And it’s very mobile friendly, from what I see!
Cheers!
Tom Ewer says
Thanks Jerry!
ketefhanifi says
Ilike all your changes specially the new design;you are usually for top surprises.
Tom Ewer says
Thanks! 🙂