1 or 2 sidebars?

[Ellen F]

I was looking at some blog designs and there seems to be a most blogs that I have seen have only a single sidebar and it's usually on the right side of the pages.

I was wondering if it's better to have just a single sidebar on 1 side of the pages on your blog or if 2 was better. What do you think?

I didn't know if there was a reason for using a single sidebar vs a 2 sidebar layout. I see so many that have just 1 so I thought there might be some advantage for 1 reason or another.

 

[vishwa]

Single sidebar works great for me and it also works great on mobile devices as well. Using two sidebar can distract users reading your content. If you have a single niche site than using one sidebar is enough for you.

 

[ulterios]

Many times deciding on whether to use one sidebar of not comes down to a preference of what you like personally. Most of my sites have single sidebars on the right side but I do have a couple that have 2 sidebars, one on each side.

I usually go with a single sidebar for the reasons that @vishwa noted above, unless I have some other reason for using two.

If you go with 1 sidebar than that will give you a wider area for your content so that is something to consider. This allows you to use bigger and wider images so if your site is reliant on good images then 1 is probably the best choice.

 

[Traveler]

One thing to think about too is if you use 2 sidebars is that you will probably have to use smaller advertisements so they won't be too big for the pages. If you use one sidebar then you can use bigger advertisements and still not be too much for a page.

 

[Ellen F]

Single sidebar works great for me and it also works great on mobile devices as well. Using two sidebar can distract users reading your content. If you have a single niche site than using one sidebar is enough for you.

If I have 2 sidebars on my blog it will not work good on mobile devices?

Many times deciding on whether to use one sidebar of not comes down to a preference of what you like personally. Most of my sites have single sidebars on the right side but I do have a couple that have 2 sidebars, one on each side.

I usually go with a single sidebar for the reasons that @vishwa noted above, unless I have some other reason for using two.

If you go with 1 sidebar than that will give you a wider area for your content so that is something to consider. This allows you to use bigger and wider images so if your site is reliant on good images then 1 is probably the best choice.

I hadn't thought about the size of the content area size. Thanks for mentioning that.

One thing to think about too is if you use 2 sidebars is that you will probably have to use smaller advertisements so they won't be too big for the pages. If you use one sidebar then you can use bigger advertisements and still not be too much for a page.

I didn't think about the advertisement sizes. I guess I have to take that into consideration. Thanks for mentioning that.

 

[JohnQ]

I think it just depends on what you like and what you think your blog visitors will like. I usually go with just a single sidebar on my own sites so that the advertising doesn't become to overwhelming.

 

[vishwa]

If I have 2 sidebars on my blog it will not work good on mobile devices?

Exactly. It will make your site little bit narrowed and thus give bad user experience. I suggest you to go with single sidebar.

 

[Traveler]

I didn't think about the advertisement sizes. I guess I have to take that into consideration. Thanks for mentioning that.

Happy to help. I have done that myself before and found out after doing the setup that I needed to change some things for ad sizes.

 

[Dean]

I have 1 sidebar on most of my sites because it gives me a wider area to showcase my content and it also allows me to have bigger advertisements in the sidebar area than a 2 sidebar setup without clogging the page up and making it look cheap.

In the end I think that is all comes down to what you like and want to present.

 

[Ellen F]

I have 1 sidebar on most of my sites because it gives me a wider area to showcase my content and it also allows me to have bigger advertisements in the sidebar area than a 2 sidebar setup without clogging the page up and making it look cheap.

In the end I think that is all comes down to what you like and want to present.

I was thinking about using 1 mostly for the content display benefits. I didn't think about being able to use bigger advertisements in the sidebar also. Thanks for bringing that point up.

 

[Ellen F]

Exactly. It will make your site little bit narrowed and thus give bad user experience. I suggest you to go with single sidebar.

Thanks for your advice. I think that is what I am going to do because I don't want to distract too much from my content. Now I just have to find a good theme that will work nicely for this setup.

 

[Dean]

I was thinking about using 1 mostly for the content display benefits. I didn't think about being able to use bigger advertisements in the sidebar also. Thanks for bringing that point up.

I'm happy to help Ellen.

Being able to have bigger advertisements while still having a big area to show off your content might actually produce better results than having 2 smaller advertisements.

 

[Chi Doan]

I think for blog, I should have only one sidebar.
But for e-commerce site, we should have 2 side bars.

 

[Bytegrow Technologies]

Single sidebar is more preferable for blogs, by this the blogs can get more space for the content body.

 

[Ellen F]

I think for blog, I should have only one sidebar.
But for e-commerce site, we should have 2 side bars.

Why does it make a difference if it is an ecommerce website or not?

 

[Ellen F]

Single sidebar is more preferable for blogs, by this the blogs can get more space for the content body.

Why is it more profitable to have a single sidebar?

Is it because you can have bigger ads or something like that?

 

[Ben]

In my opinion it will depend on several things including the site itself, how big the sidebars are going to be, what you are putting in them and some other things.

I would say that for most blogs that are out there most people use just one sidebar but I have seen some nice 2 sidebar blog also.

I would just go with the setup that you like and you think the people coming to your site will like.

 

[KeralMTG]

On a blog I think that 1 sidebar is the best because people can see your posts content more easy. On some other websites then 2 sidebars might be good for some but not a blog.

 

[Ellen F]

In my opinion it will depend on several things including the site itself, how big the sidebars are going to be, what you are putting in them and some other things.

I would say that for most blogs that are out there most people use just one sidebar but I have seen some nice 2 sidebar blog also.

I would just go with the setup that you like and you think the people coming to your site will like.

I would be having a list of my latest posts, some social media profiles, some affiliate advertisements and maybe a couple of other things in them.

I always liked the 2 sidebar look but that might be because I am older and there used to be a lot of websites setup like that when I first started doing things online many years ago.

 

[Ben]

I would be having a list of my latest posts, some social media profiles, some affiliate advertisements and maybe a couple of other things in them.

I always liked the 2 sidebar look but that might be because I am older and there used to be a lot of websites setup like that when I first started doing things online many years ago.

I like the 2 sidebar setups on some websites also but it kind of depends on what the site is about and what is put in them. If you really like them then you can try a 2 sidebar setup and just see how it looks and if you or your visitors don't like the way it looks then you can change it later.