There is no doubt that widgets are here to stay. Whether you personally use them or not, most likely you have seen them. After all, 2007 is supposedly the year of the widget. At least this is what we keep hearing.
I have been involved in something widget related since early 2005, when I started writing about the templates that I had modified for Blogger.(templatedblog) I wanted to be able to add “more†to the templates or allow the people that used the templates to add “moreâ€. This is when I started to collect what I called “add-onsâ€. Now referred to as “widgets†I simply added them to the sidebar for display. Almost all are linked to their creators site. I did not blatantly link them or highlight them in anyway. I was still very BlogNoob! This led to SiteStuff and then to widgetslab.blogspot and then to widgetslab.com
I don’t want to define a widget, it’s been done and done again. What I am interested in defining what makes a good widget. What makes a widget popular to the point that the widget developers have to purchase more servers to keep up with demand? What are blog and website owners looking for? What is it that turns them away? These are a few of the questions I’d like to answer.
First and foremost
A widget must be appealing to both the blogger and the reader. It must serve a purpose that engages a blog’s readers.
For example: The Feedburner headline animator displays a certain number of posts from any blog with a feedburner account. I use it at the top to entice readers to view more content on this blog. (it works!)
Less appealing: Clocks in any form. They appeal to the blog creator but the blog readers don’t care. Most, if not all computers have a clock that is constantly displayed. This reduces the clock widget’s value to nothing more than decoration.
Another example: The VodPod widget. This widget ties directly into your VodPod account. When you “BookMark†any video using the VodPod system, it automatically shows up in your widget. Your readers can view any of your bookmarked videos right on your blog. Your readers stay longer and are more engaged.
Keeping readers on site longer is very important. With the newly proposed metrics to measure a blog’s “importance a longer visit is what you want.
Acquisition
The ultimate widget requires no registration. There is no need to travel to the widget home page to get the embed codes. It’s all right there in the widget.
Every developer dreams of a “Viral†widget. Mass widget use by millions of bloggers and social profile creators. Well, this is what is required to make a winning widget viral. Easy adoption, minimal hassle and simple instructions.
Custom options
If you consider creating a widget, the first thing you need to do is think about all of the different sites out there that you would like your widget on. Does each blog or profile look the same? No! These pages shine with their makers creativity. These makers are a lot less likely to use your widget if you insist on limiting their creativity. Give them every conceivable custom option that you can.
Some of the more important custom options include colors, sizes and titles. Don’t forget the smaller options such as border styles, rounded or square corners, background image instead of color, transparency etc..The actual list of options is only limited by your imagination.
Performance
The widget you design must load at blazing speed. Most bloggers won’t tolerate slow load times for widgets. They know that a slow load time translates to visitor loss. Unfortunately, we are becoming a people with less time to do more stuff in. So this is a very important consideration.
Revenue
You are probably thinking that this is all good, but how do I pay for all this? In the beginning you will have out of pocket expenses. As your widget starts gaining acceptance those costs will creep up as well. Remember…your widget is appearing on thousands of pages now. Maybe you should consider selling a small amount of ad space on your widget. Perhaps the ad could appear upon mouseover of the widget or it simply appears in a corner as a simple “sponsor iconâ€. Your widget disclaimer/terms of use should address this from the beginning.
I know there is something missing but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
