I was just thinking about the design of Steemit. The problem is that I have been on the platform for an entire year, and in one year, you totally forget about the first impression of the people coming to it for the first time. You get so used to what you see, that you even forget about things you do not like.
Not long ago, I tested the "Steemit-competitor" CBNT. And it was surprising to listen to my own comments about their website, their platform and what I found to be negative. But, when I thought about it for some more minutes, I actually discovered that much of the same can be said about Steemit as well, except for the fact that I have gotten used to it here, so I do not think about it anymore.
Would Steemit be better off with a magazine like front-page (something like Medium?)
But, for someone who surfs the Internet as an average person with interest in surfing and finding information, I do not think that landing on Steemit.com is a very lasting and positive experience. The front page looks like some old-fashioned website from 15 years earlier in time, and it looks really crappy. Wouldn't the entire platform be better of if the design looked inviting and interesting? Just compare the Steemit frontpage with the Medium website... so different.
I can see the problems with a Medium like front page on Steemit, after all - 95% of the trending posts are trending because of bid-bots, and it would make it hard to actually get the correct articles to the front. But, it could be possible to have a nice looking frontpage with colors and larger images, only to say that articles using bid-bots are forbidden from the intro page. I am not sure how this would work, but I could so easily imagine a much nicer looking Steemit website, which would make it much nicer for the authors active here, and also for the platform itself.
A nicer design will lead to better ad revenue
Steemit is selling ads now and if that will help them keep the platform running, that is fine with me. If it even helps them so that they will not have to sell so many Steem-tokens every month, it is even better. But, if the platform had a delightful design, it would make it easier to discover other articles, meaning that the bounce rate would be better (meaning that each visitor spends more time at the site), which would lead to more ad-clicks and higher income.
Unfortunately, I am not a good designer, but I am sure that someone with the skills could easily make the Steemit website a colorful experience that would be way more easy to love than the current website is with its current design.
Does anyone have any thoughts? I would love to hear from you!
Do not forget to follow me on Steemit, and for even more articles, check websites such as https://www.ipaddressguide.org/ and http://amazonprime.fromabroad.org/ where I also contribute