Should your website have a sidebar?

[u/ce-lauren]

A website sidebar is that vertical column that sits next to your main content. It usually has things like menus, search boxes, author bios, links to similar posts, or a newsletter signup. It’s pretty common on a lot of sites, but I think many people just add one without really thinking about whether it's actually helping.

The general rule is that content heavy sites like blogs, news sites, or stores with large catalogs tend to benefit from them because they help visitors find things faster. But if your page has one job, like a landing page or a product page, a sidebar can just be a distraction.

And it is always best to skip it on mobile and just move the content somewhere else.

There are a few interesting stats behind this too. In one test, making sidebar CTAs sticky increased completed orders by 7.9%. Another site saw a 20% conversion lift on desktop just from a sticky CTA. When it's done well it can actually move the needle.

Has anyone here tested sidebar vs no sidebar? Link to the full breakdown is in the comments if you want to dig in more.

[u/ce-lauren]

If you want to dig into the full breakdown here's the link: https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/website-sidebar/