Have you ever searched the web, followed a link through an email or from a website and come to a site thinking you will find what you are looking for, only to see advertisements?

When you come to a site, you want content, I know I do. You do not want to see the title of the article, surrounded by several advertisements and maybe the first sentence of what you are looking for. You want content.

This experience can be frustrating for users. Despite a perceived increase in revenue, long term it may be causing you to lose money. Many above the fold proponents will cry foul, but user experience is core.

During the latest revamp of BigBerries.com, the primary goal was to figure a way to build on our original ideas and navigation while bringing the content that users were looking for higher up the page.

I am aware this goes against the design of practically 100% of the advertising web, but ad revenue is not as important as users being able to scan, find, decide, and digest content.

We are not bashing those who maximize monetization. Properly placing ads and wanting to get more clicks to boost revenue is okay. We have played with several ad placements and layouts over the years.

However, we have not committed to anything that severely compromised the user experience or aborted the BigBerries ideal. Personally, I have gained a deeper level of respect for usability and web design and hope to strike a harmony with all aspects of the user experience.

At some point, I will go over a few of the designs we have had and why we make changes. I hope that it will give you a better understanding and inspire you to find ways to better the experience of your visitors.