I’ve just wrapped up a rather large project where I had to redesign a site. Now that it’s done I have many doubts/questions/concerns about how the project was handled and how some decisions were made. One of the biggest concerns that I call to question is the ad placement.
Now I know that there is a reason to follow the standard layout of main content on the left and the sidebar on the right. I know the ad goes on the right because a lot of users tend to head to that direction, as far as eye flow goes. But, I also know that all of these facts were taken from research done a few years ago. It would seem that with the rapid pace at which the internet is evolving that the users would be adapting as well.
The reason I bring this up is because I’ve noticed my browsing habits changing. I actually (subconsciously) stay away from the right side of a website now. I noticed this new habit while browsing this very site. I didn’t know that most of that content was even in the sidebar. So therefore I never noticed the ads that were there either
So I guess my question for debate would be: Is there any value in keeping with the left content – right sidebar layout that was introduced so long ago?
As a side note – If anyone has any sites that can point to user trends/tendencies that have been researched within a year, that would be awesome.