Web usability – blog tag cloud.

This post is about user friendly blog tag clouds.

If you look across to the right you will see a section called Tags.

The Tags box shows all the tags that I have used up until now. Clicking on a tag will bring up a list of all the articles that I have tagged with that particular word or phrase.

Currently, my readers are not being inconvenienced by not seeing a relevant tag. Until recently however, this was not the case. Only 45 tags were shown. 45 tags is the WordPress default. There is no easy or obvious solution to this issue.

In my view, having such a limited number of tags is a violation of good web usability policies. For more on web usability check out Steve Krug’s book:

Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition

I decided to find a fix for this problem and started by asking for advice in a key forum. One helpful member suggested I alter the wp-includes/widgets.php file by changing the wp_tag_cloud(); code to read wp_tag_cloud(‘smallest=8&largest=22&number=100&orderby=count’);

This suggestion did not work, despite later research indicating that:

• The advice was sound.
• The advice worked for many people.
• The advice is commonly offered as a solution.
• The method is preferred over the solution I eventually had to employ.

Prior searches for, and tests of, a number of tag cloud WordPress plugins were unsatisfactory (either did not solve the issue or created other issues and/or problems). I had to find a solution.

Fortunately, my determination to solve the problem was bolstered by some old computing principles that I learnt long ago in a 1981-82 computer programming course I studied. I knew that, as computers are ‘stupid’ and are designed to do exactly what they are told, some higher logic was ‘telling’ the blog not to alter the tag cloud, despite my making the suggested change**. (**I might add that many people suggesting this change, as outlined above, have much more knowledge of WordPress coding than I do, so the fix clearly works for many). I reasoned then that there must be some other file affecting the situation.

Indeed, there was. It is the category-template.php file in the wp-includes folder. I had to find the function wp_tag_cloud area and adjust the settings accordingly. Once I had done that, my issue was solved and my readers were able to view all the tags. I made the maximum font size smaller too, as well as increased the maximum tag number.

I hope this post helps some of you look after your blog readers better.

I may have to alter this file again when either my blog theme, or WordPress itself is updated, so bear that in mind if you use this solution. Please also bear in mind that I have the impression that the first suggested method is considered preferable to the solution that I had to employ – I am not sure why though.

Make sure you back up your blog before fiddling with code (see my article here: Backing up your WordPress blog).

And; if you are not confident in what you are doing, don’t do it – get someone else on the case.

Don’t risk destroying or damaging your blog.

Related posts:

1. Fed up with the 45 tag cloud limit on the standard WordPress install?
2. Backing up your WordPress blog.
3. Problem posting to my blog.
4. Fix (workaround) for WordPress “Failed to write file to disk” image upload error.
5. Blogging Tips 3 – choice of theme