Update 6/7/2007: A new version (1.1) of the plugin is now available. This version is a major rewrite of the old one aimed at simplifying the number of choices and adding the following features:

  • A “welcome-back” message for returning visitors.
  • Ability to embed a visitor’s name and MyBlogLog avatar anywhere in either the welcome or welcome-back message. Special thanks to Andrea Micheloni’s “Welcome back” plugin for inspiring this feature.

I’ve mashed up a plugin that lets you put out a message anywhere on your blog for new visitors, and hide it for returning visitors. A little background is in order: I’m generally dissatisfied with the way most current blogs are set up. When a new visitor wanders in, what he usually finds is a collection of seemingly random posts with no quick way to tell what’s the blog’s all about and who’s behind it. This information is usually present in some sort of an ’About’ page up there on the menu. While that’s fine for lengthy background and author bio, what’s missing on the front page is a prominent warm welcome message that greets the new reader and gives him a quick overview of the blog. The purpose of this message isn’t only to inform, it has a subtle effect of making a new “hostile” reader who’s ready to scan the entire blog page in mere seconds a little comfortable and willing to spend some more time exploring the rest of the blog. Ultimately, what we want to do is get the reader’s attention, make him feel welcomed, and give him few tips on where to find stuff on the blog. In my opinion, this has a much higher chance of converting new readers into regular ones on the first visit.
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