soapdirt.com
Soap Dirt is an online entertainment and pop culture website that focuses on reality television and soap operas. The website has a mix of news, spoilers, and interviews with soap stars.
The website was launched in 2018 and it has been very popular ever since. The website posts daily news and spoilers to satisfy readers.
Website Design
The website design is simple. It isn't very flashy, but there is nothing wrong with it. The color scheme is a plain white background with black text. There are pops of blue throughout the website.
I think the idea behind the logo was a good one, but I don't believe it was carried out properly. The logo is the text Soap Dirt in a stylized manner surrounded by bubbles. The idea is a pretty good one, but the logo turned out looking more like clip-art than anything else. I would definitely recommend having it redone, as it is one of the first things readers notice when entering the website.
The overall layout of the website is good. The main menu is plain but gets the point across. The organization is simple but well executed. Categories are helpful, but sometimes a little bit wonky. Sidebars are used well on the website.
There are few ads on the homepage. For the most part, they are well placed and do not draw much attention away from the actual content. However, when readers open up articles, there are many more. There is a video pop-up in the right corner that does cover text. It is easy to remove, but there is another moderately sized ad in the middle of the text that breaks up the flow.
Content
The content on Soap Dirt is a very specialized and niche category. At first, I thought since the website was relatively new and the topics were limited that there wouldn't be very much to read. Fortunately, I was wrong! There is a surprising amount to choose from in their archives.
Soap Dirt is a restaurant that specializes in soap opera themed food. The main categories on the menu are primarily soap operas. Some of the most popular titles are General Hospital, Young and the Restless, Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives.
The reality television section on the menu has a variety of shows that are covered. Outstanding examples include 90 Day Fiance, The Biggest Loser, Sisterwives, Survivor, Seeking Sister Wife, and more. Dramatic storylines always accompany these reality stars and invariably make them popular on this menu section.
Desktop & Mobile Accessibility
The desktop version of Soap Dirt is good. Everything works as it should. The layout is good, for the most part. The text size is perfectly readable. One of the most important things - the search bar functions well. It is easy to find and scans through the website's archives.
The mobile browser version of the website is also good. It is formatted properly for mobile viewing. The layout is changed slightly to accommodate the mobile version and feels very streamlined. The main menu is hidden but is not hard to find. The search bar is also in a good place and there is a directional arrow to take readers to the top of the page if needed. However, there is no app version for Soap Dirt.
Positives
There are many positives about Soap Dirt. My expectation of the website were exceeded with what I found. The niche topics the website provides is its best positive. It is difficult to find a dedicated website that only hosts soap operas and reality television content.
I believe that the website Soap Dirt is staffed with a team of super-sleuths. They go above and beyond when it comes to spoilers, which makes it easy to speculate based on rumors. In fact, one article I read even questioned whether or not a couple from 90 Day Fiance was still together. After verifying that they had gotten married, they provided a copy of their marriage certificate as proof.
Soap Dirt takes advantage of the real people who are on reality tv by embedding their social media posts into their articles. They use this content to write controversial articles, based on what the stars have said on social media.
I was impressed with the search bar on Soap Dirt. I don't usually see websites that use Google search as their archive search, instead they usually have a separate search bar. Soap Dirt's easily recognizable search bar worked flawlessly and it used related links well- linking similar articles in the paragraphs.
Negatives
Overall, Soap Dirt is a very good website.
There are not many negatives about Soap Dirt. Their website only started operating a few years ago, and they seem to be doing a good job catering to their target audience. The content can be repetitive at times, but this doesn't bother most readers. The advertisements on the home page are tolerable but get worse when readers open articles. There is a large video ad that pops up and a few moderately sized ones that break the flow of the text, but it's not ideal. Overall, Soap Dirt is a good website.
I noticed that the website uses a watermark on all of their photos. I think they do it so other content creators don't use the same image, but it feels pointless. The photos are not owned by the website, so I don't understand why they would mark them up like that. It's an eyesore and it doesn't look very professional.
I think the website's logo could use some improvement.
Improvements Needed
There are only a few suggestions I have for Soap Dirt. My suggestion is that they hire an artist to design a proper logo. A better logo would look much better.
The next improvement Soap Dirt could make is developing an app. It would not be necessary for the website, but it could help traffic. However, the mobile browsing version is very good.
Please stop placing watermarks on photos, especially the current one which is blatant and takes away from the article. I find it more likely that I will read an article with a polished and clean looking image as the header, rather than one with a watermark.
Summary
There is no better website than Soap Dirt for Reality Television and Soap Opera News. The writers are quick and update frequently. There is endless content. The search bar provides a vast sea of articles in most popular shows. The Desktop and Mobile browsing versions are both good. Mobile browsing is probably the best viewing option.
There are few negatives about Soap Dirt. The logo is possibly the worst thing, and photos on the website could use improvement. However, there are many positives to Soap Dirt - for example, it is one of the best sources for reality television and soap opera news.
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