Hi. I just started translating a web novel and started using Blogspot/Blogger. I'm not certain how I should format everything, specifically adding Next and Previous links so the reader can move on to the next or previous page. I'm also wondering if I should write my chapter updates as Pages or Posts. I'm not sure if I'm going to do this long term but I still want my website to be more convenient for the readers as it is frustrating when you don't know how to navigate a website. Please give me some suggestions on how to make the layout/format neat and convenient! Thanks! Feel free to check out my translation of the web novel Remarry the Farmer. Haha I only have one chapter out though.
Well, a Table of Contents is a must. As a reader, a major difficulty I face navigating some TL sites is when the "next chapter" doesn't always link to the next chapter of the same novel, but to some random post on the thoughts/schedule of the TL or to the chapter of another novel which was next to be updated (only in cases where the TL is updating multiple novels).
If you are planning to put in definitions for certain words, I would say writing the definition in another paragraph (right after the paragraph that has that word). (for example, the word: takes one to know one* you are the same kind of bad person you are accusing someone else of being.) or you can post links for that word for people to click on.
If you can please put a comment section after each chapter. Discus, fb, email, anything!!! I get too emotional after some hilarious, sad, happy scenes and I need to vent them out or it will be stuck in my body. I just read one where there's no comment section anywhere on the site and its been 2 hours, I still feel stuffy. And while some might prefer right the definition of words right after the paragraph. I prefer it at the end of the chapter so that it wouldn't ruin the immersion of reading the story. I can always scroll back and double check. Have you seen the ones where you can click [1] and it'll send you to the bottom of the page or kinda pop up appears and the explanation is there. You can do that if you know how to but its not really necessary. If you have bot problems and you decide to put labels/site name in between to guide to you the og translator. You can put the text on white so that it'll be invisible to the readers on your site but seen on the bots. Or have them italicized so that readers on your site can just jump ahead and wont also keep read the warnings.
if you are doing only one book, post chapter as post, then you don't need to manually update next and previous and TOC page in blogger.
Make a page for the home of your novel and list number of chapters there. Then you make post for each chapter then link the post-link to the list of chapters in the novel page. For next and previous button, likely you need to add it manually at the end (and maybe at the start) of the chapters. Because blogger only allowed 20 pages, you can only upload around 20 novels if you do it like this. And maybe you can looking for easy html and css or simple plugin to make your blog more friendly.