soapdirt.com
Soap Dirt is a website that features entertainment news, reviews, and spoilers of reality television and soap operas. The website's content varies in both type and degree of spoileriness, with an especially large focus on interviews with soap stars.
The website [was] launched in 2018. Although the website is not very old, there is plenty of content for reality tv and soap opera fans. The site posts daily news and spoilers to satisfy readers.
Website Design
The website design is unremarkable. It's not very eye-catching, but there's nothing wrong with it. The color scheme is a plain white background with black text. There are pops of blue throughout the website.
The Soap Dirt logo has a good idea but it was not executed well. The logo is a stylized text of Soap Dirt surrounded by bubbles. The idea is a good one, but the logo looks 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.
Overall, the layout of the website is very 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.
There are very few ads on the homepage, and for the most part, they are well placed. They do not draw much attention away from the actual content, but 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 highly specialized area. At first, I thought since the website was new and the topics were limited that there wouldn't be much to read. Fortunately, I was wrong! There is a great deal to choose from in their archives.
The name Soap Dirt was inspired by soap opera gossip. The main categories on the menu are primarily soap operas. The popular titles include General Hospital, Young and the Restless, Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives.
This section features reality television shows in general. There is a wide variety of which shows are covered, with 90 Day Fiance being the most popular. This title always has ongoing drama attached to it, so it is no surprise that it is on the front page of this section. Other reality television titles covered include The Biggest Loser, Sisterwives, Outdaughtered, Survivor, Seeking Sister Wife, Life After Lockup, Married At First Sight, and more.
Desktop & Mobile Accessibility
The desktop version of Soap Dirt is good. It has a good layout and is readable. The search bar works well.
The mobile browser version of the website is also good. It is formatted for mobile viewing, with a layout that changes slightly to accommodate the mobile version. Instead of multiple articles in double columns, there is only one. Mobile browsing 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 positive aspects of Soap Dirt. My expectations were exceeded by what I found on the website. The niche topics covered by Soap Dirt are especially noteworthy. It is difficult to find a website that is exclusively devoted to soap operas and reality television content.
I firmly believe that the website is composed of a team of highly skilled detectives. There are a lot of spoilers in articles. It is easy to speculate based on rumors, but Soap Dirt goes the extra mile and actually investigates. A particular article I read was questioning whether or not a couple from 90 Day Fiance were still together. The article confirmed that they got married and provided a copy of their marriage certificate as proof.
A great aspect of reality television is that the people are real and constantly stirring up controversy on social media. Soap Dirt takes advantage of that and utilizes social media embeds from the stars' Instagrams and Twitter accounts to use as content. They write articles based on controversial things that have been said.
I am impressed with the search bar on Soap Dirt. A mistake a lot of websites make is using google search instead of their archive search. Soap Dirt's easily recognizable search bar functions flawlessly. Another small thing that the website does well is linking related articles. I dislike when websites don't link more related articles that are similar to their content. Soap Dirt also uses links well in paragraphs.
Negatives
There are not many negative things about Soap Dirt. They started their website just a few years ago, and they seem to be doing a good job. Their target audience is very specific, and they do a wonderful job of catering to them. There are a few minor problems with the website. The content can get repetitive at times, and the advertisements on the home page are not bad but can be more intrusive. However, when readers open articles, the advertisements get much worse. There is one large video ad that pops up and several moderately sized ones that break the flow of the text. It's not ideal, but it's not a deal-breaker.
I noticed that the website uses a watermark on all photos. I think they do it so other content creators don't use the same image, but it feels pointless. The photos aren't owned by the website, so I don't understand why they mark up the pictures. It looks like an eye-sore and doesn't look very professional.
I do not enjoy the logo on the website. I find it very choppy and unsophisticated. The rest of the website looks great to me, however.
Improvements Needed
There are very few suggestions I have for Soap Dirt. The main suggestion is that they improve their logo. The idea is clever, but the final outcome of it looks unprofessional. If they could hire an artist to design a proper logo it would look much better.
An improvement Soap Dirt could make is to develop an app. It is not necessary for the website, but it would help traffic. However, the mobile browsing version is very good.
Finally, please Soap Dirt, stop placing watermarks on photos. Making a smaller watermark on it might be a better solution. The current one is blatant and takes away from the article. I am much more likely to read an article with a polished and clean looking image as the header.
Summary
Soap Dirt is an excellent website for reality television and soap opera news. The writers are quick and update frequently. There is endless content, which can be searched using a vast sea of articles in most popular shows. Desktop and mobile browsing versions are both good, with mobile browsing being probably the best viewing option.
Although there are a few negative aspects to Soap Dirt, it is still an excellent website for gaining information about reality television and soap operas. Aside from the logo, which can be a bit burdensome, most of the photos on the site are without watermarks, which makes them appear more professional. Additionally, the website offers a wealth of information on both topics, making it one of the most comprehensive resources available.
Popular search queries
