Members Areas - Clean or Messy?

[tombarr]

Which members are do you think retains better...

Messy, cluttered look that causes surfers to have to hunt around for content?

Organized, neat look that is easy to navigate, see what is new, find the categories and sections...?

Doesn't matter?

[gaystoryman]

Logic would tend to say neat and clean, after all that way they won't miss anything so if its a killer site, they'll stay longer as they can find the new stuff, while if its a so so or piss poor site, then confused might keep them longer as they try to find what was promised.
:coffee:

[dimenxion]

I agree. Neat is the way to go! Just imagine if you were the surfer. Would you want to have to literally "hunt" for content? After I've paid my membership fee, I should be able to find things neatly without having to hunt for anything.

[A_DeAngelo]

Logic would tend to say neat and clean, after all that way they won't miss anything so if its a killer site, they'll stay longer as they can find the new stuff, while if its a so so or piss poor site, then confused might keep them longer as they try to find what was promised.
:coffee:

I agree...messy and cluttered sites give me a headache! And when viewing on a theater display at 2 or 3X magnification, its like burrying your face in one of those circulars you get from the local drug store chain!

Although, a lot of people like the cluttered, search to find, clostrophobic feeling, at least in the market research we've conducted...

[basschick]

a neat member area with enough content and regular updates retains the best.

i worked with a program that had a site that had a neat member area, messy area, then neat again. retention dropped 17% with the messy member area even though there was more content than there had been previously.

and no - they didn't start out to create a messy member area. they paid someone to create a better retaining member area and he made it confusing and with lots of extra graphics and stuff. even i couldn't find stuff without searching

[hdkbill]

Neat and Clean and like Basschick said.......you MUST update regularly, at least once a week.

Bill