Ever seen a web community fall out of favor and watch its users leave in mass exodus for other destinations? Ever see a popular blogger begin to hemorrhage RSS readers? Being active on many message boards, social networks, blogs, etc. I have seen this happen time and time again.
The web’s users are surely a fickle bunch, and you can lose visitors even without any wrong action – people’s tastes and desires change. There are usually underlying reasons, however, that certain destinations fall out of favor suddenly and quickly.
What exactly is a web wasteland? It’s a once fertile web destination which was previously popular and teeming with users, and is now for all intensive purposes a desert.
Reasons why sites become web wastelands:
Administration change
This is one of the leading reasons a message board or social destination may fall out of favor. New administrators coming in aren’t necessarily a bad thing, if they have a good understanding of how that community works, what the loyal users expect, and why people visit the board in the first place.
If, however, the new administrator is someone that the site’s loyal visitors already dislike, or the new administrator starts doing things that alienate that site’s users, your traffic could be in jeopardy. If this occurs, immediate action should be taken to alleviate the situation and remedy what is upsetting them.
There are always other options online, and users that leave may never return. The users on your social site are in many cases the destination itself. They make up all of the compelling content there. To do something to intentionally upset those visitors can potentially turn your site into a ghost town.
New, yet unintuitive site design
If you’re going to update a site design, beyond just the aesthetics, don’t remove any features which are popular on the site. I’ve seen this done before, and it just doesn’t make sense.
You can add features, sure, but removing things which were popular or useful in the previous version just proves that the site owners don’t understand their users. And if it seems like owners don’t care (even if they do in actuality), you’re going to lose your group sooner rather than later.
No updated content
This is mostly true for blogs – (popular) message boards and social networks have constantly updated content. People don’t subscribe to a feed to look at the same three posts sitting there all week. That’s wasted RSS space, and in many users’ minds, it’s prime real estate for exciting new sites which provide a fresh stream of content. You don’t have to post every day, but if you’re serious about your site and want to keep the conversations and interest going, you should be adding content at regular intervals.
Too many new features on a social network, too many forums on a messageboard, or too much updated content on a blog
Yes, I know it sounds weird, but you can actually update your blog too much. Your loyal readers don’t want to miss a post, however they have lives too. Keep a steady stream of content, but it is no good to overwhelm visitors with superfluous amounts of new posts. They’ll go to traditional web publications for that. Personal publishing platform content should be special, well thought out and useful. It should also be deep enough that it needs time to soak in.
Adding too many forums too quickly to a web board is never a smart move. You can expand slowly as user demand dictates (if there are a lot of people asking for a new forum, by all means create it), but you can destroy much of what makes an internet community special by segregating it.
Too many features or apps added too quickly on a social network is definitely a bad idea, as Facebook proves time and time again. I hardly use the site anymore, as the basic functionality of the network is pretty much gone completely. Being bombarded with app requests, event requests and fan page requests is enough to steer me clear. There’s not much point, other than to annoy and upset those who are probably most likely to spread the news of how bothersome your service has become.
To MySpace’s credit, at least it started as a mess of a network – Facebook (to those who remember) actually started with clean design and functionality. They’ve lost a great deal of that since then. A site should be designed to become more useful, not less.
Seriously Facebook, I have 106 “other” requests. Yeah they added an ‘ignore all’ button (thank god) but exactly what is the point of all these apps?
I’m not suggesting Facebook will necessarily become a web wasteland, just providing a personal example of how they have lost many, previously loyal users (I am one of a vast amount of people who don’t find Facebook apps to have any particular use at all).
I read a post the other day about how Seth Godin doesn’t use social networks. Although I do happen to use social networks, albeit infrequently, Seth’s reasoning makes a pretty good point on not using them (although I still think for research purposes, it’s important to be on there):
“First, I don’t want to use a tool unless I’m going to use it really well. Doing any of these things halfway is worse than not at all. People don’t want a mediocre interaction. Second, I don’t want to add a layer of staff between me and the tools I use and the people I interact with. I think both of these ideas go together, and unfortunately, they’re also a paradox. If you want to be in multiple social media and also have a day job, you’re going to need a staff.”
Someone does it better
There is fierce competition online for eyeballs and for users for every network, blog, and forum. No doubt, that someone is attempting to attract those who are currently your vital visitors. If they’re smart, they’re probably active on your site and carefully making notes on what you’re doing both wrong and right, and working on a solution which is potentially better than yours.
You are wise to listen to what your users are saying to keep them happy and coming back. Your most frequent and most vocal visitors, even if they do not represent the viewpoints of everyone on the site, certainly carry with them a weight with their opinion. Each user is also an important personality within the micro-culture created on your site. Once the most vocal and loyal users leave and the traffic slows down, it is a slippery slope as the lurkers probably won’t stick around without any action. There’s just too much else going on.
A blog post which disagrees with your reader’s worldview
Your blog has readers certainly because they agree with the worldview your content represents and enjoy the perspectives of the stories you tell on your site. If you post something which is a 180 on your reader’s anticipated worldview and goes against the point of view normally presented on your blog, you may alienate readers. They may think you have lost the picture and seek out sites which speak to them more personally. All it takes is one wrong piece of content.
How to avoid becoming a web wasteland, and keep your users happy:
- Actively participate and be a user, not just an administrator on your site. This is the only way you’ll have a feel for what’s really going on.
- Listen and respond to the feedback your community gives you. To ignore them is sending the message that you don’t care, even if you do.
- Make newcomers feel at home, make site tutorials easily accessible. If you’re a blogger, create a special introduction section, clearly labeled, for new users.
- Stay on the cutting edge of new web tools, but add features slowly. Add mostly those features which benefit the community, not just your advertisers and sponsors.
- Don’t overdo the ads.
- Keep your site design simple and clear.
- Don’t remove popular features.
- Don’t make it a requirement for people to sign up to view your content or add their own.
- Do create reasons for people to sign up, such as exclusive content, deeper interaction and access to all areas of the site.
- Make the registration page as simple and short as possible.
- Never spam your users.
- Encourage new users to sign up and encourage interaction.
- Always be transparent with the future direction of your page.
- Create a positive, useful, and functional experience for users at every step.