Do Cluttered Sites Convert Better Than Uncluttered Sites? Ryan Deis Thinks So...

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...te-design.html

I love clean. I hate distractions. But it does depend on the niche. An arty niche might benefit from cluttered.

However, if a squeeze page converts because there are no other distractions and there is only one thing for people to do (sign up to your list) the question is why do you want people to visit your site and want do you want them to do while they are there?!

Ryan Deis has ton of traffic to send to his test pages, so to each there own. Sounds like he is pumping people up for a new product launch

I think it can all depend on what's meant by "cluttered". I know that if I go to a confusing, untidy site, then this will put me off being bothered to spend any more time there. But a well-designed site packed with info versus a simplistic, sparse site is an interesting dilemma. I think a lot of that comes down to psychology. Personally, I know that I am more likely to feel 'engaged with' if I go to an attractive site with plenty going on, so long as it's easy to navigate and well laid out, whereas I can find a simplistic, generic-looking site bland and uninteresting. Of course, so long as both types of sites are well laid out then it's the content itself that's the most important thing, but which of the two is likely to grab the visitor's attention and keep it? Hmm, therein lies the nub of the matter. Personally, it's usually going to be the more eye-catching site that appeals. As for conversions, it would be interesting to see a case study and some stats of one type versus the other

There was a guru interview I was listening to. The guy was coming up with a product to build and test effective opt-in forms. Whether on a squeeze page or inside a blog.

Anyways, he has done testing in the many thousands of visitors and his advice was that:

"The more options a visitor has to click on, (banners, opt-ins, likes, etc) the less likely they are to click on anything at all."

Or words to that effect. I have to say his advice makes a lot of sense to me so I just thought I would share.

This is the same reason that restaurants often have employees park near the entrance instead of leaving those places for patrons; it gives the illusion of always being busy, which drives more people through the doors.

It's the same difference when you land on a thin site vs a site full of content. This is a psychological trigger; you subconsciously register a full site as more authoritative and credible than the other.

I didn't read Ryan's article, so I am not sure how he defined cluttered, but I suspect he used that particular term to raise some eyebrows and get more clicks.

I think glen summed it up pretty well.

I like clean crisp design, but sometimes I think it can actually hurt you... Sometimes you just have to fill the holes to make your site look "alive" and filled with content.

Not sure that it really matters what we think, if Ryan Deiss has tested it, then whatever his results were are fact.

I personally like to visit a site that is neatly laid out and not a whole lot of chaos going on. It needs to be neat and presentable and flows well to the eyes. If there are a lot of banners, and flashing text, it is a serious distraction for me. Sometimes I tolerate it, but I'm not going to be on there very long, let along opt in to their list.

Hi Craig,

Crisp and clean, but at the same time, informative, interactive and not sterile. many themes are striving to provide just such platforms for their users.

Recently, I was researching some material for a post and I came across really neat responsive theme designs from a German company. I have not heard of them before. They provide excellent clean design in their themes, Yoko | A WordPress theme by Elmastudio. I have no affiliation with them.

Only because it works for his business doesn't mean it will work for yours! His oppinion means nothing all my reasons explained here... http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...s-nothing.html

If this were true then it would have been an accepted fact in marketing circles many years ago. Some get rich quick info product peon wouldn't be the one breaking the news to the world.

It actually depends. When you go into the local public attorney's office, it is supposed to be clean and tidy. But when you visit the gym, you want the clamming of the machines and the smell of the sweat (or perhaps not). Anyway, that's how your site needs to be. Your site is what your visitors want it to be.

I personally don't like cluttered and don't like minimalistic. I like a balance between the two. I wouldn't put any stock in someones' test on their pages. I'd test my own pages.

I know Ryan Deiss to be the man of testing everything on all of his websites, I wonder if it depends on the niche which converts the best

I personally try to go for clean sites with one single call-to-action in mind.

I downloaded and read Ryan's report, The reason for the big up tick in traffic to his test blogs was not just because it was more cluttered. He gave 3 reasons for the improvement and I just don't remember what they were.

I will re-read the report and hopefully get back with the WHOLE story.

Best regards,
Steve Yakim

Clean sites usually convert much better. We Make Websites ConvertBetter at http://www.convertbetter.com/