Should make the registration process simpler?

I have a small forum with IPB cms and I want to increase more members for it, should I make the registration process simpler for new members which helps them join the forum faster?
 

RDO Servers

Active Member
Simple registration is always a good idea.

If the process is too complicated, many will give up and leave.
 

Hostlumina

Active Member
I have a small forum with IPB cms and I want to increase more members for it, should I make the registration process simpler for new members which helps them join the forum faster?

What is your current process?

Having a simple registration will help, however it depends what you mean by simple registration. If you mean remove things for security such as captcha, you will be opening up your forums for bots to register causing legitimate users to leave.

User experience is very important and good thing you are looking at to help improve site.
 

Cynical

New Member
It really depends on what your website is aiming for. I don't know if it's that big of a problem, but a long registration progress can be a bit of a problem for some people.
 

KeralMTG

Active Member
If you make it too simple then the spam will be much more and good members will leave there. Many forum have google captcha to sign up or another captcha to help keep less spam.

Too hard is not good but too easy is not good too.
 

ProfMike

Active Member
At a minimum I would always have an email verification system. If your users find that to cumbersome than to be honest do you really want those types of users.

Controlling spam on a forum is probably the hardest part of maintaining a good forum. Spammers hit forums hard because of the types of users that are present on the forum. Many users on a development forum are new to web development trying to learn and they are susceptible to all the get rich quick schemes that are out there, promising the world.

I would keep the registration process simple but make certain that you are weeding out the bots and the spammers. This way the people that do register and use the forum can gain from the forum and you maintain a good and growing membership.
 

Dean

Well-Known Member
At a minimum I would always have an email verification system.
Definitely! Many times spammers put in fake email addresses for their accounts so if this is in place they can't just sign-up and start spamming themselves or have their bots do it.

Controlling spam on a forum is probably the hardest part of maintaining a good forum.
It is and many people don't realize how much spam happens and how much the admin, mods and other staff have to deal with this.

I would keep the registration process simple but make certain that you are weeding out the bots and the spammers. This way the people that do register and use the forum can gain from the forum and you maintain a good and growing membership.
I agree. If you have too much spam and bot actions then the good members will get tired of it and go somewhere else. Some people don't realize that spam can kill a forum as easy as anything else.

Cheers, Dean
 
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ulterios

Well-Known Member
should I make the registration process simpler for new members which helps them join the forum faster?
Making registration too simple is just going to open up a floodgate of spam sooner or later. Too hard and then your potential members won't want to join, although I really don't see what would be considered "too hard" out of the normal forum registration processes I have seen.

Email verification is a must if you want to cut down on spam, if not then it can get out of hand really quick!
 

Ben

Active Member
If you make your registration process too simple you will probably attract a lot of spammers and drive away the good members. This is something you need to be careful with. There have been forums I was going to join but didn't because they made the process too hard. I would look for something in the middle so you get the best of both circumstances or security and new membership.
 

Traveler

Active Member
Having a registration procedure that is too easy is just going to attract the spammer accounts and the bots. It shouldn't be hard but just don't make it easy enough to attract junk accounts that will not help the members or site.
 
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