The boss is reaching out because he needs your feedback! Analyzing your surfing behavior through various tools all day is nice and good, but sometimes direct feedback is more insightful. Today, it’s better to pick up the phone rather than hide behind cryptic numbers for ages.
As you’ve seen, we are currently testing different versions of the homepage. This has been on our agenda for a long time. We read the comments, and there has often been a request to adapt the “window display” of Mein-MMO.de to the changed user behavior and the higher output of news.
So far, we can say: The current homepage shows significantly better values, we are achieving record numbers in views – you are clicking on more articles from here and returning to the homepage more often. It loads much faster, is slightly more minimalist, and on mobile, it now resembles a Facebook feed more. Now we are addressing the issue that many contents disappear quickly. While you can reload content directly via a button at the bottom, perhaps it can be done better. We are daring an experiment.
Question number 1: Do you want thematic homepages, as was done with the MMORPGs, for example? Or should we add filters to the homepage, or just leave it as it is now?
Question number 2: On pvplive.net, the next article immediately follows at the bottom of the article. The special thing: It is thematically relevant. For example, if you read an article about Destiny, you dynamically load the next Destiny story while scrolling. This functionality is also offered by other sites, like the Süddeutsche or GameSpot, but there it is done in such a way that only the homepage or the next available article is loaded. I am not a fan of that. However, with the thematic connection, as seen on PvPlive.net, I personally feel a completely different vibe. It’s almost as if I were reading a Destiny magazine at the breakfast table. Be that as it may, that’s just my opinion. What do you think about it? An example can be found here: Overwatch article on PvPlive.net.
Now you can vote:
Should we ask questions like this more often in the future, perhaps also editorially? Do you want to decide together with us in the future when it comes to creating a new article format or covering a specific game?
Small digression: There is a continuing trend where readers directly access or discover content, for example through specific queries via Google or also the Facebook feed, which is described in expert circles as a new, personalized “Content Hub”. Why linger on the homepage when I get tailored articles recommended on Facebook?
Nowadays, there are multiple entry paths, which is why the classic homepage loses significant relevance across many sites. Sometimes, it is said – admittedly somewhat exaggeratedly – about the “Death of Homepage”. Increasingly, islands are forming, with players often sticking to their genre niche or being interested in only one game for years. This fits with the development that the “Games as a service” approach is increasing. Synergies tend to be very narrow (Destiny – The Division yes, The Division – Call of Duty no). Many readers spend the entire day on our Destiny product page, ignoring everything else. They want more experts, more background, more community connection, long-term engagement, and no more run-of-the-mill news. We have been pursuing this concept for some time and it has been working quite well. We do not necessarily want to counteract this trend but are trying to deliver the best results based on your feedback.
