I was reading a post by Darren Rowse over at problogger.net, and he was talking about ways to get more comments on your blog. My blog is sadly lacking in the comments section. But when he started talking about requiring someone to register on a site to leave a comment, I wholeheartedly agree with what he has to say here:
10. Make it Easy to Comment – I leave a lot of comments on a lot of blogs each week – but there is one situation where I rarely leave a comment – even if the post deserves it – blogs that require me to login before making a comment. Maybe I’m lazy (actually there’s no maybe about it) or maybe there’s something inside me that worries about giving out my personal details – but when I see a comments section that requires registration I almost always (95% or more of the time) leave the blog without leaving the comment that I want to make. While I totally understand the temptation to require registration for comments (combatting spam in most cases) something inside me resists participating in such comments sections. Registration is a hurdle you put in front of your readers that some will be willing to leap but that others will balk at (the same is often said about other comments section requirements that go beyond the basics). Keep your comments section as simple and as easy to use as possible.
I absolutely hate sites that require you to register to leave a comment. I have never registered just to leave a comment on a site, and I never will. In fact, I will probably not visit that site again.
So I pledge, right here and now, that I will never require you to register on my website to leave a comment.
Now, please leave a comment below to show your support for registration-free websites.
