The areas and their main subsections are listed on the left side of every page, easing navigation. A powerful search engine covers general content, with separate searches available for news archives and discussion forums. The Connect area includes chat rooms, discussion forums, member polls, an advice column, and a writing workshop. It adds community with personal homepages for members and an opportunity for users to directly influence site content. Registration is required to participate in these interactive features, but signing up is free, quick, and nonintrusive.
Specialized sections cover health, finances, technology, relationships, hobbies, and current news.
For example, the health section may include feature articles on popular medical topics, comments from ThirdAge's own contributing doctor, health-related web sites, book reviews, and forum discussions. The Value area offers suggestions for spending money wisely. Five online books by Matthew Lesko list sources of free or inexpensive products for seniors. Hyperlinks are provided to ten companies selling products online. Site response time can be slow when contributors join in chat groups.