Anyone mind taking a look at my site?

[EchoRomeo]

Hi all,

I work in permitting as a government regulator and thought it would be worthwhile to create an online forum where people can go to discuss permitting issues. The site is permittingforum.com and is supported using xenForo Cloud. I'm not a programmer and generally don't know what I'm doing...I modified/customized the site using code, help, etc., found throughout the xenForo community.

Would anyone mind taking a look and providing feedback?

I know this sounds ridiculous but I don't have any users so I attempted to seed content using ChatGPT. I asked ChatGPT to give me lists of questions that theoretical users of a permitting forum might ask and then used AI chatbots (explicitly identified) to ask and answer the questions on the forum. I used @021's AI Bots add-on to generate responses to the AI-generated questions. Overall, I've produced lots and lots of content but, in the absence of a userbase, this whole site is really still just something I'm playing around with at this point. I also tout a feature whereby users can ask questions of my AI chatbots and get automated answers...I was thinking this might be good so that new users can be assured some kind of response if they decide to try out my site.

As a way of cultivating a userbase, I've started occasionally posting on reddit in discussions on permitting issues. Not self-promoting - just being part of these other communities - but with my reddit handle ("permittingforum") and profile description clearly pointing to my site for anyone that might be interested.

In addition to feedback on the style/substance of the site, I'd be interested in generally hearing how people have succeeded in generating a userbase. Are there any suggestions out there for measures I might take to actually get traffic on my site?

TIA!

 

[zappaDPJ]

I can give you some first impressions for what that's worth.

Your header could do with a bit of extra work, the styling on 'Permitting Forum' looks dated and the offset images suggests an alignment issue. I would reduce the height, perhaps have just one row of images. It's static space that appears at the head of every page and some of that space could be better utilized.

I would also reduce the text size on the landing page. It will consume a lot of space on a small view port (mobile) and it doesn't look particularly professional.

My only other suggestion would be to use prefixes rather than sub-forums, at least in the beginning. I don't recall seeing a new forum or an established one for that matter with so many sub-forums.

I can't really comment on building your community because I'm not overly familiar with your niche. Generally speaking your forum needs to fulfill a purpose that will attract members so unique, quality content is a must and there's nothing wrong with a bit of advertising in the appropriate places.

I wish you luck with it

 

[EchoRomeo]

Thank you so much! This is exactly the sort of advice I was seeking. I agree on all points and will adjust accordingly. I do agree the number of subforums is a bit intense... I'll maybe change the states from subforums to prefixes to simplify things.

Generally speaking your forum needs to fulfill a purpose that will attract members so unique, quality content is a must and there's nothing wrong with a bit of advertising in the appropriate places.

Definitely agreed. I feel like there's definitely potential for the idea as there aren't any forums out there that focus on permitting, which is a relatively big industry. Also, a lot of the most worthwhile permitting knowledge comes from people who interact directly with the various permitting offices and who can relate first-hand personal experience...the perfect job for a forum I would think. However, execution of this idea is another matter.

I don't know if I'd actually do this, but as my time is relatively limited (between full-time job and family) it seems like getting some very basic consulting help would allow me to test my idea much more efficiently compared to my amateur tinkering. Are there any xenForo professionals out there willing to meet, say, once a week for an hour or so to discuss what I need to do to make my xenForo Cloud forum look professional and polished? Or is that really not necessary? I probably couldn't pay standard industry rates lol, but may be willing to pay something to get a reasonably professional site off the ground.

 

[Ricsca]

Site URL?

 

[TPerry]

Site URL?

In the second sentence of his post.

I work in permitting as a government regulator and thought it would be worthwhile to create an online forum where people can go to discuss permitting issues. The site is permittingforum.com and is supported using xenForo Cloud. I'm not a programmer and generally don't know what I'm doing...I modified/customized the site using code, help, etc., found throughout the xenForo community.

 

[tajhay]

Why use forums for each state? Can be done better using prefixes.

 

[EchoRomeo]

Why use forums for each state? Can be done better using prefixes.

Will make that change for sure - I appreciate the feedback! I'm pretty new to xenForo and wasn't really considering prefixes as an option.

Also considering switching to a different theme (currently using the default XF theme)...also not something I'd thought a lot about until now. I'm thinking I'd want to approximate the VerticalScope theme since I think my potential audience would be used to that (e.g. contractortalk.com). From this thread, it sounds like Flare from ThemeHouse or Bolt (from this site) from might be the way to go? Any thoughts on themes would be appreciated as well! Thanks!

 

[Ricsca]

I understood that the forum is this https://www.permittingforum.com/ by searching it on google...

In my opinion it is unusable by users. Nothing is understood.

Users want things simple and not surfing 300 subforums.

 

[TPerry]

Users want things simple and not surfing 300 subforums.

You aren't "surfing" 300 sub-forums on his site. You specifically choose the category you want, and then the sate it pertains to. Not really that hard to figure it out upon first glance.
His is a specific use niche site.

In my opinion it is unusable by users. Nothing is understood.

And in my opinion, the layout (while involving numerous nodes, was very easy to understand. If I wanted to discuss/research New Permitting in Texas, then I simply go to that category and the node for that state.

Could it have been better solved with the use of custom prefixes... possibly.

 

[tajhay]

Will make that change for sure - I appreciate the feedback! I'm pretty new to xenForo and wasn't really considering prefixes as an option.

Also considering switching to a different theme (currently using the default XF theme)...also not something I'd thought a lot about until now. I'm thinking I'd want to approximate the VerticalScope theme since I think my potential audience would be used to that (e.g. contractortalk.com). From this thread, it sounds like Flare from ThemeHouse or Bolt (from this site) from might be the way to go? Any thoughts on themes would be appreciated as well! Thanks!

Yep use bolt or another pixelexit theme. I would recommend staying away from themehouse products (I use UI.X 2 from there myself).

 

[TPerry]

Bolt (from this site) from might be the way to go

I tend to prefer the PixelExit styles... and currently run Bolt (dark version as default) on my site.

 

[EchoRomeo]

You aren't "surfing" 300 sub-forums on his site. You specifically choose the category you want, and then the sate it pertains to. Not really that hard to figure it out upon first glance.
His is a specific use niche site.


And in my opinion, the layout (while involving numerous nodes, was very easy to understand. If I wanted to discuss/research New Permitting in Texas, then I simply go to that category and the node for that state.

Could it have been better solved with the use of custom prefixes... possibly.

Thanks, I appreciate both your and @Ricsca's point of view on it! I'm very open to prefixes as a way of simplifying and was about to make that change. On the other hand, nodes for each state is reasonable considering that each state is very unique in terms of its permitting issues/agencies/etc. Not sure whether it makes sense to mingle different state-level permitting questions together in a forum on renovation/remodeling permitting, for example, even if prefixes separate the states out visually, since the conversations regarding different state authorities, etc., will be completely different.

Also - not sure how much of a benefit this is - but I am getting some traffic off google based on all the indexes pages I have (529 indexed pages from all the nodes). There were several (not tons) of clicks/impressions for various random forum pages amongst the multitude I created. Maybe there is some merit to this kind of brute force approach to subforums, especially when augmented by AI-generated content, in terms of getting traffic off different pages?

Btw, I tried updating to Bolt style this morning and now the site is in a bit is disarray. Thinking I'll try to emulate contractortalk.com (VerticalScope site), as mentioned previously, though not immediately sure how to replicate some of the style elements...

 

[Russ]

Thanks, I appreciate both your and @Ricsca's point of view on it! I'm very open to prefixes as a way of simplifying and was about to make that change. On the other hand, nodes for each state is reasonable considering that each state is very unique in terms of its permitting issues/agencies/etc. Not sure whether it makes sense to mingle different state-level permitting questions together in a forum on renovation/remodeling permitting, for example, even if prefixes separate the states out visually, since the conversations regarding different state authorities, etc., will be completely different.

Also - not sure how much of a benefit this is - but I am getting some traffic off google based on all the indexes pages I have (529 indexed pages from all the nodes). There were several (not tons) of clicks/impressions for various random forum pages amongst the multitude I created. Maybe there is some merit to this kind of brute force approach to subforums, especially when augmented by AI-generated content, in terms of getting traffic off different pages?

Btw, I tried updating to Bolt style this morning and now the site is in a bit is disarray. Thinking I'll try to emulate contractortalk.com (VerticalScope site), as mentioned previously, though not immediately sure how to replicate some of the style elements...

If you need guidance on how to achieve something, please do post on my forum. I feel I'm pretty helpful!

 

[EchoRomeo]

If you need guidance on how to achieve something, please do post on my forum. I feel I'm pretty helpful!

Thanks, will do! I've been messing around with the Bolt style and really like it so far!

 

[80sDude]

I think your forum is pretty self explanatory and in your face. Click on your state and you’re there. The only thing I was thinking was the chat bots. Do you want potential members to know that a chat bot will be responding to them? On a side note I’m quite impressed on how they post. I think you have a forum with potential. The subject is a good one. You need to write some articles and advertise.

 

[EchoRomeo]

I think your forum is pretty self explanatory and in your face. Click on your state and you’re there. The only thing I was thinking was the chat bots. Do you want potential members to know that a chat bot will be responding to them? On a side note I’m quite impressed on how they post. I think you have a forum with potential. The subject is a good one. You need to write some articles and advertise.

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I agree, I think there's potential with a forum dedicated to permitting, but I don't really know...testing the waters and hoping for the best... Trying to do my best with articles/content and advertising. As mentioned above, I'm active on reddit as "permittingforum.com" and hoping that gets the name of the site around. If you have any tips for advertising though, I'd be happy to hear them!

I agree that the chatbots are pretty neat. For now, as you can see, I'm mainly using them to generate seed content and to have something that newcomers to the forum can interact with (for whatever that's worth). The AI Bots add-on lets you configure your bots to be triggered by certain text written in a user's posts. For my bots, I have them set up to respond to mentions of their names...so for construction permitting the "Sophie" bot will respond if "@Sophie" is used and for environmental permitting the "Quinn" bot responds when "@quinn" is used. I also have "AI Chatbot" listed in each other their custom titles so use of the bots in 100% transparent. Again, just something I'm playing around with for now...we'll see if the bots are worthwhile...if people actually started using the site but ended up never having an interest in the bots then I'm sure I'd discontinue them. On the other hand, if down the road I'm able to train them with better and better prompts/source material, I can imagine that in the future they could provide even better value-add.

 

[Mr Lucky]

if people actually started using the site but ended up never having an interest in the bots then I'm sure I'd discontinue them.

You should take into account the fact that many people will decide not to use the site due to it appearing to be all bots. While I appreciate all the effort you have put into it, I would run a mile if I found a site like that. My experience of bots on forums (I have one on mine in a specific section) is that often the answers are just plain wrong.

For me that's fine as I have a disclaimer for that forum but after an initial flurry of activity while people "baited the bot," it is rarely used and the reason is either that people want answers from a human, or that they just didn't even try that forum as they dislike the whole concept.

I suppose what Im saying is I'm not trying to be negative for the sake of it but you really do need to do some research to find out what your audience think of bots.

I am not your exact audience because I am in the UK, but quite a few times I have needed planning and building permissions. I go to my local council, I would probably not go to a forum.

 

[PatriotGB]

Why use forums for each state? Can be done better using prefixes.

I agree. I know nothing about the forum focus-topic. But this looks more like a reference website than a forum designed for discussions... to me. Just my first impression / opinion....... which could be wrong!



But, hey... you've got 216 members already. So, there ya go!

 

[EchoRomeo]

You should take into account the fact that many people will decide not to use the site due to it appearing to be all bots. While I appreciate all the effort you have put into it, I would run a mile if I found a site like that. My experience of bots on forums (I have one on mine in a specific section) is that often the answers are just plain wrong.

For me that's fine as I have a disclaimer for that forum but after an initial flurry of activity while people "baited the bot," it is rarely used and the reason is either that people want answers from a human, or that they just didn't even try that forum as they dislike the whole concept.

I suppose what Im saying is I'm not trying to be negative for the sake of it but you really do need to do some research to find out what your audience think of bots.

Thanks for that input! I agree and generally share your perspective regarding the appeal of a site like the one I created. I think the real benefit of forums is getting first-hand perspective from other people, a role that bots won't soon be able to fill. I'd like for the site to gain a userbase and, absent any users currently and having the luxury to experiment and mess around, thought trying out the bots might be worth a go.

I'm really not experienced with this, so don't know generally how "ignition" generally happens with a forum and users start appearing. Could seeding with thousands of threads containing AI-generated content help provide some initial value that could lead to interest/action by actual people? Well, no one's using the site currently so thought I'd test it out... Perhaps instead of thinking of the site as bot supported, I could present it as initially seeded with bot-provided information and disclaimer accordingly. It's not that I want a bot-run/dominated site per se -- though would if that proved worthwhile. Instead of starting a forum with a thousand empty subforums (the wisdom of that being a separate issue lol), I do think there may be some benefit to starting with something in terms of content, especially since it's so convenient to produce with ChatGPT these days. Instead of presenting the bots as an active feature maybe I could make clear that the bots provided the initial content and leave it at that...i.e., provide a load of relevant initial information, disclaimered appropriately (i.e. "may not all be correct" etc), and in doing so hopefully provide a sense that anyone posting should 100% expect to receive a human response.

I am not your exact audience because I am in the UK, but quite a few times I have needed planning and building permissions. I go to my local council, I would probably not go to a forum.

I really appreciate your perspective here too, on the merits of site. It's possible a lot of people feel this way, but probably depends on the specific permit type. In my industry (again, I'm a gov regulator) almost everyone who applies uses a consultant. It's a complex process that relies a lot on local knowledge gained by these consultant experts. It seems to me that first-hand accounts of experiences with the permit process would have high value in industries like mine but perhaps not others, especially where the process is straightforward and there's little interest in hearing others' experiences. I do appreciate your comment though.

 

[EchoRomeo]

I agree. I know nothing about the forum focus-topic. But this looks more like a reference website than a forum designed for discussions... to me. Just my first impression / opinion....... which could be wrong!

I really appreciate the input here. Based on other comments I received above, it seems like the consensus is fairly split between support for the format I'm using and changing to prefixes. For reasons I state above, I think it makes sense to keep the subforums as they are for now without aggregating/using prefixes, for my particular subject matter, but will continue to give that consideration.

But, hey... you've got 216 members already. So, there ya go!

Lol - almost all of those are fabricated as part of me messing around with my options for the site (don't ask). I do actually have one real person who signed up for the site a few days ago, which is totally shocking to me. The guy never posted or anything but did register himself... maybe that bodes well for the future?