Constructive Criticism for my forum design

[RG70Hz]

Greetings everyone.

I am currently developing a site-which is nowhere near complete. However, I would like some feedback on the general layout and feel of the site. The goal is to make a local community forum for my fellow Newfoundlanders. There is no content as of now [besides the rss feeds] so, while you can look around, there isn't a whole lot to read.

I am trying to figure out how to nicely add & format each category for easy reading. For example, I want to list all of the historic sites here in Newfoundland & Labrador. Each should have a little page and description followed by a forum where users can ask questions about said site or list their experience. I haven't got that far yet as I am still trying to plan and do not want to get too far ahead of myself.

If anyone wants to take a visit and give me some constructive criticism I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,

Cody.

Bayman Banter

 

[CedricV]

Appearance looks good. All I can offer advice on is the way you have your forum layout/nodes setup. You’re making it really hard for yourself to provide a community with a lot of content. Many guests will leave when they see an empty forum. Condense your layout, combine most categories to nodes and start out small. You can add nodes as you grow, but don’t start out big like you have now. If you need help how to condense, let me know.

 

[RG70Hz]

Appearance looks good. All I can offer advice on is the way you have your forum layout/nodes setup. You’re making it really hard for yourself to provide a community with a lot of content. Many guests will leave when they see an empty forum. Condense your layout, combine most categories to nodes and start out small. You can add nodes as you grow, but don’t start out big like you have now. If you need help how to condense, let me know.

Thanks! I should mention that the side is actually disabled as there is no content in it at the moment and I am trying to add things it but it takes time. I have users ready to join but there's no point until I get everything set up and working properly as I do not want to turn them away like you mentioned.

The problem you brought up is actually the issue I am facing. I do not like how everything is just out in your face. I'd like it to be nicely organized into a community and not just a "forum" if that makes sense.

It needs to be user friendly for those who are not tech savvy. I think I may need to purchase some add-ons like xenporta to really fix my homepage and maybe customize the forum section a bit more. I don't like having a million sub forums either. It would be nice to list some sub forums under the main forums so users don't get lost as easily. I also feel like everything is just too purple. It is sickening me from looking at it too much. I just installed another style so I am waiting for my banner to upload and have a better look at it.

Does this make sense? It's been a long night for me and I haven't slept yet as I am still working on little things.

I really appreciate you taking the time and responding to my about my site.

If you can help via suggestion or however, that would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again!

 

[Sebastiaan]

Looks good, I just wouldn't put a chat box on your main page but only on the forum section.

 

[RG70Hz]

Looks good, I just wouldn't put a chat box on your main page but only on the forum section.

I was thinking the same thing. I just removed it. Thanks for the input!

 

[CedricV]

I’ll come back to it later today and provide some more tips.

 

[RG70Hz]

I’ll come back to it later today and provide some more tips.

Looking forward to it.

 

[CedricV]

Looking forward to it.

Well, it would be helpful if the forums weren't offline.

 

[RG70Hz]

Well, it would be helpful if the forums weren't offline.

I will activate it there now so if you wanna have another look you sure can!

 

[Mr Lucky]

I am missing photos and nice colours. The header right now looks a bit corporate, not inspiring me with interest about the area. And the red squiggle, I couldn't make out if it's a seagull or an assault rifle. So here is where a lovely photo would work. If I think of Newfoundland I want see big whales, lobsters, indigenous peoples, explorer history.

Way too many forums.I'd start with one wildlife/nature/ forum and use prefixes for different types - then if the forum gets huge easy to split off into subforms.

Loads and loads of forums only look OK on a huge site with lots of posts. When you see something like this with lots of forums but they are ll empty it seems a bit uninviting so start small and then expand (as above prefixes will help to reorganise into more forum/categories when you get more posts.

Why a whole huge category for Woodworking (again one forum and prefixes) but nothing for e.g. music?

I'm a bit confused by the navigation: you have a forum list, but then there are other top level items for some forums that aren't in the forum list which kind of confuses me

 

[RG70Hz]

I am missing photos and nice colours. The header right now looks a bit corporate, not inspiring me with interest about the area. And the red squiggle, I couldn't make out if it's a seagull or an assault rifle. So here is where a lovely photo would work. If I think of Newfoundland I want see big whales, lobsters, indigenous peoples, explorer history.

Way too many forums.I'd start with one wildlife/nature/ forum and use prefixes for different types - then if the forum gets huge easy to split off into subforms.

Loads and loads of forums only look OK on a huge site with lots of posts. When you see something like this with lots of forums but they are ll empty it seems a bit uninviting so start small and then expand (as above prefixes will help to reorganise into more forum/categories when you get more posts.

Why a whole huge category for Woodworking (again one forum and prefixes) but nothing for e.g. music?

I'm a bit confused by the navigation: you have a forum list, but then there are other top level items for some forums that aren't in the forum list which kind of confuses me

Thank you so much for taking the time to have a look around and review the site.

I should mention that it’s nowhere near complete yet but I didn’t want to go to far before having someone give me suggestions.

I will take your suggestions into consideration. You’re right about the cooperate thing.

I have all different sections as I’m just implementing them for the future. They’re not all there yet but I was planning on hiding them until the site goes live and gets some users. Over time I will release it as an update or new feature, if that makes sense.

My idea was to be all inclusive, to combine all of the local Facebook groups into one. This way whether someone wants to look for a place to stay or go on a trip, post their hunt or discuss spots around, same with fishing. My father suggested the fly tying thing which I think is a good idea but should maybe be moved to a hobbyist section.

The woodworking section is just there because I’m in a local Facebook group that’s all about wood working and just wanted to add it in as a part of the community.

I will hide these and release them over time like aforementioned.

I’m still trying to figure out the best way to organize it so everything isn’t in your face on the thread section. There’s a few addons I need to purchase yet-that should help bring it together. They’re just not cheap.

I don’t want it to sound like I’m making excuses or anything, just explaining my thought process.

I agree with everything you’ve said. This is why it’s important to get suggestions.

I took out the explore and recreation as I was planning on implementing some of the other forums into navigation but I’m also wondering if I should just scrap that and try something else.

What do you suggest for that? Any insights are appreciated! If you’d like to pm me and discuss more, feel free.

If not, thank you for your time and considerations. I’m making some notes and will be fixing these little things throughout today. I’m going to leave the forum active for another hour or so and close it back down for development just to see if anyone else has any suggestions as well.

 

[Mr Lucky]

I took out the explore and recreation as I was planning on implementing some of the other forums into navigation but I’m also wondering if I should just scrap that and try something else.

What do you suggest for that?

What I would do is just have those forums under the main forum list. But again, I like the main forum list to be as short and focussed as possible so that people can quickly find the main things they want. Or that you think they ought to want

On my forum I took out Members and New from the main navigation, because it took away from the things that ae the most important which I think are the forum list, the about tab, link to the "sister" site and the shop.

One other thing I thought about your site was it seemed a bit odd to have a chat widget at the top of the forum list. Especially as it comes underneath the title "Forum List". It's actually a pet peeve of mine that widget position is under the title, and I even have a suggestion about it:

Lack of interest - Forum list: Above nodes widget position should be above Forum List title

Forgive me if this is as designed and there is a better argument for it being the way it is. The widget in position Forum list: Above nodes shows below the Forum List title. This seems wrong because the implication by being under the title is that the widget is part of the actual forum list...

xenforo.com

 

[RG70Hz]

What I would do is just have those forums under the main forum list. But again, I like the main forum list to be as short and focussed as possible so that people can quickly find the main things they want. Or that you think they ought to want

On my forum I took out Members and New from the main navigation, because it took away from the things that ae the most important which I think are the forum list, the about tab, link to the "sister" site and the shop.

One other thing I thought about your site was it seemed a bit odd to have a chat widget at the top of the forum list. Especially as it comes underneath the title "Forum List". It's actually a pet peeve of mine that widget position is under the title, and I even have a suggestion about it:

Lack of interest - Forum list: Above nodes widget position should be above Forum List title

Forgive me if this is as designed and there is a better argument for it being the way it is. The widget in position Forum list: Above nodes shows below the Forum List title. This seems wrong because the implication by being under the title is that the widget is part of the actual forum list...

xenforo.com

So I should remove all of the separate categories and have them all under one main category ? As of now, I have many categories and sub threads. I wants it to be easy to navigate and not have a bunch of sub forms. I have yet to find a workaround to that.

Maybe I should have a separate chat navigation tab and create a page for chat only. I see what you're saying and I don't like it much either.

Would you recommend changing all the sections from categories into main threads? As you can see from the site, there are many different species types. A few of the local Facebook groups Im in are so active but each have a separate topic. For instance, there's a bees group, spiders, insects, etc. My goal was to keep them all separate because of how active they are; meaning I didn't want to have users dig for specific topics.

I think I require a re-planning stage again.
What was you opinion on the homepage? Any suggestions there? How was the welcome message layout? I created it with html for now but I am still thinking it doesn't really match the rest of the site. I'd like another opinion.

 

[CedricV]

I would be really helpful if you'd keep the forum online. I much rather view live and give suggestions than from a picture.

 

[RG70Hz]

I would be really helpful if you'd keep the forum online. I much rather view live and give suggestions than from a picture.

I will reactivate it again. My apologies. I turn it off because it's still in development mode but I understand it defeats the purpose of asking for feedback while its turned off.

 

[CedricV]

Firstly, as said before, the chat needs to go as it defeats the purpose of a forum and only takes away activity from the forum itself.

As for the forums, condense them like this:

Bayman Banter
Announcements
Suggestions & Bug Reports
Introduction

Community
General Discussion
Marketplace
Species
Photography

Miscellaneous
Arts & Crafts
Real Estate
Woodworking
Fitness

Feel free to change names or swap them around, but the key is simplicity and not having too much forums when there is no content. Like I said, don't make it harder for yourself by adding more forums.

 

[RG70Hz]

Firstly, as said before, the chat needs to go as it defeats the purpose of a forum and only takes away activity from the forum itself.

As for the forums, condense them like this:

Bayman Banter
Announcements
Suggestions & Bug Reports
Introduction

Community
General Discussion
Marketplace
Species
Photography

Miscellaneous
Arts & Crafts
Real Estate
Woodworking
Fitness

Feel free to change names or swap them around, but the key is simplicity and not having too much forums when there is no content. Like I said, don't make it harder for yourself by adding more forums.

Apologies for not having the chat removed yet. Was out running errands and just got back not long ago. It's remove now. I am making notes and will implement your suggestions. Thank you so much.

 

[Davyc]

I agree with all the above - start off with a small number of forums with subjects you are personally interested in and fill them with your content. When people start joining up ask them what their interests are and what they would like to see. It's an ongoing process of shifting themes as interests grow and wain. Let your community be your guide - getting them involved allows them to see that you care about their interests and that speaks volumes. You need to the one that's active most at first, ask questions which will prompt your members to answer and once they start posting they won't want to stop, at least until the fun stops, which is where you need to be mindful and move with the breeze. Best of luck.

BTW: I wouldn't worry too much about the look if you're happy with it and your users too, content is more important, and looks are subjective

 

[RG70Hz]

I agree with all the above - start off with a small number of forums with subjects you are personally interested in and fill them with your content. When people start joining up ask them what their interests are and what they would like to see. It's an ongoing process of shifting themes as interests grow and wain. Let your community be your guide - getting them involved allows them to see that you care about their interests and that speaks volumes. You need to the one that's active most at first, ask questions which will prompt your members to answer and once they start posting they won't want to stop, at least until the fun stops, which is where you need to be mindful and move with the breeze. Best of luck.

BTW: I wouldn't worry too much about the look if you're happy with it and your users too, content is more important, and looks are subjective

Thank you Davyc. I appreciate your feedback. I have a lot of work ahead of me!

 

[RG70Hz]

Firstly, as said before, the chat needs to go as it defeats the purpose of a forum and only takes away activity from the forum itself.

As for the forums, condense them like this:

Bayman Banter
Announcements
Suggestions & Bug Reports
Introduction

Community
General Discussion
Marketplace
Species
Photography

Miscellaneous
Arts & Crafts
Real Estate
Woodworking
Fitness

Feel free to change names or swap them around, but the key is simplicity and not having too much forums when there is no content. Like I said, don't make it harder for yourself by adding more forums.

Would you mind having another look and tell me what you think so far? The logo hasn't changed yet. I will update that soon, if at all. I kinda like it but haven't got feedback from users or anything so time will tell