Critique of Fierceboard.com

[kingston]

Hola!

I am constantly trying to improve my forum, so some genuine critiques are most welcome.

Our splash page is very busy (using Jaxel's portal plugin). It contains a ton of information relevent to the cheer industry (recent news, some advertisements to cheer related stuff).

The forum itself is a good bit simpler.

I do wish there was a 'pages' type of feature like on facebook. I know a lot of businesses would like to be represented on my board.

We average about 5,000 people a day and can hit upwards of 25,000 on a day when there is a major event going on. I just changed to nginx so I would like to know if you have any comments on speed and performance as well.

Thanks!

 

[Kaiser]

Well I find the logo too big on the portal but other than that I say it looks great

 

[x4rl]

Nice, The page forum icons look silly tho (I don't like the default ones)
Also the facebook and twitter buttons on the home page for each "newsthread" don't look right there (I know that's how Jaxel added them just my opinion tho )

 

[Shaun Mason]

I like the fact there are tons of pretty women.=)

Aside from that, I agree with Kaiser that the logo on the portal pushes the menu down too far.

 

[kingston]

Well I find the logo too big on the portal but other than that I say it looks great

I like the fact there are tons of pretty women.=)

Aside from that, I agree with Kaiser that the logo on the portal pushes the menu down too far.

I want to keep a more intricate version on the portal, then the light version everywhere else. I can make it not as tall, but I am not sure what is a good height? It is currently 307px tall.

 

[kingston]

Nice, The page forum icons look silly tho (I don't like the default ones)
Also the facebook and twitter buttons on the home page for each "newsthread" don't look right there (I know that's how Jaxel added them just my opinion tho )

I have thought about switching, but a lot of the other themes don't allow for a lot menu options without running into a drop down or name. Any suggestions of what would look good with my color scheme? I am not against alterations. The season ended so now is the time I make adjustments to the look.

 

[x4rl]

I have thought about switching, but a lot of the other themes don't allow for a lot menu options without running into a drop down or name. Any suggestions of what would look good with my color scheme? I am not against alterations. The season ended so now is the time I make adjustments to the look.

I mean this mate

 

[kingston]

I mean this mate

View attachment 15411

Ahh, true. Hrmmm.... any recommendations for a new one?

 

[x4rl]

Ahh, true. Hrmmm.... any recommendations for a new one?

hmm maybe something blue
Something like this?


Am not very good working with blue lol

 

[kingston]

hmm maybe something blue
Something like this?
View attachment 15415

Am not very good working with blue lol

I like it. Check it out.

 

[x4rl]

I like it. Check it out.

Well that was an example but if you like that one its all good

 

[kingston]

Well that was an example but if you like that one its all good

Haha, thank you for that! I do want to get one professionally made (as I fumble my way to a working website) but for me and my abilities I think it looks pretty good. Will work on the header next.

 

[x4rl]

Haha, thank you for that! I do want to get one professionally made (as I fumble my way to a working website) but for me and my abilities I think it looks pretty good. Will work on the header next.

I like the header fits very nice keep it

 

[Peggy]

I like your forum, but have a couple (or more) questions/suggestions.

First, how'd you manage to put one logo on your homepage and a different one on your forum? I like it.

Second, I don't like the forum status icons (new). Too generic. You need something more in line with your subject matter.
Perhaps one of our nice designers would make a set of pompoms for you. The current color is good for the forum read icon. Perhaps a red pompom, or yellow/gold, for the unread forum icon? And that blue page icon needs to be smaller.

Third, also on the forum index, those pages need to be together (imo), and at either the bottom or the top of that cheerleading category. As it is, that category looks unorganized.

Otherwise, looks good!

 

[Ingenious]

I'd second what Peggy has said. It's a slick forum which is easy on the eye. If you can go the extra step and get some good forum icons made (Peggy's suggestion of pom poms or something equally related to your subject is good) it would really make a difference. The devil is so often in the detail

 

[yavuz]

I had to remove the twitter and facebook block because it made pageloading really slow. Like the latest news module I wish it had an option to disable the social buttons.

 

[Shelley]

I'll also agree with Peggy in that the forum status icons not so much look generic but rather outdated. Since you can still keep simplicity in the forum of the design for the status icons I'd personally opt for something that looks up to date (if that makes sense).

I also noticed your using a red coloured text so ventured to your membercard and it looks like the red text has migrated itself over making it difficult to read. This is where your extra.css template can serve you well and you can modify the css to look both consistent and readable without it affecting other areas or worrying about making edits in templates and then re-editing when updates come.

​

 

[kingston]

I like your forum, but have a couple (or more) questions/suggestions.

First, how'd you manage to put one logo on your homepage and a different one on your forum? I like it.

Second, I don't like the forum status icons (new). Too generic. You need something more in line with your subject matter.
Perhaps one of our nice designers would make a set of pompoms for you. The current color is good for the forum read icon. Perhaps a red pompom, or yellow/gold, for the unread forum icon? And that blue page icon needs to be smaller.

Third, also on the forum index, those pages need to be together (imo), and at either the bottom or the top of that cheerleading category. As it is, that category looks unorganized.

Otherwise, looks good!

Answering with your order:

first - It was an option I asked Jaxel for. I made a child style and only applied it to the xenportal. I wanted something extravagent when you first got to the page, then clean and simple everywhere else.

second - i will have to think about this one. believe it or not our type of cheerleading (competitive) pom poms are looked down upon. I will need to figure out what represents us. i do like how easy they are to read though.

third - this one im a bit confused on what you mean. mind elaborating a hair?

Thanks for the help!

When I make a bit more money I will probably have something professionally done, but this will work for now.

 

[kingston]

I had to remove the twitter and facebook block because it made pageloading really slow. Like the latest news module I wish it had an option to disable the social buttons.

I have debated removing all the Twitter and Facebook stuff. I don't find my users use it all that much.

 

[kingston]

I'll also agree with Peggy in that the forum status icons not so much look generic but rather outdated. Since you can still keep simplicity in the forum of the design for the status icons I'd personally opt for something that looks up to date (if that makes sense).

I also noticed your using a red coloured text so ventured to your membercard and it looks like the red text has migrated itself over making it difficult to read. This is where your extra.css template can serve you well and you can modify the css to look both consistent and readable without it affecting other areas or worrying about making edits in templates and then re-editing when updates come.

View attachment 15421​

Kinda with the forum status. I like the cleanness of these icons. Flexile, for example, is a great forum but I really hate their forum status icons. I do not have any good ability to make any icons. I need to find someone with some skills.

I will work on the red text part. Do I just apply it to that text in the extra.css?