Does It have the Look

[abvolt]

Sorry but looks are one of the first things people notice when visiting a website and this one needs a lot of work, The look and feel of a board can make it work this one needs skins, Themes how will this be addressed.

 

[HannahP]

Content, while important, is not everything and is rapidly being devalued.

Really. Where, exactly, is this rapid content devaluation happening? I'd like to see a few examples. Take your time.

You can have the best content around, but if people are constantly frustrated trying to use a poorly designed site, they won't return and just go elsewhere.

They can't "go elsewhere" if your content is unique and useful or entertaining. And if it isn't, if it's something that's available "elsewhere," then it has no reason to be exist anyway, and is disposable.

Without "content," what is the web?

 

[x3sphere]

Awesome, And I do agree less is better but members or customers don't .

You can't say that as a fact. It really depends on your target market. I will say, from my experience, most users want simplicity. Oh, and I run a gaming site too.

 

[anotheralias]

Without "content," what is the web?

I think communication is still the main draw of the web. Content is just the cheese in the mousetrap - the endgame is still creating a social gathering of some kind.

 

[Floris]

Facebook actually has not a very good UI in several areas in my opinion.

When he says several, he actually means all.

 

[Kier]

Facebook actually has not a very good UI in several areas in my opinion.

Can you give some examples? I think that for most users, Facebook has an excellent UI.

 

[Grover]

Can you give some examples? I think that for most users, Facebook has an excellent UI.

Uhm... not now , but I will come back to this (provide examples) when I have more time on my hands. Obviously one can not compare FB to XF, but if I -as an experienced web-user with a clear eye on user interfaces- find myself asking questions how to do things or intuitively expecting something when it isn't there... something is not right. Okay, incomparable... but I haven't come across this situation in XenForo once, whereas with Facebook...

Maybe it sounds remarkable to a lot of people, but I really think that FB's UI is certainly not excellent. It is good, with lots of room for improvements.

 

[HannahP]

I think communication is still the main draw of the web. Content is just the cheese in the mousetrap - the endgame is still creating a social gathering of some kind.

Communication is content. Everything that isn't design is content.
 
Re: Facebook: There's nothing wrong with Facebook's UI - as long as you don't need to actually find anything.

 

[anotheralias]

Communication is content. Everything that isn't design is content.

In the context of this thread, isn't "content" being used to describe photos, articles and so on?

 

[Kier]

Re: Facebook: There's nothing wrong with Facebook's UI - as long as you don't need to actually find anything.

Do I detect the genesis of facebooksucks.com?

[Edit... already taken.]

 

[HannahP]

That would be belaboring the obvious.

In the context of this thread, isn't "content" being used to describe photos, articles and so on?

Is it? I don't know. Why are you picking on me?

 

[Peggy]

That would be belaboring the obvious.

Is it? I don't know. Why are you picking on me?

Why not?

 

[HannahP]

Fair enough.

 

[Russ]

I think the skin is simplistic but in my eyes as a skinner I'm looking forward to it . I want the foundation I'm working off of clean and simple and personally I think you're completely right here:

Sorry but looks are one of the first things people notice when visiting a website

But that is the point of a styling system to customize it to your own needs

 

[Jason]

Really. Where, exactly, is this rapid content devaluation happening? I'd like to see a few examples. Take your time.

They can't "go elsewhere" if your content is unique and useful or entertaining. And if it isn't, if it's something that's available "elsewhere," then it has no reason to be exist anyway, and is disposable.

Without "content," what is the web?

There's tons of content, most of it the same. Just try searching your favorite search engine and you quickly realize that content is mostly divided quantitatively not qualitatively. There's not a lot of value in that.

Even so, regardless of whether your content "is unique and useful or entertaining," users are not going to stick around a site that continuously frustrates them at every turn (e.g., a poorly designed interface), and will simply go elsewhere (MySpace, anyone?). Chances are there is another site with comparable content, and who knows, with a larger following it'll probably gain in quality overtime.

Name one site that has a widely regarded atrocious UI with superb content that has a vibrant and active community that continues to rapidly grow?

 

[Ruven]

I think the skin is simplistic but in my eyes as a skinner I'm looking forward to it . I want the foundation I'm working off of clean and simple and personally I think you're completely right here:



But that is the point of a styling system to customize it to your own needs

Yeah, while XF does have a pretty simple style... its highly functional and elegantly attractive.
While on the other hand the vB4 default skin was simple as well... but simple as in "rides the short bus" simple.
XF is simple in much the same way a natural beauty doesnt need to wear makeup to look fantastic.

 

[Ruven]

There's tons of content, most of it the same. Just try searching your favorite search engine and you quickly realize that content is mostly divided quantitatively not qualitatively. There's not a lot of value in that.

Even so, regardless of whether your content "is unique and useful or entertaining," users are not going to stick around a site that continuously frustrates them at every turn (e.g., a poorly designed interface), and will simply go elsewhere (MySpace, anyone?). Chances are there is another site with comparable content, and who knows, with a larger following it'll probably gain in quality overtime.

Name one site that has a widely regarded atrocious UI with superb content that has a vibrant and active community that continues to rapidly grow?

aintitcool.com

 

[Kim]

While on the other hand the vB4 default skin was simple as well... but simple as in "rides the short bus" simple.

my thoughts exactly

 

[feldon30]

There's tons of content, most of it the same. Just try searching your favorite search engine and you quickly realize that content is mostly divided quantitatively not qualitatively. There's not a lot of value in that.

This is the result of search engine bait sites full of copy-pasted blog and website content designed to trick search engines. I wish I could take these people out and beat them. They are totally screwing up Google results.

A bit less egregious are aggregation sites which gather content from other sites but without nefarious purposes. It can still be disruptive.

 

[HydraulicJack]

The clean, simple look and organic, interactive feel of XenForo may well be an acquired taste. There are plenty of sites with dark, heavy graphics and/or a busy, cluttered look - often gaming sites and others that cater to younger members. Given time, these people may come to appreciate the subtle sensual pleasure of the default or lightly modified XenForo style, but in the meantime they have a right to wonder how it will look when modified to their own taste.

Very well spake, Sandman!

 

[ManagerJosh]

xenForo == the real vB4 || next-gen vB