Suggestions for a "Best Of..." local community site

[Machiavelli]

i run a local community forum, and i've recently come to the realisation that i'm trying to do too much with it and as a result confusing my members. for example, i use xenatendo to list local events, xenkingdir to list local traders, etc.

what my members really want is just a forum, to chat and get back to basics of what a forum involves.

however, many people in the local community want exactly the opposite. they don't care about chatting and forum business - they just want a website that they can go to, and click on "What's On" to see a calendar for upcoming events, click on "Shops" to see a list of local shops (with links to relevant websites, etc.), "Dating" to link to a dating section, "Eating" to link to a section with restaurants, takeaways, etc. (along with menus, contact details, and so forth), etc. etc. basically, a hub for their town, where they can instantly see the information they need, without wading through pages and pages of opinions, comments, posts, and pictures of grumpy cats.

i realise that this isn't a new idea, hence this post. i would really appreciate some recommendations for platforms to achieve the above, please. i was thinking wordpress, and i would just update it with posts about different events/shops/establishments/etc. as and when - but then i thought "surely there's a better solution, specifically for this kind of thing?" - so figured it was worth asking here.

this isn't intended to replace my forum, incidentally - that is still going strong. i would just like to strip that back to what a forum does best - discussion - and the above would be a separate-albeit-affiliated site.

thanks.

 

[Digital Doctor]

however, many people in the local community want exactly the opposite. they don't care about chatting

Listen to the community !

i was thinking Wordpress, and i would just update it

Wordpress is probably the way to go.

Are lots of the community users ... using their mobile devices ?

run wordpress in the root and switch your forums to /community

 

[LPH]

While WordPress is great, you might find it easier to create simple pages in XF and have them available front and center. Maybe add a few pages and put a counter on them. See if the count suggests you need to do more or less.Do a few page then put up a poll to see what others think. Get their feedback.

Why? Adding WP adds a layer of complexity to updating files, bridging, styling, login in/log out ...

If you end up with traffic flowing to the XF pages then start making them more of the focus of the site. Otherwise, don't sweat it and stick to the forums.

Just my 2 cents.