Apple-Rumors.net
 

Ok Guys i need you thoughts. Please be some what nice. This is my website and Yes i do own a mac :D
http://apple-rumors.net
Constructive critisizum

your header needs "a little" work to say the least. Cause i'm bored, i offer you my free design skills.... okay i offer it cause they're mostly worthless :D

The donate link in the navbar needs its CSS class changed/removed

Your shoutbox is HUGE.

And of course the always first time forum admin mistake of way to many forums for 12 person member base you have. Add the forums as your member count grows and warrants them. Try perhaps a "General Apple" place to put everything until then.

Yeah, I think the header needs to be matched better with the gradient on the right of it. :D

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Where to start?

vBadvanced -- Kill it. It's way too cluttered and jumbled, doesn't set you apart from 95% of vB forums that are out there, and a visitor really has no idea what your website is about. vB should not be used as a cms, I can't stress that enough.

I recommend getting a new skin. This one is just default with a few color changes. Do some custom work and "clean" it up a lot. Most Apple users are very fond of the clean and sleek interfaces, and one would expect that going to a site based on Apple. (But please, for the love of god, stay away from the overused "Apple themes")

And finally, for a site titled "Apple Rumors" I would expect the sites main focus to be just that. Rumors floating around about new products/features, etc. Right now the main focus is a group of friends being able to communicate.

My overall recommendation is to get some sort of a cms to use as your main site, tie vB in as just a discussion forum, and build your community that way. If you do that, and you have a decent style, I don't see why this site wouldn't go places. You've got a decent domain name for this type of thing, and sadly, I'm afraid that it's going to waste away with the set up as it is now.

this site looks like a simili-clone of MacRumors where i'm member of for decade... not by the look or content, but by the goals... i hope you are trying to be unique... ;)

Thanks for your comments. The shout box isnt HUGE on my screen. But then again it is a 26" screen, Ill lower it to 200 Px tall. Thank you very much for the banner i will implement that here soon! :D For the donate link, i purposely did that so it would stand out.

Sorry i am not going to kill the VBA. I put that there for the users to go straight to the home page and see all the rumors listed there. I thought the skin is plain and simple. Nothing that is throwing logos in your face. Just a clean blue. We provide Rumors and help for people that need it.

macrumors.com is the WHOLE reason i started this site. I Absolutely HATE macrumors! There strict and i really do not like there content on some things. I also wanted a site were the members can post there rumors right then and there..

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Shoutbox is WAY to big.

Chat box is update please tell me what you think!

Also the forum link at the top needs to be directed to the /forum.php url instead of the home page.

bump ;)

It's a bit busy for my liking

Please explain further.

I agree that for a small forum, you have too many categories. Visually, the aqua color is OK (being that it is a Mac forum), but the overall look is very generic. As a point of comparison, look at this forum:

http://www.aqua-soft.org/board/

You can even buy that style from them if you're interested: http://www.aqua-soft.org/board/showthread.php?t=49571

I have no relationship with that site; I'm not even a member... I just did a Google search and stumbled upon it. There are a number of other Mac-like vB styles out there which I've seen as well.

Personally, I think "shout boxes" are rather juvenile and they also may decrease forum traffic because people hang out in the shout box rather than posting messages in the forums themselves. Of course, ultimately it is your choice as to the "ambiance" of your forum.

- Dan