My First vBulletin Site - Need Feedback
 

Hello everyone,

I just completed and install of vBulletin along with PhotoPost, vbPortal, and a ExtemePixels skin. I've been very happy with how easy things have been to integrate using vb's template system. I'd appreciate any feedback others could give me on the overall design and usability. I've also added some Adsense adverts on various pages (including the archive). I've tried to place the ads where they are easily seen, but not overpowering to the visitor. Let me know what you think.

URL: www.photosharingforum.com

Appreciate it!

Well, I am not a pro or anything, but I really like it a lot! Great job :D

very nice! good job :)

Very nice! Please don't make the poll question blink, it's no good.

Thanks for the positive feedback! That's very encouraging :D

Michelle,

I didn't even realize the poll question was blinking. That does look bad. How do I disable that? I'll double check the poll settings in cpadmin now....

Thanks!

Perhaps you have HTML set to on? It's the only thing I can think of :confused:

Found the answer over at phpportals.com (official vbPortal site)

the blinking is a css property and its in the P_polloption template, wrapping the polls question

text-decoration:blink

(fyi it doesn't blink in inernet exploder)

I didn't even know there was a "blink" option available :confused:
O well, it's off now!

Thanks again for catching that :)

Oh, haven't noticed it was vbPortal. I thought it was vbadvanced :)

Something else:
1. You should either write a preloader for the rollover menu images or make the rollover via CSS. Currently the image loads at the time that you firstly hover over the button and when it loads then it changes instantly on mouseover. This is not right.
2. You'd better change the profile a little to match the site's purpose. Eg recent photos that the member has uploaded, highest rated photos of the member etc ;)
3. Keep in mind that the site is about photos and stock photo sharing, not a regular forum! Put in a visible place the total number of photos you host at the moment. Visit stock photo sites to get ideas.
4. What do you mostly use on stock photo sites? Search! So focus on photopost search and make it move eye-catching and attractive (change that "go" button).
5. The sidebar on/off thing does nothing while in gallery.
6. More photos in the gallery index!
7. Ensure that keywords are used. I searched for "flower" and I got no results whereas I had seen images of flowers in the gallery.

Thanks for taking the time to give me so many good suggestions. I'll address all these issues and let you know when they are fixed so you can take another look.

Appreciate it!

OK Michelle,

I've made the following changes:

1. Added a preloader for rollover menu buttons. Also scaled the buttons down a bit to improve load time.

2. I added a image search box under the "Recent Uploads" section on the homepage. I also added quick links to display recent uploads for the past 24hours, 7 days and 14 days.

3. Removed the sidebar on/off option from the menu.

4, My image inventory is low right now. As a result, searching will bring back very limited results. I'm adding keywords now. The search function itself seems to be working ok.

I also added:

5. Syndication buttons for my news, links, and content sections ( lower left side of homepage).

6. Recent referers block on lower left. Nice way to link back to those folks who send me traffic :)

I plan to add several other features once I have a decent number of images in the gallery, but I think this is a good start.

Let me know what you think about the changes...

Michelle,

Did you have a chance to check out the changes? Does it look better now?