Review Please
 

I would really appreciate you all taking a look at this forum to share opinions and constructive critique.

I do not want the link indexed here so please copy -

Bump

love the skin and the whole layout of the board very nice work

Thanks. The skin is actually a premium paid skin that I heavily modified. I appreciate the kind words. The last time I had one of my forums reviewed here many years ago it was ripped to shreds. lol

A very good reason for it not being ripped to shreds right now may be because some folks that do drive by critiques just don't want to take the time to check your site over real good. Be thankful for that.

Rather than having my post look as though it contains no productive value, at a quick glance It looks to me as though your header could use some work. At the moment I don't have the time to be more productive in my critique but will stop back by when I'm done with some ongoing projects.

Thanks Gary,

I have no problem with the feedback whether it be negative or positive. Anything that helps improve is good and I know it needs some work with the header and the slider for sure.

The header/logo is something I really know I need to improve. I spent money on it already and was very disappointed with the graphics done.

Anyhow, thanks guys for taking the time. Don't be shy. let me have it! :D

I'm neither a coder or designer but like you I am a 10 year veteran using vb. Doesn't mean I know a lot, it just means I've messed up more than many others.

Took a look at your site and as a user I have to say I think you've done a good job working with a black background without it looking like a gamers site. One thing I might suggest watching for is the graphics used in the various banner ads. The white and/or very light coloured ads really jump out and given the starkness seems to take away from the rest of the page content. If you have a choice in the ads look for darker ones that will better complement your color palette.

Now this opinion is strictly me speaking but I find the whole portal type page with side bars and different sections to be too much information all at once. It may be well suited for your members and I don't know the body building community at all but I would be really interested in seeing some study results on how visitors process a portal type page. I do prefer the single sidebar on the forum page rather than double sidebars on the home page. For the record I'm mostly dealing with rural and agricultural Internet users that do not want too much information too fast and hate any kind of changes so I cater to a different audience.

Nice the way the various sections keep the theme and consistent presentation. Not sure if they are mods or integrated scripts. Integrated being a little harder to pull off.

GaryT mentioned your header so I took a specific look at that (remember I am not a designer). I think it's a good job on the graphics but I personally don't like having a banner in your header. My feeling is that it's prime screen space that should be reserved for your business (website) and not for ads. There's also a lot of empty space between your logo and the ad. This is a topic I've just posted about vb.org for my own site as well and received a great suggestion that I'll be working in shortly. Over all I say you should be pretty happy with it RichieBoy67. Even the older forums still have things to tweak and/or improve and all of it is a matter of opinion. :D

Thanks so much!

I agree on the banner ads though this is not something I can control easily.

In terms of the sidebars I agree to an extent which is why I have the sidebars turned off in most parts of the forum. In addition I normally have some less text type of content displaying there like video thumbnails, etc. There can be a definite information overload when trying to cram too much onto a page. I will be re doing the video thumbs to lessen the load there. Also, there is a low res theme available that has no sidebars for those that do not want them and for low res screeens.

I also agree about the header and it is something I have thought about doing for a long time. I actually built the site years ago and did not own it at the time and that was how he wanted it originally so it has just been that way. That spot also brings in some revenue but the site sure would look much better with a full header and a better graphic. It might actually make the whole page/site really stand out.

Thanks! Recently I have been more focused on content than appearance but it is something I have wanted to work on. I am planning on doing something with the header as soon as the contract ends for the ad that is there now.

Thanks again everyone, Big help for sure!

Hey guys, I have made some big changes and want your opinions. I plan on focusing more on faster page load times next in addition to adding more valuable content.

I have finally placed a full banner in the header and I also added some additional theme selections for others that do not like the dark theme and another that works better on older monitors. I've made some changes with forums, have added some new error pages, fixed broken urls, etc..

Any other criticism? Let me have it and don't be shy about it. :)

Link is in the first op.

Check ss am sure it will explain the problem. Also make the forum the landing page not the cms would be better