Looking for some opinions

[ThatGreenAlien]

Hi vB.org, I currently run an animation and art forum with some friends called Still-Framed.

http://still-framed.com/content.php

We are planning on doing a revamp of the forum sometime in the future, and transferring to tumblr for our "home page" (replacing the CMS) and making lots of changes to how the overall user experience is made. Not only that, but we are also planning on changing to a lighter, more welcoming color theme as well as a more user friendly experience in general.

However, in the mean time, I was wondering if I could receive honest, non-bias reviews of our forum in general and what you guys think. First impressions, and so on. I'm very welcoming to criticism!

[Max Taxable]

First impression is, it's visually appealing and really sharp for the niche it represents. I can see alot of work has gone into it and it makes me wonder why you want to change it. Forum Home looks great, postbit is nice and neat, the background image rocks - what's the problem?

[ForceHSS]

I would hide the chat box from guests and the space between the bottom of the chat box and the top of the first section is to big

[Max Taxable]

Originally Posted by ForceHSS

I would hide the chat box from guests and the space between the bottom of the chat box and the top of the first section is to big

Yes, I concur.

[ThatGreenAlien]

Thanks everyone. Yes, one of the things we will be doing is limiting the amount of space people can use for "Megaphones" (that space in-between the chatbox and the forum head).

As for why we want to change it... we all kind of agree on the fact that the dark style feels really "closed off" and alike. What do you guys think?

[JacquiiDesigns]

I think a revamp is completely called for. To be honest - I personally think the site is too cluttered with ads and some miscellaneous images at the top. I would remove a good portion of all the 'fluff stuff' - for instance I'd keep the forum home a bit more simple like so:



I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to accomplish with the CMS. I would definitely advise an overhaul of it's styling so that your article posts are presented in a more professional manner. Also - the style itself is really giving me more of a militaristic feel than an arts and animations feel.

On a more positive note - I see you have quite a bit of content, with several users online. At this very moment you have 30 members and close to 100 guests browsing your forum, which is AWESOME imo. You might want to poll your active userbase to see what type of upgrade/overhaul they'd like to see you make, especially as far as style is concerned. You want to give them what they want you know what I mean.

You've got your work cut out for you. But if you keep at it - I'm sure you'll have the forum you want and that your community deserves.

Good luck!

J.

[ThatGreenAlien]

Thank you very much! Personally, I hate the CMS and I'll be happy to see it being replaced. I'll definitely consider your opinions during the revamp.

[Max Taxable]

See what happens when a Professional does a review and not just ham and eggers like myself?

[K4GAP]

That large image that shows on every page is quite annoying. (ouGiqXy.png)

With all those ads everywhere it looks like the back page of a cheap magazine.

I think removing all the borders was a bad move. That works on some sites but it's just another black mark on your sites design.

These are all just my opinions. Like I've been saying for a while now, before taking any negative comments as serious, go look at that persons style and see if they have any room to comment on yours. A lot of them have no right to find negatives on your site if their own site looks like crap.

[JacquiiDesigns]

Originally Posted by ThatGreenAlien

Thank you very much! Personally, I hate the CMS and I'll be happy to see it being replaced. I'll definitely consider your opinions during the revamp.

I've seen some people do amazing things with vB 4 CMS - vBulletin doesn't make it to easy though - you have to really know your stuff css wise anyway.

Originally Posted by Max Taxable

See what happens when a Professional does a review and not just ham and eggers like myself?

Talking about me? Ah naw - Just a dibbler and dabbler in graphic design is all LOL

Originally Posted by GaryT

Like I've been saying for a while now, before taking any negative comments as serious, go look at that persons style and see if they have any room to comment on yours. A lot of them have no right to find negatives on your site if their own site looks like crap.

I agree - Some folks just be offering off-the-cuff reviews and suggestions, having no earthly idea what they're talking about. And usually their forum's are a mess. Kinda like me and mines hahahaha - J/k

Seriously though. You make an excellent point. A great way of gauging the validity of one's suggestions is to check the quality of their work for yourself. I always do anyway.