The Arcive of Official vBulletin Modifications Site.

dotpeddler · #1 05-30-2008, 08:16 AM

Here it is -- mymerrychristmas.com

What might make this site different than many here is that it is not new -- it's been around since 1999 and it is an authority site in it's niche. The forums, however, have been a part of the site only for a year, building a membership base of several thousand and giving the site overall new life. The fact we have many actively discussing seasonal topics in May is somewhat of a miracle to me.

Integrating vb into an existing look has been a challenge and it has been a slow evolution. There are many elements that have just been there. We have a loyal user-base who are very resistant to change and accomodating a solid mix of the old and the new has been very challenging.

We are using vbadvanced -- but not on all pages. It is heavily modded with blogs, videos, etc. The signature of the site has always been comprehensive and complicated.

What I'm looking for specifically here are some thoughts relative to the forums themselves, because they have become such a part of the site. Any feedback would be appreciated.

#2 05-30-2008, 12:23 PM

the front page takes forever to load, i suppose it depend on the banners...

main style is actual, fits the topic of the site, and is not overwhelming...

it's hard to review a christmas site in may... i'm not realyl into it right now.. lol

veenuisthebest · #3 05-30-2008, 07:49 PM

i like it :up:

1. Get rid of the horizontal scroll bar first.. from both homepage and forumhome. your top 5 stats is breaking the style. remove some columns from it.

2. you can reduce the number of recent threads being displayed on the vbadvanced page.

3. your footer is toooo big. it occupied the whole of my screen.

4. i like your countdown to christmas.. rest everything is fine.

dotpeddler · #4 05-30-2008, 10:01 PM

horizontal scroll bar? Never once have I seen this and never once had a complaint about it. What's your resolution? Browser? Thought we had tested out of all that.

Shriz · #5 05-30-2008, 10:49 PM

Ok first of all why would you make an x-mas site specialy when X-MAS ends you will end up with no users and the only time people will come on is at chrismas i think you try making another website instead

#6 05-31-2008, 12:57 AM

hum, Shriz, you can't comment on the goal of a website like this... if you are not interested in the topic, that's ok, but your comment is far from constructive. And coming from someone who think the only way to have a goal is to pay someone for ideas on a site topic, i suggest you learn from existing stuff instead of trashing it.

having a site dedicated to flowers have to close during snow storms ?!...

veenuisthebest · #7 05-31-2008, 01:27 AM

Quote:

you can't comment on the goal of a website like this... if you are not interested in the topic, that's ok, but your comment is far from constructive.

I totally respect your words sir !!

Quote:

why would you make an x-mas site specialy when X-MAS ends you will end up with no users and the only time people will come on is at chrismas i think you try making another website instead

and dear shriz, I think you did not read the first post carefully. He started his website almost 9 years ago with the same goal. It is just forums that are new. I was learning to hold mouse at that time. We should always respect such an elderly and experienced person. To be true, I spent over 20 minutes on his website and it really made me felt that christmas is somewhere around. I really liked it.

Quote:

horizontal scroll bar? Never once have I seen this and never once had a complaint about it. What's your resolution? Browser? Thought we had tested out of all that.

The horizontal scroll bar is there sir. I'm on XP with 1024 X 768 res using Firefox. Also here, the Top 5 Stats has broken the width of the style.

dotpeddler · #8 05-31-2008, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by veenuisthebest

The horizontal scroll bar is there sir. I'm on XP with 1024 X 768 res using Firefox. Also here, the Top 5 Stats has broken the width of the style.

Oh, I totally believe you -- just need to see how you're seeing it so I can get it fixed. That's the purpose for getting other eyes here to review. I much appreciate it!

--------------- Added [DATE]1212207710[/DATE] at [TIME]1212207710[/TIME] ---------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shriz

Ok first of all why would you make an x-mas site specialy when X-MAS ends you will end up with no users and the only time people will come on is at chrismas i think you try making another website instead

I'm not really concerned. We get about 4500 uniques a day NOW. It's about ten times that at Christmas.

And not everyone makes a website for money. Some of us do it for the pure love of the topic we're pursuing. Most sites here, I would venture, are likely that way. Christmas is a passion for us and for the few twisted sorts like me -- it is a year round passion. To each his own.

dotpeddler · #9 06-02-2008, 05:42 AM

I think we might have figured out the problem -- it was a permissions issue within vbadvanced that was causing the funky looks. Took us all weekend to get this! We couldn't replicate what you were seeing until we messed with that.

Thanks for letting us know!

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