Throw what you may.
http://suitsweb.us
http://suitsweb.us
Critique my website?
- Thread starter nolvorite
- Start date
I admit I’m unsure what I’m looking at initially. There is no actual banner that stretches across the page. The banner that is in place appeared on first examination to be an advertisement of some nature. There is nothing to grab the viewer’s attention and draw him into the site. That said, the logo, links and “topics replied to” boxes are visually appealing in the sense that they are well put designed. The “topics replied to” box is a jolt in color, though, since it is dark grey and the rest of the forum is blue and white with touches of light grey.
The forum skin doesn’t sell the site. It’s a graphics and design forum and a place to help administrators, and I’d expect a really stand-out skin for a place that focuses on these things. There are nice features, such as in the navigation link where the hover displays a blue box with rounded edges and a shadow. That looks nice. The underlined links—particularly in the maintitles—not quite so much. Wider margins on each side of the forum could help, too. (I, personally, like a fixed width, but I am aware not everyone does. Widening the margins, however, might make the site a little more balanced.)
Layout – Overall, I quite like how you have sorted your forums. It begins with the straightforward parts of the site you would expect (announcements and feedback/intros). The next part is webmaster discussions which is split into three sections, each one important parts of running sites. I’ve never seen it split this way, but this is actually my favorite part of your layout. The title “Professional Commodities” seems a little hokey. I don’t know why your “GFX Shack” is separated from your Graphics Discussion section . . . shouldn’t this be all together? And then there is the off topic section, which makes sense that it all be grouped together and at the bottom of the forum.
Rules – Straightforward. As much as I love the word “douchebaggery,” though, it doesn’t fit in this context since you’re aiming for professionalism. But the overall layout of the rules is wonderfully concise and clear.
Activity – The site is new (or recently revamped) and most of the forums have been posted in within the past week. However, there are no posts in the past two days. This could very well mean the death of your forum. No one wants to join a board that appears to have been abandoned. Make sure that you post daily, even if you can only make a couple of posts.
Content – Get yourself more resources! Fill the resource sections up as much as possible with things you have collected and would love to share with others. You have already started many topics, which is great. You seem to do a good job replying to other people’s threads.
Tone – This part confuses me. On one hand, you’re aiming for a professional crowd. In a way, I think that you are aiming for people who are spending money on their sites—people who do this for a living. But there are other aspects of the site which convince me otherwise. Things like the rules (where the beautiful “douchebaggery” is used) and the posting contests. In my experience, posting contests normally turn into spammathons and promote quantity over quality. This might work for some sites, but encouraging quality would benefit your board better if you’re going for a professional approach. Yes, people want their sites out there. But they also want a reliable place with mature members who discuss things in detail as actual discussions rather than just answering questions. (“Let’s discuss our experiences as webmasters and what has worked” rather than “How many sites have you administrated?” Not that the latter is bad, but it can’t support a forum on its own, and those are the sort of topics one generates from posting contests.)
I get the impression that the site is run by people who want to build a big site with lots of people and are marketing it as a “professional” place when it’s not. I’m trying to phrase that in a way where it doesn’t sound harsh because I don’t mean to kick you in the shins. But what makes the site “professional grade” besides the fact that you market it as such? Writing the full name of the board every time you reference the site doesn’t make it professional. Calling it professional doesn’t make it such, either. The ultimate question is, does it need to be professional? It can have professional aspects—respectful members and staff most notably with fair, well-written rules—without being uptight and “professional.” The emphasis on professionalism makes me think that it’s anything but.
Overall – The webmaster / graphics / forming concept is a good one. You have some good topics to discuss on your site—now the problem is just getting people to discuss them. The skin is decent: nothing to write home about but it’s also legible and I can read everything on it. The banner at the top should be longer, even if it doesn’t stretch the width of the site. Maybe 700 px wide (possibly keeping the current height) so that it draws attention.
The only other thing is the “professional” deal that’s going on. Lighten up. You seem to have a decent site but the “professional” thing makes it look like you’re trying too hard and aiming for an audience you’re not going to get rather than the folks who casually run forums and websites.
The forum skin doesn’t sell the site. It’s a graphics and design forum and a place to help administrators, and I’d expect a really stand-out skin for a place that focuses on these things. There are nice features, such as in the navigation link where the hover displays a blue box with rounded edges and a shadow. That looks nice. The underlined links—particularly in the maintitles—not quite so much. Wider margins on each side of the forum could help, too. (I, personally, like a fixed width, but I am aware not everyone does. Widening the margins, however, might make the site a little more balanced.)
Layout – Overall, I quite like how you have sorted your forums. It begins with the straightforward parts of the site you would expect (announcements and feedback/intros). The next part is webmaster discussions which is split into three sections, each one important parts of running sites. I’ve never seen it split this way, but this is actually my favorite part of your layout. The title “Professional Commodities” seems a little hokey. I don’t know why your “GFX Shack” is separated from your Graphics Discussion section . . . shouldn’t this be all together? And then there is the off topic section, which makes sense that it all be grouped together and at the bottom of the forum.
Rules – Straightforward. As much as I love the word “douchebaggery,” though, it doesn’t fit in this context since you’re aiming for professionalism. But the overall layout of the rules is wonderfully concise and clear.
Activity – The site is new (or recently revamped) and most of the forums have been posted in within the past week. However, there are no posts in the past two days. This could very well mean the death of your forum. No one wants to join a board that appears to have been abandoned. Make sure that you post daily, even if you can only make a couple of posts.
Content – Get yourself more resources! Fill the resource sections up as much as possible with things you have collected and would love to share with others. You have already started many topics, which is great. You seem to do a good job replying to other people’s threads.
Tone – This part confuses me. On one hand, you’re aiming for a professional crowd. In a way, I think that you are aiming for people who are spending money on their sites—people who do this for a living. But there are other aspects of the site which convince me otherwise. Things like the rules (where the beautiful “douchebaggery” is used) and the posting contests. In my experience, posting contests normally turn into spammathons and promote quantity over quality. This might work for some sites, but encouraging quality would benefit your board better if you’re going for a professional approach. Yes, people want their sites out there. But they also want a reliable place with mature members who discuss things in detail as actual discussions rather than just answering questions. (“Let’s discuss our experiences as webmasters and what has worked” rather than “How many sites have you administrated?” Not that the latter is bad, but it can’t support a forum on its own, and those are the sort of topics one generates from posting contests.)
I get the impression that the site is run by people who want to build a big site with lots of people and are marketing it as a “professional” place when it’s not. I’m trying to phrase that in a way where it doesn’t sound harsh because I don’t mean to kick you in the shins. But what makes the site “professional grade” besides the fact that you market it as such? Writing the full name of the board every time you reference the site doesn’t make it professional. Calling it professional doesn’t make it such, either. The ultimate question is, does it need to be professional? It can have professional aspects—respectful members and staff most notably with fair, well-written rules—without being uptight and “professional.” The emphasis on professionalism makes me think that it’s anything but.
Overall – The webmaster / graphics / forming concept is a good one. You have some good topics to discuss on your site—now the problem is just getting people to discuss them. The skin is decent: nothing to write home about but it’s also legible and I can read everything on it. The banner at the top should be longer, even if it doesn’t stretch the width of the site. Maybe 700 px wide (possibly keeping the current height) so that it draws attention.
The only other thing is the “professional” deal that’s going on. Lighten up. You seem to have a decent site but the “professional” thing makes it look like you’re trying too hard and aiming for an audience you’re not going to get rather than the folks who casually run forums and websites.
Great post
You made some valid points
It's not like I expect anyone to be "professionals" per se coming into this board and i'm definitely not expecting any professionals. It's just a good motto lol. You made some good suggestions on the skin, but I think it's fine as it is. I preferred to keep my skin simplistic. I haven't posted in a while though and i'm going to post some resources soon. I'm the only one who runs it lol, sadly. I think I have some good content
Thanks again though, I appreciate you taking your time to post all this.
You made some valid points
It's not like I expect anyone to be "professionals" per se coming into this board and i'm definitely not expecting any professionals. It's just a good motto lol. You made some good suggestions on the skin, but I think it's fine as it is. I preferred to keep my skin simplistic. I haven't posted in a while though and i'm going to post some resources soon. I'm the only one who runs it lol, sadly. I think I have some good content
Thanks again though, I appreciate you taking your time to post all this.
michaelsmith
New Arrival
nolvorite said:
May be have to darker color for being nice.
What is the purpose of the site? Like what are you trying to accomplish? I ask this because it says you are trying to make websites, blogs, and forums better but yet all i see are graphic forums. I mean I feel like their should be more forums that are dedicated towards improvements than forums that related to graphics.
As far as in the theme, it's a light theme which is somewhat "professional" so you do not have to stress about that. You may want to improve the header since it's looks off.
Eh, I personally do not think this site will last unless you put more money and effect into it.
As far as in the theme, it's a light theme which is somewhat "professional" so you do not have to stress about that. You may want to improve the header since it's looks off.
Eh, I personally do not think this site will last unless you put more money and effect into it.
Whoa whoacyimking said:
Come on now it should be pretty clear what the site's mission is right on the guest notice:
Yes we do have a whole section for graphics
and also unless you say how the header looks "off" then you just sound vague
nolvorite said:
Yea i know what your guest mission statement says but your forum doesnt match it. It's like me saying My Website is a gaming site but you only see one gaming forum and a bunch of anime forums. Doesn't match up.
As for the header, it's looks incomplete. Too many white spaces which makes it look out of place.
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