Your Forum Review
First Impressions & Appearance - (Out of 20)
I am not really a fan of the bright green, however, it is not that bad at all. It is not my favorite, but in no way would it make me turn around and leave your site. One thing I would highly recommend would be to change your banner. Currently it is simple and plain with just your title and the description. The shadow behind it is fine, but could be a little less emphasized. I would also recommend adding some color behind this:
http://i29.tinypic.com/2d1vius.png
(image is too big to post)
This could be done by simply adding an image that has a gradient similar to your overall forum’s colors. Something I would also change would be the layout when a user posts. Currently you have it set up as follows:
Avatar
Usergroup (Member, Manager, etc.)
Username
Etc.
Example:
If at all possible I would change it so the Username is above their Usergroup image. It would just make it look better in my opinion.
(Scored 11/20)
Site Layout - (Out of 20)
Looks nice and everything relates to your forum’s category/general topic. You have lots of useful forums and they all have threads and posts in them. I usually put Introductions/Farewells in the top forum so it is easy for new users to find. However, that is just my preference. If I were you I would put ‘Forum Games’ as a sub topic under General Discussion. There is no need for a whole separate forum for forum games. It would fit fine under General. If you want to help your members get some activity or discussion about their forums you could put 3-5 Member’s forums as whole new forums in the “Forum Fun” and then put the rest as sub topics under a forum called ‘More’ or ‘Others’.
You should try getting some girls to your site so your forum could have “the best of both worlds” so to speak. (See Statistic and Activity for the reason why)
(Scored 16/20)
Statistics and Activity - (Out of 20)
Our members have made a total of 4,839 posts in 287 threads.
You should try getting more threads. You have lots of posts which are great, but if you had some more threads you would have even more activity and it would spark up newer discussions. Currently in Forum Games there are 4 threads and 1,402 posts/replies. Of course, you can’t force members to post in other sections of your forum, but it would be great to see other areas as active as the Forum Games area. However, I know that Forum Games are easy to post in and that is probably why there are a lot of posts there. By comparing the Boy’s Room and the Girl’s Room it looks like there are more guys on your forum in comparison to how many girls there are. Try getting some more girls to post in the Girl’s Room (see above). I can’t find when you created your forum so I looked at the time of the posting of the rules in your announcements area (05-02-2009). You almost started 3 months ago and you are doing pretty well. Your overall post count is great for a forum that started not that long ago. I also noticed that most of the threads contained lots of information and discussions which is really good. So +1 for stats that include great posts!
(Scored 17/20)
Staff Moderation - (Out of 20)
I read how you pick staff and I think it is a great and efficient way to pick staff. However, I think you should give people ideas of what to keep in mind if they are trying to become a member of your staff. I haven’t seen any disciplinary actions take place, but the whole place is clean looking and nothing seems out of place. It also looks like everything is on topic and there is no spam. So I am guessing the staff must be paying attention and doing their job.
(Scored 20/20)
Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism - (Out of 20)
Very professional overall. I know what every forum is about just by reading the description which is always a good thing. I and probably others like to know where they are headed. “Ask questions about ETF, suggest new features or simply discuss the forums. “ I could be wrong, but I think there should be a comma after ‘features’, before ‘simply’. That is just how I learned to write. Sorry, but there is not really that much to say about the spelling/grammar and professionalism. It is all pretty good and I can find no mistakes.
(Scored 19/20)
Total Score - 83 (Out of 100)
Final Remarks: Good looking site. You only really have to change some small things, but nothing will really drive someone away from joining your site or posting there.
What was most liked about the website/forums: I liked how informative posts were and how serious they were. In all of the serious areas the topics stayed serious and I by reading some of the posts I learned some things, which was great.
What was disliked most about the website/forums: Didn’t like the bright green style very much. I think you should try something universal that everyone would like. Try sticking to a neutral color that is neither too dark or light/bright.
How could I get you (The Reviewer) to join my website? I might actually go register there because there is a lot of information that sounds pretty useful.
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