Full Review by Twisted Fairytale
I'm currently typing this surrounded by French, so I apologize if I slip a few french words in here! Heh, just kidding, I'm excited for this review, as I was interested in opening a blog like Game Geeks. Let's see how it compares to our masterful rubric!
First Impressions & Appearance – (14 out of 20)
When first opening up Game Geeks, I'm greeted with a flat layout boasting a contrasting color scheme. The background shows an image that I can barely make out (my window is kind of minimized, so that may be why) and the white index is posted directly on top of that. In addition to the white-grayish contrast, there are hints of a light blue in links and headers. A beautiful color that I enjoy to use myself as well. The initial color scheme and appearance are enjoyable until I begin to take a closer look. There is one spot that really picks at my nerves. Take a glance below:
What's that I see there? Yep, it's a huge space in the upper right of your site. It's in a pretty awkward spot as well. Most sites would supply some ad space in order to monetize a little. And look at that! Game Geeks has a Sponsor section right below the huge open space. It may be a good idea to consider removing the "Sponsor" box that is taking up content space and transition it to ad space in order to fill that huge gap. Just a suggestion!
There is also a background image, the same that I mentioned earlier. Something I didn't mention is how it cuts off less than halfway down the page. This is super annoying to have an abrupt ending like such, even if the site uses a flat theme. I would suggest finding (or making) an image that will repeat and/or fill the whole background instead of cutting off.
That's all I really have for the appearance and impressions. Game Geek's appearance seems pretty professional and follows the up-and-coming trend of being "flat." Whether I'm a fan of the flat themes is another story, but Game Geeks pulls it off just fine. They have a good color scheme, but could put some of their space to better use, which I'll actually get into next. For the decent appearance, I'll award 14 points.
Site Layout – (10 out of 20)
The layout of Game Geeks is something in-in-of-itself. We start at the top with a social bar containing links to social networks that
don't work. Bleh, icky icky really. If a site wants its members to be engaged, having a functional site is crucial. Moving further down, we get to the menu bar. For most gaming blogs, it would be obvious to put your crucial information on this main bar: categories, reviews, etc. Instead, Game Geeks has links to their Contact, About Us, and Jobs page. In my opinion, those should really take less of a role of the site; because, in order to have users focus on the content of the site, it should really take a large, prominent role in navigation. All of those other links could really be at the bottom in the footer.
Moving downwards we get to the main content section. This is where my insides start to churn a little. The first material that is seen when opening Game Geeks is from February. February. The current month is April. Now, I know there is more recent activity than that, because it's further down the page. Why not feature new articles? By featuring these old articles, it's like showing off a grimy old soda glass that's been under your bed for three days (don't ask me how that relates, just trust me!). Move some newer articles to the featured section. It would showcase activity and give users a new first appearance every time they log onto the site. I would do the same with the reviews section. Move the reviews down and bring the new content up. Just because you have reviews doesn't mean you have to shove them in people's faces; especially if they're a month old.
Honestly, the rest of Game Geeks layout follows the same pattern. Most of the important content is found below the least important. If the positions of most of this were switched, users would find much better content more quickly. The layout requires a good amount of work to be decent. I'm awarding an 10 for an average layout that needs more improvement.
Statistics and Activity – (12 out of 20)
So for Game Geeks, there are two types of Activity that I will discuss: the writer's activity and the subscriber's activity. The writer's activity is judged by how many articles are released within a given time. I can happily say that the writer's activity for Game Geeks has, or appears to be, sufficient for a small group-job. There is a steady stream of articles that have been released over the past few months, with at least one every few days. This is vital for keeping a constant member base, so keep that up! I would even go further to say it would be beneficial to find a few more writers. That would give more activity, and when we get to the content section, diversify the content!
The other side of activity is that of your subscribers, or readers. This is the activity that everyone gets "dogged" on for having such low numbers. Unfortunately, Game Geeks is no different from just about every new start-up website. Currently, Game Geeks reports that they have
one subscriber. Honestly, that's a little embarrassing, so I would even consider taking that off of the page. It could very possibly turn people away from subscribing to the blog. In addition, the pace at which readers left comments on the loads of articles written is pretty low. There have only been five (5) comments since February. This is an obvious sign of a low readership. Unfortunately, whatever marketing or advertising Game Geeks is doing just isn't working, and I encourage them to try other routes to obtain the readership they need.
So, for the activity of the writers, I'm awarding 8 points, and the activity of the readership, I'm awarding 4 points. That's a total of twelve (12) points for Statistics & Activity. Raise those numbers by improving readership, and Game Geeks will be in great shape!
Content – (14 out of 20)
This, I expect, will be a pretty short section. I'm focusing on the quality of the writer's posts on Game Geeks, and that is all. After reading through a few posts, there isn't much depth to a lot of the normal news. The announcement of the Elder Scrolls trailer held a whopping four sentences and a video. While news is supposed to be short, sweet, and to the point, it's smart to provide background information for those who have never heard of The Elder Scrolls. Write to the audience who has no idea what the hell you're talking about. It's better to write short and sweet at the beginning, and descriptively and in-depth as add-ons towards the end. This will provide a better quality of content.
In addition, I mentioned the idea of hiring some new writers: doing so would also greatly improve the diversity of writing on Game Geeks. Sometimes it can get boring reading one person's writing all day (unless they're amazing authors). Hiring a few more writers can diversify the content and make it much more interesting. In regards to the amount of content available, with constant updates for the last few months, the quantity of content is not lacking.
Like I mentioned, this section was pretty short. For the quantity of content, I'll award 8 points, but to the quality, I see it a bit lacking in "fluff," more or less, so I'll award 6 points. That brings Content to a score of 14. Not too bad!
Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism – (14 out of 20)
Professionalism takes a variety of aspects about a website and judges them on the standard normal of the term "professional." These aspects include the site's appearance, execution, and actual content. Going back to the appearance of Game Geeks, they boast a flat theme, which seems to be the new "cool" thing to do. It's also relatively attractive to anyone who enjoys gaming. The only aspect of the appearance is how the background image cuts off mid way through the page. Overall, the appearance is pretty professional in the way they present themselves.
Execution deals with more specific aspects such as navigation and advertisements. The advertisements on Game Geeks are poorly placed and could be moved to gain better exposure and better navigation. Most of this, I have already mentioned. Everything I would say about the content, I have already said in the above paragraph. The content of Game Geeks is decent, and can use improvements. With the improvements mentioned, it would become exponentially more interesting for readers. Within the content, I can find little to no grammar mistakes; simply lack of content within each post.
Overall, Game Geeks comes off as a professional gaming blog, but lacks the actual content to be seen as such. With improvements of content, the professionality of the whole site would increase. 14 points for Professionality.
Total Score - (64 out of 100)
Final Remarks:
Game Geeks has potential and a very good start. It has a beautiful design that feels modern and will appeal to most. What it lacks right now is organization. Navigation requires a revamp and the placement of certain elements should really be moved. Overall, with some TLC, Game Geeks could compete as a gaming news source!
Strengths:
- - Great theme!
- Good activity from the authors / amount of articles
Weaknesses:
- - Lack of readership
- Poor layout
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