Your Forum Review
First Impressions & Appearance - (Out of 20)
The first thing I notice is your awesome Halloween banner! It's simply amazing, and I'm sure that anybody who views your site is awed by it. Your header is quite large, though. When viewing as a guest, it takes up over a page on the 1280 x 800 resolution. Excluding the welcome message, it still takes up nearly a page. It can be annoying to have to scroll excessively to get to the bottom of the index. Overall, your theme doesn't look terrible, but it's also not outstanding. This theme would be suitable for a forum wishing to look professional, such as a promotion forum or business forum. You're not running a professional type forum, though; you are running a forum dedicated to art and creativity. I would like to see a more dramatic theme on your site. Perhaps you could look for a theme that utilizes some more exciting colors and looks a little more unique. I only notice one empty forum, and it is a staff application forum. Just remember that empty forums of any kind
may be off-putting to some members; not everyone will notice that it's just a forum for staff applications. Some people may think that your forum looks empty if they see empty forums. Scrolling down, I see that you have a decent amount of posts and members. Statistically, your site is not off-putting to prospective members. Overall, my first impression was slightly positive, but it was not extraordinary.
(Scored 15/20)
Site Layout - (Out of 20)
Your layout has its good points and bad points. Your layout does place emphasis on the theme of your site (the "Kreative Centre" category), which is good. It also appears to be organized. However, your index does run a bit long. The first recommendation I have to condense your index is to omit the "Staff Applications" forum. I would recommend simply making a topic in your "News and Updates" section whenever you require additional staff members. Another recommendation I can make right away is to merge your "Feedback and Support" forum with your "Kreative Box" forum, as they seem to serve the same purpose. Feedback includes suggestions, so having two separate forums seems a bit redundant. I may also recommend that you combine your "Showcase" forum with your "Photography and Illustration" forum, as members seem to be using those two forums for the same purpose. Furthermore, I would recommend combining your "Graphic Design" and "Designers Den" forums, as they also seem to serve the same purpose. Another recommendation is to delete your "Graphic Support Desk" forum. That forum does not appear to be widely used by your members, and topics that fit there also seem to fit in several other places. Making these changes will not only condense your index, but they will also make your forum appear more active by leading to fewer forums with larger postcounts. The last recommendation I would make for your layout would be to move your "News and Updates" forum to the top. That may make members more likely to check for new developments.
(Scored 12/20)
Statistics and Activity - (Out of 20)
According to my rough calculations, your forum receives an average of approximately forty-five posts per day. That's not horrible, but there is certainly room for improvement. After about seventy-four days, your forum has eighty members. That's an average of more than one registration per day, so that is good. You also have a good ratio of posts to members. Your forum is still relatively new, so post exchanges are still on the table. Post exchanges will make your forum look more active to prospective members. After you have a good amount of startup posts, you may start promoting your site through banner ads, text ads, and other services offered on Forum Promotion and abroad. Since your forum is geared toward creativity, you may also consider hosting a contest to increase interest in your forum.
(Scored 10/20)
Staff Moderation - (Out of 20)
If I can count, your forum currently employs six users. This is certainly a sufficient amount of staff members to start with. Unless you see a dramatic surge in activity, I would not recommend adding any more staff members at this time. All of your staff members appear to be quite active based on their post counts. Your staff members seem to be quite welcoming to new members, which is good. While your staff members do things that could be considered bad by some users (such as using chatspeak), the professionalism seems to be maintained for the most part. Overall, your forum does not have any major staffing issues.
(Scored 18/20)
Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism - (Out of 20)
While you have done a decent job of writing descriptions that lack major grammatical errors, I can spot a few. We may as well fix those.
Error #1: "New to Kreative Flow? Why not start here and introduce yourself to the community" (description of "Introductions").
- Should read: "If you're new to Kreative Flow, why don't you start here and introduce yourself to the community?"
Error #2: "Post any of your feedback here. Report any errors or rare bugs you might encounter, or if you need any support regarding the forum post here" (description of "Feedback and Support").
- Should read: "Post any feedback that you may have here. Request support and post errors that you may encounter here."
Error #3: "This forum is specifically designed for all your suggestions! If you have any new ideas or suggestions be sure to add them here" (description of "Kreative Box").
- Should read: "This forum is specifically designed for all your suggestions! If you have any new ideas or suggestions, be sure to add them here."
Error #4: "Interested in Photography? Or love to draw the good old way, then this is your forum!" (description of "Photography and Illustrations").
- Should read: "If you're interested in photography or love to draw the good old way, then this is your forum!"
Error #5: "Discussions on general graphics are held here. Discuss renders, stocks, designs et cetera" (description of "Graphic Design").
- Should read: "Discussions on general graphics are held here. Discuss renders, stocks, designs, etc."
Error #6: "Talk about web design and websites here! If you're a designer/freelancer then this is the place to hang out. Share tips, tricks and trade scripts!" (description of "Designers Den").
- Should read: "Talk about web design and websites here! If you're a designer/freelancer, then this is the place to hang out. Share tips, tricks and trade scripts!"
Error #7: "Find Kreative Flow's finest collection of tutorials here. Bought to you by our finest staff and members, ranging from Begginer to Advanced" (description of "Tutorials").
- Should read: "View Kreative Flow's finest collection of tutorials brought to you by our finest employees and members. Tutorials range from Beginner to Advanced."
Error #8: "In need of a new design? A sig, avatar or banner? Why not post in here and one of our 'Design Crew' will help you out (description of "Design Requests").
- Should read: "Post here if you are in need of a new design, signature, or banner; one of our 'Design Crew' members will help you."
Error #9: "New to graphics? Or if you're having and difficulties don't hesitate to ask for help here" (description of "Graphic Support").
- Should read: "If you're new to graphics and having difficulties, don't hesitate to ask for help here."
Error #10: "Buy cool Kreative Flow items and services here with you're points. Purchases such as subscriptions, privileges etc can be made here" (description of "Flow Shop").
- Should read: "Buy cool Kreative Flow items and services here with your points. Items you may purchase include subscriptions, privileges, etc."
Error #11: "Discuss anything in general here. Hang out, talk, laugh, yell! Or take a break from the rest of the forum" (description of "Chit-Chat").
- Should read: "Discuss anything in general here. Hang out, talk, laugh, or yell! Take a break from the rest of the forum."
Error #12: "TV, Music and Gaming" (forum name).
- Should read: "TV, Music, and Gaming" (this change is not technically required; the extra comma is optional, but the grammar nerd thinks it looks nicer and more complete).
Error #13: "Discuss your latest source of entertainment here! Werther you want to talk about music or a new game" (description of "TV, Music, and Gaming").
- Should read:"Whether it's music or a new game, discuss your latest source of entertainment here!"
(Scored 15/20)
Total Score - 70 (Out of 100)
Final Remarks: Your forum seems to be off to a good start. However, there are still some simple errors that can be corrected.
What was most liked about the website/forums: I really like your banner.
What was disliked most about the website/forums: Your theme and activity could both be improved.
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