PokePark

Gray

Madly Diligent
Joined
Oct 9, 2010
Messages
5,265
Reaction score
64
FP$
929
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Site URL: http://pokeparkforum.com/index/
Review Type: No Review // 50FP$. (I think?)
Extra Notes: I'm just interested in what you have to say about the forums. 😛
 
First Impressions:
Coming on your forum, it looks very bland and outdated. I'd suggest getting a new theme to help improve your first impressions when a user visits your forum. Also, after the transfer of the forum from Geoffery to You, there is still outdated information such as Member of the Month that has not been updated since.

Average

Originality:
I don't see any unique qualities within PokePark. The only thing that stands out to me is the Card Shop haven't seen something like that in a while and it adds a little bit of jazz to the forum.

Poor

Site Statistics:
There is 7,100 posts and 75 members. Give you an average of about 94 posts per member. That's not bad! Recently, there has been a lessening in staff activity (besides Gray) and overall member activity. You should have a few contests to get this forum re-started!

Good

Grammar & Spelling:
I can't find any visible mistakes! Great job here.

Excellent

Overall: PokePark is just starting up again and will have some bumps on the way. Take what you have and just improve upon that. If there has been anything I've learned along my way is to just keep going. One day, your forum will be wonderful and striving in all areas! Keep up the good work

Overall Grade: B+ - Gettin' there! 🙂

Good luck, ddoesmc. :heart:
 
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INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

Your forum is a well designed community. I really like the theming you have implemented. Various icons, text and other elements of the homepage fit well with the Pokemon world, which helps make new visitors almost feel at home, before creating an account. It’s clear to see you’re rocking Zetaboards, a solid platform for your community to initially flourish. The base is there. You’re ready to rock ‘n roll.

You'll need to double check your permission settings, however. I'm unable to access the following forums as a guest:
  • Pokemon Plaza
  • New Hoenn Waterpark
  • Kalos Coaster
  • Retro Land
  • PokePark Marketplace
  • Introduce Yourself
  • The Food Court
  • Recharge Room
  • Dinner Theater
  • Smeargle's Studio

What are you hiding? Let me poke around as a visitor. I need to see what kind of forum you're running before I register.


DESIGN

As touched on above, your design is well implemented. The colour scheme is easy on the eye and there’s not much space left to waste. Pages load promptly and there’s little delay in loading the various elements. I also dig your group icons. The only potential issue I could spot is the heavy reliance on black and yellow (I guess which relates to Pikachu), plus the design does look slightly dated. You may need to consider adding more colour at some point with a modern refresh.

I do feel that you need to show off your forum more. What do you offer that no other Pokemon community has? Why should I register on your forum? What benefits will I receive? The “Park Ticket currency and Marketplace” is a solid start. Expand on that and come up with new ideas as to what could set your forum apart from the well-established competition.


LAYOUT

Solid layout. I dig the naming of your categories. The titles fit in well with the overall theme. Descriptions are also snappy, confirming exactly what each section caters for. I’m not a massive fan for the “fake” category / forum combination at the top of the forum, asking me to register an account. But that’s a personal opinion, others may feel differently.

You could also consider changing the text in the “Events & Contests” box to maybe a larger image? It just seems like a slight waste of the size.


ACTIVITY

Today. Yesterday. These are the positive words we like to see on the “Last Post” field. Your forums appear to be racking up posts, it’s just a case of improving that rate, as well as increasing your conversions to bring new blood into battle. Continue on your quests to purchase posting packages wherever. Engage with other Pokemon fans. Get them on-board. Don’t be afraid to throw your site into conversation.

Also, some details on your board are out of date (as mentioned in a review above).


CONCLUSION

I feel as though Zetaboards may restrict you on what you can look to add to your community. Should that time occur, you’ll need to consider moving to a web host and install a forum yourself, working from there. You've certainly got your work cut out for you. There are various Pokemon forums that have been around for years and have the established base. That said, I can’t fault your forum as it is (aside from the locked forums).

Good luck.
 
Theme
The banner is stunning. I really like how the TV image changes every time you reload the page. The setting with the couch, floor, wall, and even an outlet with a cord going to the TV is very detailed. One thing that annoys me is that the wall has a drop shadow on it. This effect makes it look like the wall is hovering over the floor, almost like a drape effect.

I think you should slant the floorboards like so, or make them so they are being viewed as if you put a camera on the floor (currently your banner shows the floor boards like someone took a photo from above). Whatever you end up doing, make sure that the floor boards and wall are both represented as if you took a photo with a camera on a tripod and didn't move it for either photo. That's how you create a more realistic 3D room.

Don't mind my graphics, I didn't have the PSD so it was pretty hard to get the objects in there and make the floor boards with limited options.

6KtAkSC.png


The theme overall is decent, but the banner is the best feature there. I think you should try to gradually make the rest of the forum look as good as the banner. I feel like the banner is from 2015 and the other forum graphics are outdated.

One last cool thing I think you should do is use that Pikachu image to show forums with new posts.
I am super bored, so I made some for you that you can use.

How it looks on your site
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new
BcB74XG.png


old
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Also, guests don't have access to New Hoenn Waterpark by the way.
 
I love the header, it is great work and the theme looks beautiful too. I love how the end of your forum thead has a pokemon on it. Your forum activity and post counts seem good and it is great to see that you have a lot of discussions with that amount of members. Good luck with the site
 
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