Doin it anyways, it'll just be negative points, and you don't pay for this until after the review has been completed and deducted..
Pre-Launch Review
Site Name: Moto-Cross Talk
Site Type: Motorcycling
Age: 4 days
Appearance
The skin looks pretty good, the dark colors work out nicely and there's nothing that's hard to read. That's usually the problem with dark skins, but you chose it well and everything is looking pretty orderly. I would first start out with finding a logo for your forum, since the title of it just seems a bit too simple and plain. Go for something that communicates the theme of your site, for example a motorcycle wheel with the text "Moto-Cross Talk" next to it, or something to that effect. Experiment with that and that should help out a bit with appearance. Second, is it a Chat or a Talk? The names are a bit inconsistent. You want your members to look at something with consistency otherwise it leads to confusion. I would place the co.nr affiliate image in the footer of your forum, so the place would seem a bit more organized. Is the session length necessary? I've honestly never seen it before so that could work either way. Just work on the little things that make your forum a bit more nifty and easy to work with. The announcements at the header are appropriate but I would add a bit more to it so you could be a bit more invitational and open to your guests who are new to your forum and maybe add some updates and current things going on with your forum, after all that's what they're there for! Keep up the good work, it's a good start.
Layout
Layout is ok, but left me a bit stunned and confused. I would add some general discussion topic in the on-topic section so there's a bit more leeway to the people who don't know the specifics about motorcycles. Looking at your forums, I would have a pretty slim chance of posting anywhere besides the off-topic so make sure to compensate for those who aren't motorcycle-savvy. Plus, you might have forgotten to change the description under "General Discussion", it seems to have been left to the default description of "Default board this can be edit via the admin section of your forum".
There needs to be a cautioned amount of on-topic forums because it's very specific. Make sure you have enough, but not too much that you're left with a bunch of zeros. Just about 5 might do.
First Impressions and Interest
Given the title of the forum, I'd say my first impression was pretty clear that it was a forum dealing with motorcycles, yet it was a bit confusing figuring out what you could talk about. Motorcycling in relation to other topics can be a very narrow path in terms of audience and activity so I'd say keep the posts coming and really search for people who are interested in that niche. The color scheme seemed nice throughout so I think that bumped my interest a bit, but keep in mind that there's always something to be improved, especially in terms of attracting visitors.
Content
Content might also be something that needs to be improved in the future! Of what I read, there's not really much that makes you learn anything new or give someone something to talk about. All of the on-topic content was very minimal and lopsided. What you must realize is that a
forum is not only meant for information but also discussion. More topics and better quality to them would much improve this area and make it a lot easier on the audience to find something for them to talk about.
Words from the Reviewer
This forum is a work in progress. It's good in a couple areas and not so good in others. Consider the different ways you could improve your forum aesthetically, statistically, and effectively. Best of luck!
After reading your review, please click here to rate your review.
