Your Forum Review
First Impressions & Appearance - (Out of 20)
The banner is a bit small. The average banner size is around 468 x 60. It may not seem that much bigger than what the banner's size is now, but trust me, it makes the difference. So I'd maybe make the banner a bit bigger. Still on the banner, "Detect Computer Trouble" has too much of the gradient. I'm a bit confused on if that's a gradient, or the bevel/emboss. What I mean, it's too dark. Some people have bad eyesight, and might have to get closer to the screen to read it.
The color scheme is pretty basic, which I'm assuming is a PHPBB theme. I also noticed you don't have a
Favicon From my experience, this can help make a difference if someone will join or not. If you don't know how to make one,
Click Here.
(Scored 18/20)
Site Layout - (Out of 20)
I noticed that, under "Technical Support", in some of the boards, there are general discussions taking place. If I'm looking for help with something, and I visit the Technical Support section, I don't want to find general discussion threads. I want to post and know I posted in a support area, not a general chat.
The "login, register, search, FAQ" are very nicely laid out. Rather than having them squished together, they are laid out in groups of two. Your downloads section sort of worries me. When I go to a forum, I am not going to be downloading anything from their unless that forum is the official support forum. Even if you're linking to the site where you can download it, it's best to just tell people where to download it, and not have a section dedicated to downloads.
I don't think the "trash can" should be viewable to members/guests. In my experiences, no one will really want to look at old threads unless a) they are old members wanting to relive some threads, b) members that were linked to the thread by someone saying they should read it. Otherwise, the trash can is just taking up space.
I'm also not a fan of the front-page login.I don't necessarily see a big problem with it, just my personal tastes would see it as another space-taker.
(Scored 16/20)
Statistics and Activity - (Out of 20)
You've got a pretty nice active member count. Over 1K posts with about 100 members. However, I did notice that four members have over 100 posts, one with over 200, and one with over 200. This tells me those members are the most active, which by all means is good, but it also tells me that the rest of the members aren't that active either.
(Scored 14/20)
Staff Moderation - (Out of 20)
Aside from you, there is 7 staff members. Major overkill. If anything, just you as admin, and a Gmod or 2, plus, I guess someone to promote the forum. But for a forum of your size, 7 staff members just isn't needed. All of your staff are pretty much active, except for Null11. It's always best to remove inactive staff, as it can make the forum look bad.
All in all, your staff seem pretty professional and courteous to members.
(Scored 13/20)
Spelling/Grammar & Professionalism - (Out of 20)
For "Software" - Ask any questions here about Programming Software, System Software, and even Application Software! - I'd remove the
here so it's just "Ask any question about Programming Software, System Software, and even Application Software!"
There are actually a few boards that say "find 'x' here", and things close to that. I would go through and revise some of those descriptions to make them a bit more original.
(Scored 17/20)
Total Score -78 (Out of 100)
Final Remarks: Definitely a handy forum for those who need assistance.
What was most liked about the website/forums: How friendly the atmosphere seemed to be.
What was disliked most about the website/forums:
The over amount of staff.
How could I get you (The Reviewer) to join my website?
I already am registered from back when I did packages.
😛
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