Reviews for The Sandbox

[Hyperminimalism]

Forum Name: The Sandbox
Forum link: the-sandbox.boards.net/

My forum is rather new and has a few members, most of whom are not active, but I was wondering if someone would be willing to take a look-see and tell me what they think about the place. Any and all opinions are welcome, as I value constructive criticism. 🙂

 

[happyrichyyy]

The domain itself doesn't look so professional, maybe you could shorten it, I guess one dot after 'www.' and one dot before 'net' are enough?

 

[Hyperminimalism]

Is it just the domane that bothers you? What about the actual site?

 

[Mik.]

I agree. The domain isn't very attractive.

It's very hard to remember domains like those unless you have the site bookmarked.

I like the theme though. You should start promoting on other promotion forums so you can get more exposure. You could also create a banner for your signatures.

You can also request a package from our awesome Package Service! Anyways, good luck!

 

[GrabThe.com]

Yes, the domain is what would keep me away from it, I remember sites and just type them in since my favorites have over 1000 sites it's too hard to find your site again. But the site itself looks fine, just need more active members.

 

[Hyperminimalism]

Any ideas on how to make a more attractive domain? I probably won't consider changing the domain unless I get more traffic. It seems pointless to change it and put down money on something that may or may not help.

 

[GeekStep]

I agree too the domain is not too attractive. Try making it non-www? www.the-sandbox.boards.net is a bit too long. Maybe just the-sandbox.boards.net would be more than enough.

As for the design, the design I give a rating of 5/10. Personally, its the color that bores me up. I don't know if it is just me, but your forum takes some time to load.

 

[Hyperminimalism]

I agree too the domain is not too attractive. Try making it non-www? http://www.the-sandbox.boards.net is a bit too long. Maybe just the-sandbox.boards.net would be more than enough.

As for the design, the design I give a rating of 5/10. Personally, its the color that bores me up. I don't know if it is just me, but your forum takes some time to load.

I don't know how to make it non-www, so some suggestions would be appreciated. I also don't have the money to buy a domain or create a forum after buying a license. What about the colors of the forum are boring? What are some colors that would fit?

 

[GeekStep]

A simple way is just to tell people to access non-www and never place any links with www in it.

After buying a license? What license did you buy? The forum is hosted free, a TLD cost less than 10 bucks.

Create colors that are similar, or in other terms, hex that are almost similar to one another. You have a very dull blue there, mix with green buttons and links.

 

[Hyperminimalism]

I don't have a license. I know the forum is free, but I was just saying I can't really afford the domain thing or buying a license. Also, example of the link? Are you talking about it just being: the-sandbox.boards.net ?

 

[GeekStep]

You mentioned after buying a license.

Whenever you link back to your site, make it non-www and yes just that. And throughout your site, remove www from all internal links. Also if you have htaccess, you can insert a code to redirect www to non-www automatically.

 

[Ghost]

A lot of people say "I don't want to invest in a domain until I have members". Yet there's a lot of people (like me) who won't sign up on a site unless it's a TLD (a domain name that costs $8+).

And that's true here too. I know that no matter how many members your site has, I won't sign up. A TLD is a sign that the admin wants to keep their site running - Free domains give the impression that an admin isn't truly dedicated.

​

Overall there's a lot of space not being used. It's also very gray. The icons that you are using to show whether a section has new posts or not are also quite bland. I recommend using a Controller that has color - and adding color to your whole forum as well.

 

[Hyperminimalism]

It's much more of a "I don't have extra money to purchase a domain" than an "I don't have dedication". I apologize for the fact that I cannot spend on anything else considering the two jobs I have don't even cover all the bills I am required to pay, so this is something that is sort of out of my hands at the moment. A free domain is pretty much the only choice I have right now. And I am attempting to make the skin better, but I am no graphic designer by any means. I will try my best.

 

[Ghost]

It's much more of a "I don't have extra money to purchase a domain" than an "I don't have dedication". I apologize for the fact that I cannot spend on anything else considering the two jobs I have don't even cover all the bills I am required to pay, so this is something that is sort of out of my hands at the moment. A free domain is pretty much the only choice I have right now. And I am attempting to make the skin better, but I am no graphic designer by any means. I will try my best.

There are obviously exceptions to my opinion. In the end, people will have second thoughts regardless of why you do not have a $8 domain. That sucks that you can't cover your bills - I've been there and it is not fun.

For the skin, I recommend checking out a bunch of the free ones around the net. While many are over-used, there are a lot of options that would fit your forum's topic. If you need help you can PM me and I'll help you find one over Skype or something.

 

[Nivec]

Just my opinion on the actual site, Graphics & Design is my weakness so take with a pinch of salt. The “Greetings”, “News & Updates”, etc. seem to distract from the forum, perhaps I have just gotten used to these being on the right, being on the left seems a little odd.

There is also nothing that makes them distinct from the forum, maybe a slightly lighter background colour on the forum will make the two sections more distinct.

 

[Hyperminimalism]

It's much more of a "I don't have extra money to purchase a domain" than an "I don't have dedication". I apologize for the fact that I cannot spend on anything else considering the two jobs I have don't even cover all the bills I am required to pay, so this is something that is sort of out of my hands at the moment. A free domain is pretty much the only choice I have right now. And I am attempting to make the skin better, but I am no graphic designer by any means. I will try my best.

There are obviously exceptions to my opinion. In the end, people will have second thoughts regardless of why you do not have a $8 domain. That sucks that you can't cover your bills - I've been there and it is not fun.

For the skin, I recommend checking out a bunch of the free ones around the net. While many are over-used, there are a lot of options that would fit your forum's topic. If you need help you can PM me and I'll help you find one over Skype or something.

I just take offense to the fact that some people are so fickle that they assume lack of having a certain something for disinterest. It really gets to me, which is why I tend to lose a lot of motivation and hope for what I really love to do and that is playing, talking about, and loving video games. As for the skin thing, I'll check into it and hit you up.