First Impressions:
The first thing I notice is the top banner. I can see the intention of having a very nice layout, unfortunately, the first impression flops with that header. It is the default with the theme, instead of your own forum's name. This is something I would definitely urge you to fix as soon as possible.
Reading the rules and looking around I couldn't find anything that would openly let me know if I could only share content I created or if this is meant just for content creators. I think it is important people can figure that out on their own during the first impression.
With all this being said, the place seems alright. It doesn't really stand out but if I am interested in Youtube videos I might decide to give it a go.
Average
Design Quality:
I am not one to favour dark skins but this one works really nicely. It is not very memorable. It could have some details added to make it easier for people to related to Youtube and sharing videos, for instance, the new/no-new icons are just generic boxes. You could try adding something to make it more reminiscent of videos like a "Pause" and "play" symbols.
Another problem with the skin design is that it is not responsive, so people visiting you with smaller screen resolutions will have a hard time navigating your community with the current look.
I cannot finish without stressing it again, that you need to fix your banner. When you do make sure it still combines with the cyan and background set. As it is right now, while your skin looks pretty good it does nothing to convey at a glance you are actually a Video Sharing community and not just some random First person Shooter clan.
Average
Site Structure:
I like that it is straight to the point. You got the information category which is filled with pretty standard sections. You have an off topic area which keeps things simple by having just one main section on it. In between, you got the Youtube related zone which is the one with more sections.
Spelling wise, you have some descriptions ending with a period and some without anything. The most glaring mistake I found was in the YT recording and video editing where you have the following:
somewhere on your index said:
In this section, you are allowed to come in this section and discuss anything related to YouTube recording /video editing software's.
As you can see you repeat "in this section" and you use an apostrophe in software. My recommendation is to just get rid of the "In this section" padding and delete «
's» from the last word.
Kaynil suggestion said:
Come and discuss anything related to the use of recording and video editing software.
From what I can see you get most of your content posted inside "Video Zone". You have over a hundred topics there while some other sections won't even reach double digit numbers. However, I realised that there is no way to sort through those topics. As a visitor, it becomes a bit frustrating having to go around
comedy and lots
Let's play videos to find, for example, a cooking channel. I would recommend you to take a look what kind of videos get posted often and try to group them together. Have you considered using prefixes or creating a few sub-sections to make it easier to find (and maybe discuss) certain types of videos? If you don't have a plugin you could make it so they have to add in the title when they make their thread.
Good
Originality:
Well, I feel hard pressed. On one hand, I can see the effort put and I know the site is not copying other, it is trying to be its own thing and growth on its own rhythm but I feel that's just part of the minimal expectations of a proper community that is planning to stick around.
I cannot give props for the niche since there are other communities that have been longer and still active today for this same purpose. Let's move over the skin. I like when people try to make a unique skin for the place. It doesn't take much, you can get a good free skin and then tweak it around to create something unique. In this case, it seems like you got a cool looking skin, installed it and then did nothing else. Generally, you can get away with this but not when that's the first thing your visitors will know because that was the first thing I read with your header.
I am sorry but displaying a header that tips everyone that this was a pre-made skin you installed, gives a very 'unoriginal' impression.
Poor
Activity Level:
the activity level really seems to be on the low side. Considering how long the place has been around according to your profile the ideal amount of posts should be a bit over 2700.
That said, I find it interesting the post/member ratio. You have 200 members and almost 700 posts, also roughly 1/3 of said posts are new threads.
Your threads rarely get many responses, unless they are outside the
Video Zone. This means your members arrive, make a thread for their stuff and rarely return.
I think the reason is that there is nothing encouraging the members to break the ice with each other. For example, maybe they could have an exchange area where they could comment on each others' videos or announce they are looking for people to collaborate with them.
Maybe making some contests or activities for solo or small teams could help bring more engagement and make them feel they are getting something out of your community. Help them find each other and bond.
Poor
The thing I liked the best: That you are getting YouTubers sharing their stuff.
The thing I liked the least: That "replace me, please" head banner.
Overall Mark:
Right now this is not offering anything unique for YouTubers to stick around, however, I think that is something that can be addressed and I really hope this review can spark some ideas. I remember past stages of this community and I can appreciate the progress. I am happy to see you continuing with it and I am excited to see it grow and shared around.
