Social Hideouts

[ZachJ]

Site Name: Social Hideouts
Site URL: www.socialhideouts.com
Date Opened: 3/19
Notes: just want to see what I can improve on my forum!

 

[Azareal]

I have a few problems lined up here which you will probably want to solve.

#1 - Server response time seems a little slow at 2.49 seconds.

#2 - Logo seems to clash with the header.

#3 - Font seems a little small. May be hard to read.

#4 - Grey on grey can be hard to read.

#5 - Using HTTP/1.1. You probably want to use HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 for faster page loads.

#6 - You probably want to use PHP7 (e.g. 7.2 or 7.3) instead of PHP5.6. Both because it's more secure and because it's faster.

#7 - Please stop advertising your version of PHP in the X-Powered-By header.

#8 - You probably want to use Brotli instead of Gzip, if possible as it's a faster and more compact compression algorithm.

#9 - You likely want to avoid using web fonts (e.g. FontAwesome) and want to use SVG versions of them instead as a web font contains countless icons which you will never at the cost of the larger file.

#10 - Use HTTPS instead of HTTP. It's good for security, SEO and performance. Let's Encrypt and Cloudflare are good places to get a free certificate for that.

I can't necessarily point you to all of the solutions, but I can give you some insights into why things are problematic.

 

[MrDangem]

I think you need a logo and change to any decent theme. The default theme is good but its designs are very simple and plain. That default theme is also being used by many people and they might be really tired of looking at it.

 

[ZachJ]

I have a few problems lined up here which you will probably want to solve.

#1 - Server response time seems a little slow at 2.49 seconds.

#2 - Logo seems to clash with the header.

#3 - Font seems a little small. May be hard to read.

#4 - Grey on grey can be hard to read.

#5 - Using HTTP/1.1. You probably want to use HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 for faster page loads.

#6 - You probably want to use PHP7 (e.g. 7.2 or 7.3) instead of PHP5.6. Both because it's more secure and because it's faster.

#7 - Please stop advertising your version of PHP in the X-Powered-By header.

#8 - You probably want to use Brotli instead of Gzip, if possible as it's a faster and more compact compression algorithm.

#9 - You likely want to avoid using web fonts (e.g. FontAwesome) and want to use SVG versions of them instead as a web font contains countless icons which you will never at the cost of the larger file.

#10 - Use HTTPS instead of HTTP. It's good for security, SEO and performance. Let's Encrypt and Cloudflare are good places to get a free certificate for that.

I can't necessarily point you to all of the solutions, but I can give you some insights into why things are problematic.

#1 5,6,7,8,9,10 are things I have no knowledge of how to fix or change but 10 I have a general idea of how though.

I think you need a logo and change to any decent theme. The default theme is good but its designs are very simple and plain. That default theme is also being used by many people and they might be really tired of looking at it.

What do you suggest? Style wise?

 

[Azareal]

#1 5,6,7,8,9,10 are things I have no knowledge of how to fix or change but 10 I have a general idea of how though.

Research it. Google is usually helpful and what I reach for when I run into problems.
What sort of host do you have? I presume shared or something? If they're half-competent, maybe there'll be a switch to change the PHP version.

 

[MrDangem]

What do you suggest? Style wise?

Any dark theme is perfect for a gaming niche. Also since your forum is new.
I recommend gathering your circle of friends first, your core members, your staffs, a team, a group etc. because even if you have a great domain name, great theme, great niche, great contents, if you don't have members to posts on it, to actively respond, to make it more fun. then your forum is bound to die and close sooner or later. just like mine and others who are even more knowledgeable in forum industry.

 

[ZachJ]

Thanks i will use this info, much appreciated.