The Tech Forum
Review by Cosmic
Design Quality
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I think you've made some pretty good modifications to the default theme you're using by IPFocus, but I think there are a few more changes you need to make to improve the forum. First off, the text can be very hard to read, particularly on the index and view forum pages. Here is an example of what I'm talking about.
What really standards out are staff usernames and topic prefixes, rather than the names of topics themselves. You need to make these bolder colors, I think, to make your forum easier for people to read. Remember, a good design is very important, and I like where you're going, but readability should come first.
I don't think I like your rank images. The rest of your forum is sleek and professional, kind of like the design for KDE, or maybe windows 7, but the admin ranks are not, in my opinion.
Also, I think you should make the usernames white when displayed on the view forum page. I can give you the CSS to do this if you want, as I also use an IPFocus theme and probably the same user color mod. Just let me know.
Here's what I'm talking about.
Finally, I think there should be more padding around the logo. It looks a bit odd as it is currently.
Otherwise, you have a very good design here. I love the background image, and what you've done with the headers and buttons is spectacular!
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Good
Site Statistics
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Your post count is pretty decent, but I think your statistics need some work. Here is a snippet from your index page.
As you can see, there are not a lot of topics. Single digit numbers on the index page can look very disconcerting to potential members. What we do at FeedbackExchange is actually combine the posts and topics into one number, which is of course a pretty big number, as it's a combination. I recommend any new forum do this, as people don't really need to know how many topics a section has, and also, I think they're more interested in replies, anyway.
Here is an example of what I mean:
Also, I think you need to focus on posting more topics in your emptier sections. Your mobile apps section either needs to go, or have more content, I think.
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Average
Site Structure
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Your computer chat section starts off with several sections about phones. Is it really necessary? I think it would be better to merge them all into one forum. Two at most. The difference between the three can be very confusing to members, and lead to people posting things in the wrong forum, or worse, not posting at all.
Also, I don't think your "Internet and Development" category makes much sense, as there isn't much under it about development.
Overall, your main category, computer chat, has no real soul to it. What's it about? You combine mobile phones together with computer hardware. These are two very different things, and I think deserve their own categories. Either that, or you should emphasize on only one of them. Is your forum about complicated technology, such as hard drives and graphics cards, or simple technology, such as iPhones and Angry Birds? A forum can be about both, but for a forum to have soul, it has to have emphasis on one particular aspect. I can't tell you what that aspect is, because it all depends on what you think is important.
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Very Poor
Final Remarks
Overall, your site needs a lot of work. It needs major restructuring, a lot of content, and a couple of design tweaks. However, it is still a good site, and has great potential. Focus on targeting your site to a particular audience, and fine-tune your website to appeal strongly to that audience. That is the best way for a forum to succeed, and if you play your cards right, I think this forum can thrive.
Your Score
