PHPStarter.net
I think i have finished designing my forum now, i need to stop tinkering around and leave it. I need a review so that i can perhaps tidy it up a bit more and leave it alone and concentrating on promotion and SEO.
I think i have finished designing my forum now, i need to stop tinkering around and leave it. I need a review so that i can perhaps tidy it up a bit more and leave it alone and concentrating on promotion and SEO.
timjpriebe posted this at 13:10 — 13th February 2007.
He has: 2,667 posts
Joined: Dec 2004
Just in looking at the front page, the following immediately struck me:
I looked further in, and only have one other comment.
Tim
http://www.tandswebdesign.com
benf posted this at 16:02 — 13th February 2007.
They have: 426 posts
Joined: Feb 2005
Im not quite sure how the main site can be more consistent. It does follow the same colour scheme, does follow the layout structure. Perhaps the links at the top should be on the front page instead?
Yes i agree with the logo and banner!!
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compwolf posted this at 06:50 — 23rd February 2007.
He has: 72 posts
Joined: Nov 2003
I must say off the bat I love sites about coding. Now that that is out of the way lets get down to some items.
1) The home page did not have any real info about what to expect. If I were to happen across the landing page without a reason to go deeper I would have moved on after 10 seconds tops. (Sorry if it seems harsh)
2) Once I entered a little deeper I liked the layout except for the huge banner. Navigation was splendid. Colour was easy on the eyes. Overall the forum section gets a nice 7 out of 10.
I guess the landing page really is the biggest issue I have. Navigation wasn't too clear. What was there to attract me to use my bandwidth to go deeper? I have a natural curiosity to delve but I think many others would just move on expecting to find more of the same inside as on the home page. They would be losing out on a lot but it is kind of like putting a blind man in front of the Taj Mahal.
I would work on the landing page more, and see about reducing the banner's prominence inside.
NetDebut posted this at 07:56 — 24th February 2007.
He has: 21 posts
Joined: Nov 2004
Compwolf has a major point there. I'm turned off from the site because I have no idea what it's about.
"php starter" is that suppose to mean it's a place for people to begin learning PHP? Is it a product/script?
How 'bout this, instead of using your most recent posts as the landing page info, use a real landing page info. What I mean is to describe what the purpose and objective of your forum.
I think it would look great if you gave just a 3-5 line description right above the list of recent posts, then move the "Enter Forum" button just below the description (so it will also be above the table). Try that and I know you'll get more attention.
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moltar posted this at 15:54 — 28th February 2007.
They have: 7 posts
Joined: Feb 2007
From a user's perspective
Is the site attractive to you? Why/why not?
The site is attractive. It's very clear from the name what it is about. And the site is very up-front about what it offers. The articles are linked right from the main page.
Is it easy to use? Can you find what you're looking for?
Easy as pie!
Do you understand what the site is about?
Yes, it's about PHP programming!
If you were interested in this site's content, would you come back? Why/why not? If the site has a forum community, would you sign up and post? Why/why not?
I'd be totally interested. In fact, I've already signed up on the forums.
From a designer/developer's persepective
colour scheme
I like the blues! Awesome color.
common design principles (alignment, white space, visual organization etc.)
I think there is a bit too much space wasted in the header portion. The logo could have been much smaller.
usability
On the forum pages, the main content is way too low. Even on my high resolution the content appears at the very bottom of the screen and I'm forced to scroll down all the time. Not good!
benf posted this at 18:01 — 7th March 2007.
They have: 426 posts
Joined: Feb 2005
Hi, thanks for all the feed back. Yes i was unsure about the front page, so now ive just scrapped it, i don't want another click for the user to get into my site. As for the banner, well ive put the competition in a forum post instead!!
I like the new layout, and have added some adsense banners just to make it a bit more interesting an active looking.
One more review would be great.
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Muldoon posted this at 02:53 — 24th February 2007.
He has: 13 posts
Joined: Sep 2005
benf,
Very clean layout! If you'd like to try and make your main page more consistent with your forum you can always look at using something like TinyPortal or MKPortal over SMF... I currently use TinyPortal and love it. Hope this helps.
The World of Vince Flynn - TheThirdOption.net
BitWise IM: Muldoon
benf posted this at 10:00 — 20th March 2007.
They have: 426 posts
Joined: Feb 2005
Hi all just thought i would mention that i have taken the above into consideration and come up with this new design! I think it works ok, and the links i had previously are now in drop down boxes. Feed back would be appreciated. Thanks for your help and time.
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andy206uk posted this at 12:58 — 20th March 2007.
He has: 1,758 posts
Joined: Jul 2002
Why are you using a forum platform for your site? I arrived at your site expecting an introduction, some recent articles and maybe a separate forum, but instead I landed straight in a forum. Your site is content driven it should be managed by a CMS like Joomla or Mambo.
When I landed on your site I just assumed that the sections were different areas for discussion - there's nothing on your site that makes it obvious that there is actually any content to be read. Using the right tool for the job would definitely help with this.
Andy
creativeangel posted this at 14:05 — 20th March 2007.
She has: 15 posts
Joined: May 2006
Hi,
I loved your website. I always find blues work really well with website designs. The site is easy to navigate and there is some excellent information provided.
A few small suggestions that might help. I agree with the AndyK and think that a home page would give yourself a little bit more definition but other than that I think its great and I have taken note of the address so that I can check back often.
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benf posted this at 20:30 — 20th March 2007.
They have: 426 posts
Joined: Feb 2005
Oh thanks for the feed back. Well i assumed that a forum is a CMS. Do you think i should use something to categorize tutorials and so on and a forum for discussion then? What does everyone think of Drupal? I did think about using this to store tutorials and use it for a simple blog system as well.
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razsports posted this at 21:01 — 21st March 2007.
They have: 25 posts
Joined: Jan 2004
Hi,
I visited your website, phpstarter.net. I love the colors; esp. the color of clue. The design is easy to follow as it has that excellent flow. Very well job with design, layout and color.
bettsybonus posted this at 12:09 — 23rd March 2007.
They have: 4 posts
Joined: Mar 2007
Good site, needs a little more consistency throughout.
Ape posted this at 01:00 — 26th March 2007.
They have: 8 posts
Joined: Mar 2007
Nice logo. I like it. The rest is pretty much simple and isnt much to review. Its like a forum should be. You may want to do something about the ads on the top. Right away, they distract me. :blech:
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