Review : webmastersden.net

Columbo · 03-06-2007, 08:58 PM

I have just launched a new Webmaster's Forum. Please review and comment including the custom skin.

You can find it here: Webmaster's Den

And, if you would consider joining and helping to get this community started, that would be greatly appreciated also.

Thanks.

Foxtrck · 03-07-2007, 02:35 AM

There is no edge to your forums, they are exactly the same as any other webmaster forums on the net, and v7n is the best with the biggest community. So unless you come up with something new it will be hard to get a big community base.

chicgeek · 03-07-2007, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foxtrck

There is no edge to your forums, they are exactly the same as any other webmaster forums on the net, and v7n is the best with the biggest community. So unless you come up with something new it will be hard to get a big community base.

Foxtrck, please keep your comments constructive. Did you consider the design, as well?

Foxtrck · 03-07-2007, 05:24 AM

O yeah i forgot sorry, was in a rush this morning. I don't particularly like the brown colours. Obviously the colours are well chosen because I can see they work together, but it feels a bit drab and sort of even reminds me of Autumn. Maybe some more vibrant colours would liven it up a bit. Is that a marquee I see at the top???????!!!!one

webfinity · 03-07-2007, 08:58 AM

The colors are hard on the eyes. I would recommend lightening the colors quite a bit. Best of luck.

chicgeek · 03-07-2007, 09:05 AM

I agree - I think it's the combination of black and brown which is not as appealing. Maybe choose one or the other? The site is very dark as a whole - it's just not "pretty", and I don't see it attracting visitors on aesthetics alone.

I'm not big on the marquee - I find it distracting. I would rather a vertical scroll-pause-scroll option, where it's still rotating content but it's not constantly moving.

Foxtrck · 03-07-2007, 09:26 AM

Quote:

<td>

<marquee direction="left" scrolldelay="130">
<b><font color="Black" size= 2>Welcome to Webmaster's Den. - We hope that you enjoy your visit and will help to build our friendly community by registering and participating in our forums. Thank you.</color></i>
</marquee>

</td>

Wow This takes me back......like 10 years!

Columbo · 03-07-2007, 10:05 AM

TO Foxtrck: I appreciate your comments. I kind of liked the brown combination but that's me and comments from this forum certainly points out that not everyone has the same taste in color schemes.

In terms of forums, I agree that v7n has a large community but I'm sure they didn't start out that large. A couple of Forums that I included such as Dreamweaver are ones that I didn't see on a lot of other forums.

I will give serious consideration to all comments received.

Thanks.

Columbo · 03-07-2007, 10:10 AM

To Chicgeek
Thank you for your comments. I agree about the marquee being a bit distracting but I contributed that to the shakey scroll action. I am looking for a smoother scrolling marquee but have not found one yet. You mentioned that you would prefer a vertical scroll-pause-scroll option. Are you aware of any that are available?

Thanks.

chicgeek · 03-07-2007, 10:17 AM

I used an option at fomsc.ca.
Use your judgement to see if it suites your purpose.

Columbo · 03-08-2007, 08:13 AM

I'll check it out. I am reconsidering the color scheme as well so I may get back in a while with another review request.

Thanks.

Columbo · 03-08-2007, 08:20 AM

I looked at fomsc.ca and saw the scroller they use. Where did you get the script? It looks like Javascript. I considered looking at Javascript but I thought Javascript might slow down the loading of the Forum.

jumpenjuhosaphat · 03-08-2007, 09:29 AM

I agree about the colors. I think that dark colors are never a good scheme when webmasters are concerned. You should consider some lighter tones for the forum. I commend you, starting any kind of forum is a challenge, especially webmaster forums. There is such a huge saturation of forums on the internet, it makes running one a sometimes frustrating task. Some advice, if you don't mind: Stay active in your forum, even if it feels like sometimes you are talking to yourself. Also, it doesn't hurt to network and make some friends, and have those friends support your efforts. The more activity your forum has, the more it will gain. One thing to note about webmaster forums, members with a certain level of expertise have the tendency to attract more members. In other words, if you have members that actually know what they are talking about, as opposed to members that simply regurgitate advice they heard from somewhere else, your forum will have a better chance of success. Good luck with your forum.

Columbo · 03-08-2007, 03:12 PM

Thank you Jumpenjuhosaphat. I am currently contemplating a new color scheme. It will take a little time to get the changes made. Your advice is certainly valid. Any site these days are not easy to start. It almost seems that visitors hesitate to be the first to join and others feel that if there are not a lot of members already then its probably not worth joining. With that kind of view, it is certainly difficult to build a community.

There are a lot of forums around and I have found some good ones and some that, quite honestly, are not all that friendly. My thought was to simply add to the places that people of all levels could meet, participate and help each other.

I can accept criticism, otherwise I would not have asked for a review, and I am open to whatever changes are necessary to provide a pleasing and interesting forum. I am not prepared to give up so soon.

Thanks again for your comments.

charlesgan · 03-08-2007, 05:32 PM

i prefer blue... than brown

its bit dark when view from my laptop. brightness is bit low.