SpeakTeen.com -- Any Reviews Welcome!

TutorialWizard · 11-21-2007, 01:29 PM

Hey a friend of mine and I created this website for teens to discuss their lives as well as talk about whatever they want.

We just completed it in the past couple days and now we are trying to see what we can do to make it the best for everyone who goes to it.

Any comments and criticism are completely welcome...

Heres the link: http://www.speakteen.com

Thanks in advance!

Adam

Porte · 11-21-2007, 03:03 PM

Nice skin, got a few quick comments on it though.

The logo -- I would suggest adding a few pixels (white space) from left to the logo. This is just positioning. The logo looks so fine.

Navigation Bar -- I suggest that you preload the images, It takes time to load the new image when I move mouse over the button.. and probably make the font a touch bigger.

Other than the skin looks fine.. however It's too orange, even the links to threads are orange. It's a personal choice.. though

And lastly.. do not forget the favicon!

vilstewart · 11-22-2007, 09:18 AM

The skin looks nice, as porte mentioned above. But with the orange links everywhere, you can keep them orange, just make them a bit of a darker shade of orange.

Also, the forum seems VERY empty, you should maybe take away a few categories at first. A general teen chat site will have to offer something different than all of the other similar teen chat/community/social sites.

Good luck

TutorialWizard · 11-22-2007, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porte

Nice skin, got a few quick comments on it though.

The logo -- I would suggest adding a few pixels (white space) from left to the logo. This is just positioning. The logo looks so fine.

Navigation Bar -- I suggest that you preload the images, It takes time to load the new image when I move mouse over the button.. and probably make the font a touch bigger.

Other than the skin looks fine.. however It's too orange, even the links to threads are orange. It's a personal choice.. though

And lastly.. do not forget the favicon!

Haha thank you for the comments porte thats why I'm posting here lol. You're probably right about the logo being over a bit, I'll get on that ASAP. I've tried making the navbar fonts bigger but they seem to look crammed in there so I figure I'll just leave them. People have asked about the orange font but we figured it is different it may lure more people in because of that... And thank you for the reminder of the favicon!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vilstewart

The skin looks nice, as porte mentioned above. But with the orange links everywhere, you can keep them orange, just make them a bit of a darker shade of orange.

Also, the forum seems VERY empty, you should maybe take away a few categories at first. A general teen chat site will have to offer something different than all of the other similar teen chat/community/social sites.

Good luck

Well take a look at the different shades of orange on the site shortly... We have been completely focussed on building the forum the past two days so we are beginning to gain a base and get more members as well so it doesn't look too bare anymore.

Thank you both so much for the reviews!

Mike · 11-23-2007, 12:59 PM

I'm trying to go "back in time"

So, i'm a teen - i'm cool, i'm hip, i like the latest gadgets, i'm interested in speaking my mind, but i want to be entertained while i'm doing it.

Center the nav bar and the logo.
Get a custom logo that "speaks teen" to me. Not just literally, but also from a design aspect.
Change your forum skin. Unless you have distinct reason to believe that orange is a color that appeals to teens, i'd stay away from something as bright, especially when there are no other massive colors on the site.
As a teen, i'd be looking for visual entertainment; integrate a symbol into your logo and re-use it as favicon and post icon.
Give me some of that iPhone look on the template. Chances are that i cannot afford the iPhone, thus, you're the next best thing. I associate my desire for the latest gadget with your forum, i might be more inclined to come back due to what you're visually serving.
Think about dynamically sizing your forum ("liquid CSS") to always utilize 80% (+/- a few) of the user's screen. This will open up the side rails and give your more room to work with custom elements to attract more teens and keep their attention.
I see quite some topics; most all of them look like topics i can find everywhere else. What makes your forum specific to teens, other than the name that is?
Talk to teens, your friends, their friends, etc. and find out what the most often discussed topics are - bring these topics to live by starting a thread and get the discussions going. Eventually hand some of the topics off to more "qualified" people - your sister or her friends. Unless you'd like to talk about fashion, that is

Alright, that's it for now - you should have a little bit of work to do now.

IB

Vlad · 11-23-2007, 10:12 PM

ok..... first what I noticed was the search box and it doesn't really fit there, and I think it's because the box where the login is... similar colors
then, put some more space on the left of the logo
try use more colors for the forum or change the skin, smth more appealing to teens
then, in the top navigation bar, the forumnav makes you want to click on it, even if it's not a link
And change the welcome text to smth else, smth that would give teenagers some reasons to register
and change the favicon

that's all from me

Vlad

Frikkle · 11-24-2007, 08:41 AM

Well, it's certainly a nice forum theme. It looks great, it's web 2.0, everything works perfectly and is aesthetically pleasing.

But to be quite honest with you, it looks like a theme that would belong in a webmaster forum or a professional forum. If you're looking for a theme that will just be for teens to sit back and talk, I highly recommend you find a more lax theme that screams entertainment. It won't be a forum for professionals; having a simple theme with entertainment/teen-related content would do you well. If you are going to stick with the current theme, I recommend that you fill up the blank rectangle in the top right, and be sure to spice things up a bit.

Also, don't forget to explore the full features of vBulletin when customizing your forum.

Best of luck with building your community.

-Frikkle

TutorialWizard · 12-02-2007, 05:30 PM

Thanks for the quick replies everyone...

We have made the favicon, an arcade, as well as the recent posts section, and we are currently working on a new layout because you are right its more of a professional site design than a teen one.

11-21-2007, 01:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
TutorialWizard NamePros Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 108 0.00 NP$ (Donate)	SpeakTeen.com -- Any Reviews Welcome! Hey a friend of mine and I created this website for teens to discuss their lives as well as talk about whatever they want. We just completed it in the past couple days and now we are trying to see what we can do to make it the best for everyone who goes to it. Any comments and criticism are completely welcome... Heres the link: http://www.speakteen.com Thanks in advance! Adam __________________ open...

11-22-2007, 09:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
vilstewart NamePros Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mississippi, US Posts: 30 59.85 NP$ (Donate)	The skin looks nice, as porte mentioned above. But with the orange links everywhere, you can keep them orange, just make them a bit of a darker shade of orange. Also, the forum seems VERY empty, you should maybe take away a few categories at first. A general teen chat site will have to offer something different than all of the other similar teen chat/community/social sites. Good luck __________________ stewart:howe Web Developer & Programmer www.CelerMedia.Com

11-23-2007, 12:59 PM	#5 (permalink)
Mike NamePros Expert Join Date: May 2005 Location: www.chrome.us Posts: 5,245 46.20 NP$ (Donate)	I'm trying to go "back in time" So, i'm a teen - i'm cool, i'm hip, i like the latest gadgets, i'm interested in speaking my mind, but i want to be entertained while i'm doing it. Center the nav bar and the logo. Get a custom logo that "speaks teen" to me. Not just literally, but also from a design aspect. Change your forum skin. Unless you have distinct reason to believe that orange is a color that appeals to teens, i'd stay away from something as bright, especially when there are no other massive colors on the site. As a teen, i'd be looking for visual entertainment; integrate a symbol into your logo and re-use it as favicon and post icon. Give me some of that iPhone look on the template. Chances are that i cannot afford the iPhone, thus, you're the next best thing. I associate my desire for the latest gadget with your forum, i might be more inclined to come back due to what you're visually serving. Think about dynamically sizing your forum ("liquid CSS") to always utilize 80% (+/- a few) of the user's screen. This will open up the side rails and give your more room to work with custom elements to attract more teens and keep their attention. I see quite some topics; most all of them look like topics i can find everywhere else. What makes your forum specific to teens, other than the name that is? Talk to teens, your friends, their friends, etc. and find out what the most often discussed topics are - bring these topics to live by starting a thread and get the discussions going. Eventually hand some of the topics off to more "qualified" people - your sister or her friends. Unless you'd like to talk about fashion, that is Alright, that's it for now - you should have a little bit of work to do now. IB __________________ Do you Chrome? [\|] Noomle No fees & More Revenue IntelBank.com<<Your Business & Your Money>>CreditHelp.TV American Pilot Center <- Learn to Fly -> PilotCenter

11-23-2007, 10:12 PM	#6 (permalink)
Vlad www.thehivedesigns.com :) Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Posts: 375 764.25 NP$ (Donate)	ok..... first what I noticed was the search box and it doesn't really fit there, and I think it's because the box where the login is... similar colors then, put some more space on the left of the logo try use more colors for the forum or change the skin, smth more appealing to teens then, in the top navigation bar, the forumnav makes you want to click on it, even if it's not a link And change the welcome text to smth else, smth that would give teenagers some reasons to register and change the favicon that's all from me Vlad __________________ I RECOMMEND HIVE DESIGNS FOR HIGH QUALITY WEB DESIGNS PROFESSIONALWEB 2.0 DESIGNS Reputation for my reviews and help would be appreciated Technology News COOL

11-24-2007, 08:41 AM	#7 (permalink)
Frikkle NamePros Regular Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 751 11.15 NP$ (Donate)	Well, it's certainly a nice forum theme. It looks great, it's web 2.0, everything works perfectly and is aesthetically pleasing. But to be quite honest with you, it looks like a theme that would belong in a webmaster forum or a professional forum. If you're looking for a theme that will just be for teens to sit back and talk, I highly recommend you find a more lax theme that screams entertainment. It won't be a forum for professionals; having a simple theme with entertainment/teen-related content would do you well. If you are going to stick with the current theme, I recommend that you fill up the blank rectangle in the top right, and be sure to spice things up a bit. Also, don't forget to explore the full features of vBulletin when customizing your forum. Best of luck with building your community. -Frikkle __________________ It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. Upton Sinclair

11-21-2007, 03:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
Porte Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Somewhere on earth! Posts: 3,528 21.30 NP$ (Donate)	Nice skin, got a few quick comments on it though. The logo -- I would suggest adding a few pixels (white space) from left to the logo. This is just positioning. The logo looks so fine. Navigation Bar -- I suggest that you preload the images, It takes time to load the new image when I move mouse over the button.. and probably make the font a touch bigger. Other than the skin looks fine.. however It's too orange, even the links to threads are orange. It's a personal choice.. though And lastly.. do not forget the favicon!

12-02-2007, 05:30 PM	#8 (permalink)
TutorialWizard NamePros Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 108 0.00 NP$ (Donate)	Thanks for the quick replies everyone... We have made the favicon, an arcade, as well as the recent posts section, and we are currently working on a new layout because you are right its more of a professional site design than a teen one. __________________ open...

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