Functionality and layout review, please

[frustinc]

site is puppyfirst (dot) com / forum

Hand-regged it a few weeks ago, first attempt of posting free articles didn't go very well (site was declined by adsence)

Had it parked for a week or so.. very very little traffic (1 visitor who wasn't me). Now I'm rolling out a message forum.

I've spent a few days now customizing the software, and would appreciate feedback regarding the layout and functionality.. what, if any, layout issues exist.

Software is PHPBB3.

Looking for feedback about other changes I should implement before bringing friends on board and promoting the site.

Muchly appreciated

 

[Ray]

Logo: 3/10
Content: 5/10
Design: 6/10
SEO: 2/10

-----Pros-----
1. Logo is Clean and simple (can be improved however)
2. Forum is small and simple (perfect for sites just starting out.

-----Cons----
1. Splash Pages are outdated & poor for seo (Create a 301 redirect via .htaccess)
2. Splash Page does not have a page title
2. Forum outline is the default. Try modifing the tpl files to get a better layour style.

------Overall------
Overall I like the point of the site. It is simple and is targeted to a pet owner market. Perfect because nearly everyone in the US / UK own a pet. I like the way the pictures were used to corrispond to a particular forum. Good Luck.

Rep is Appreciated

 

[frustinc]

For the record, I hate splash pages. Hate hate hate them.

I have another idea in mind for that page in the future, but I'm afraid that 301 will pose a problem for search engine spiders.

On the other hand, MSN, Google and Yahoo all came to the site just today but only looked at the splash page without entering the forum In fact, Yahoo came back for a second peek but still only looked at the splash page.

Per the forum style, if you're seeing the forum default style that is an issue for me.

What you should be seeing is http://uploader.ws/upload/200807/forum1.jpg

Software default style is
http://uploader.ws/upload/200807/forum2.jpg

Great feedback Ray. I certainly appreciate it. Reps added. :great:

 

[Tomi-gwc]

Can't you just have no splash page? Just make your domain go straight to your forum?

 

[weblord]

all i can see is this

ERROR 404 - PAGE NOT FOUND
Oops! Looks like the page you're looking for was moved or never existed.
Make sure you typed the correct URL or followed a valid link.

hosted at hostgator.

 

[Ray]

I have another idea in mind for that page in the future, but I'm afraid that 301 will pose a problem for search engine spiders.

Actually, a 301 redirct is considered to be "permanent" and is typically ideal and will not effect your search engine optimization. most people use this for www.domain.com to domain.com

ex: Godaddy.com makes use of this. (godaddy.com goes to http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp)

 

[frustinc]

all i can see is this

ERROR 404 - PAGE NOT FOUND
Oops! Looks like the page you're looking for was moved or never existed.
Make sure you typed the correct URL or followed a valid link.

hosted at hostgator.

Not sure what you typed, but after reading this I have 404 bouncing back to the forum. So no more 404 pages.

I have another idea in mind for that page in the future, but I'm afraid that 301 will pose a problem for search engine spiders.

Actually, a 301 redirct is considered to be "permanent" and is typically ideal and will not effect your search engine optimization. most people use this for www.domain.com to domain.com

ex: Godaddy.com makes use of this. (godaddy.com goes to http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp)

Good enough for me. No more splash page, folks!

 

[Ray]

nice to see that you implemented the redirect

 

[frustinc]

I do feel much better with the redirect :D

I was worried about it with the spiders, but looks like because I was initially missing a > in one of the meta tags on the splash page, the bunch of them that came around today weren't able to read the page properly to actually get to the forum. Rendered in FF, a little buggy in IE when I just picked it up.

I'll wait till they make their rounds again to see if I have more luck

 

[weblord]

now i can see it from here.
how about a puppy background? but put in table first the main forums.

 

[frustinc]

Rep'd, thanks.

 

[Green Moon]

I really like it. Ray's comments pretty much say what I think, except I would give your logo better than 3/10 - maybe a 5 or so. I do think the paw print behind the lettering could be a tad darker. On my screen it is barely noticeable.

I think it is great that you kept the number of subforums small. No sense in starting out with 15 or 20 like some I have seen. That just spreads out the discussion and makes it seem like less than what it is.

Good luck!

 

[frustinc]

Rep'd Green moon.

The small number of subforums was intentional. I don't want to spread topics too thinly across multiple areas to start off with. Once it gets going, I may move specialized topics to new sections, but that'll come.

Next thing I'll be working on is replacing some of the images within the templates.. such as the "New Thread" buttons. Also will be working on SEO such as incorporating thread titles within the URL to make it look a little more static.

Thanks to everyone who left a comment. I have much to work on now. :great: