The Gates Of Death Vampire/ werewolf/human NO RATE

[austinblayke]

Forum URL: thegatesofdeath.proboards.com

Forum Name: The gates of death

Description: This is a brand new site about Vampires, werewolves, and humans.

Desired Outcome of Rate: Since its brand new i was hoping get a basic rate over the whole site anything helps

[austinblayke]

bumpp

[austinblayke]

bump

[austinblayke]

bump

[Boomarang]

you have a good looking forum, the colors are nice and easy to read but there are some problems that I can see.

• Your graphics
  

  using a 1024 x 786 screen resolution and am experiencing major scrolling horizontally. I can contribute this to your top banner and also the head images in your side tables. They are much too big and make your site seem unappealing to any one with a screen resolution like mine or smaller.

  
  
• Boards
  

  I see that you have the "forum name | topics | post" bar there, it would be more appealing if that was taken out, it's a simple code that can be found in the code index. Another suggestion is getting the category splitter to brake up the boards a bit and make them look separate instead of one large lump.

  
  

I can tell you are trying with this forum, my overall rate is 7/10

[∞ ConqueringWolf ∞]

Aug 17, 2010 13:56:03 GMT -8 austinblayke said:

Forum URL: thegatesofdeath.proboards.com

Forum Name: The gates of death

Description: This is a brand new site about Vampires, werewolves, and humans.

Desired Outcome of Rate: Since its brand new i was hoping get a basic rate over the whole site anything helps

Well it's been forever and a day since I last gave anyone any suggestions, so here ya go, enjoy

Here are my opinions and suggestions for your forum

COLOR SCHEME/DESIGN

• I like the general base colors of green and pink you are using. Neither is hard on the eyes and everything is easily readable on the forum.
  
  
• Window 1 BG colors usually look best if they are a few shades lighter or darker than your Window 2 BG color.
  
  
• I think the board cell highlight may be a bit too bright. If you could match something closer to the color of your BG wallpaper I think it would work better.
  
  
• Text and link colors should be different so that members, especially new ones, will be able to tell the difference between links and regular text.
  
  
• Consider the use of Gradients in your title and category bars. You could use either images or the automatic gradient option in your skin.
  
  
• Here is a good site for choosing colors to use on your forum- RGB
  

GRAPHIC DESIGN/CODING

• You should adjust the width of your forum so it will look the same for all users regardless of their screen resolution. You can do this by adding this code into your global footer. I find 1024 is a good standard width to use though some people may still use an 800x600 screen resolution.
  

  
  <script type="text/javascript">
  <!--
  var fWidth = '1024';
  
  var table = document.getElementsByTagName('table');
  for(t=0; t<table.length; t++) {
  if(table.item(t).width == "92%") {
  table.item(t).width = fWidth;
  }
  }
  // -->
  </script>
  

  
  
  
• I think the side tables for your staff and affiliates are a bit too large. They are taking the focus away from the main part of your forum, the boards. I would make them smaller and maybe even rearrange them so they are either above or below the boards themselves.
  
  
• I am not too sure about the on/off icons you are using. They don't seem to fit the theme of your forum. They almost seem more like something comical with someone laughing. Try to keep your design, colors, and images all around the central theme of your forum.
  
  
• I like the BG image you are using. The overall color/design doesn't clash with the forum and doesn't distract from the forum itself.
  
  
• Your banner image is ok but I think it is too large and pushes your boards down too far, it should not be the main focus of the forum. If you cut the height in half I think it would look much better on the forum.
  
  
• Make sure any custom images you use on your forum are not so large that they distort your forum cell sizes or so small that they are hard to see.
  
  
• If you need assistance with graphics such as icons, banners, gradients or anything else you may need you can find a list of Graphics Sites Here
  
  
• Also you can check out the Coding and Design Board to pick up some codes that you can use to improve your board by giving it a more unique look. Examples would be Gradients, Info centers, Mini Profile Add-Ons, and many more. Look through them and see which ones best suit the look you are trying to achieve for your forum.
  

GENERAL FORUM ADVICE

• First thing I noticed was some misspellings throughout the forum but especially on the main page. This makes the forum seem unprofessional and can turn away potential members.
  
  
• I also think that if you rearranged the categories/boards so the main focus of your forum are on the top and the general/non-topic related ones are at the bottom it would draw attention to the important stuff more quickly.
  
  
• You can get helpful suggestions on how to attract members, maintain your forum, and keep your members happy and active at the Discussion: Your Proboard board.
  
  
• You coul try advertising your forum at Your Board:Advertise if you haven't already.
  
  
  
• Overall a pretty good start but it could still use a little tweaking so just keep working at it.