Themes - do they impact a forum’s success?

[Chrissiest Chris]

I think they do, yes. I don't know anyone who would want to join a forum with the regular ProBoards theme you're given at creation. It looks cheap. A good theme to me is one that doesn't make me acknowledge it at all. Unless it's exceptionally good looking. I persobally would like to change some things on my own forum to make the theme look unique-- I just don't know how.

[Kami]

I've been re-reading some of these replies and I think the people that are saying 'no' seem to be fixating on whether or not a theme will be the success of a forum. The question is does it impact a forum's success.

I don't think ANYONE is saying that themes are 100% the reason for a forum's success, or that forums with plain / non-professional themes aren't going to be successful. But themes DO impact a forum's success, for good or for ill. I mean, I know this is supposed to be a discussion, but I find that this is an objective statement. A theme won't necessarily be the sole cause of a forum's success or failure, but there is zero denying that having a good, a bad, or a so-so theme will impact user experience, and thus have an impact on the overall success of the forum.

For example: which board is more appealing? The left, or the right? Both have IDENTICAL content, as it is the same forum, but with different themes. Can the people saying 'no, themes don't impact success' honestly tell me they really believe that the default theme would have the same amount of success as the customised one? or that if I had made either of these completely unreadable that people would've stayed to even look at the content?

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

I would agree with that, Kami , until I see so many of the most popular forums using ProBoards' default theme with very little customization.

And our members would revolt if I changed the layout of ProBoards format. They don't mind the customization and design as long as the format doesn't stray.

Anything that would deviate from that would actually cause our members to leave.

[Violette]

I think instead of asking if a theme impacts a forum's success, I think the question should be if a theme can deter someone from joining a forum. And the answer to that, for me, is yes it would. Color and layout is important to me. I like the ProBoards default layout and don't want to deal with a different layout. If a forum had nothing but black themes I would not even visit, let alone join. Just my tastes, though.

Because I have so many themes, I created a thread with images of the themes so that the members can see beforehand what the themes look like before they choose, to save them time.

[Violette]

Oct 15, 2016 2:16:40 GMT -8 Kami said:

I've been re-reading some of these replies and I think the people that are saying 'no' seem to be fixating on whether or not a theme will be the success of a forum. The question is does it impact a forum's success.

I don't think ANYONE is saying that themes are 100% the reason for a forum's success, or that forums with plain / non-professional themes aren't going to be successful. But themes DO impact a forum's success, for good or for ill. I mean, I know this is supposed to be a discussion, but I find that this is an objective statement. A theme won't necessarily be the sole cause of a forum's success or failure, but there is zero denying that having a good, a bad, or a so-so theme will impact user experience, and thus have an impact on the overall success of the forum.

For example: which board is more appealing? The left, or the right? Both have IDENTICAL content, as it is the same forum, but with different themes. Can the people saying 'no, themes don't impact success' honestly tell me they really believe that the default theme would have the same amount of success as the customised one? or that if I had made either of these completely unreadable that people would've stayed to even look at the content?

I would choose the default ProBoards layout over the other one because the ProBoards layout is more peaceful and easier on the eyes.

[Kami]

Oct 15, 2016 10:43:02 GMT -8 ♥ ℒʊ√ ♥ said:

I would agree with that, Kami , until I see so many of the most popular forums using ProBoards' default theme with very little customization.

And our members would revolt if I changed the layout of ProBoards format. They don't mind the customization and design as long as the format doesn't stray.

Anything that would deviate from that would actually cause our members to leave.

But see, that's the WHOLE POINT I'm trying to make haha. Themes DO impact a forum's success. For me, as an RP admin, having a customised theme impacts it positively. For you, a customised theme impacts it negatively. Either way, having one over the other has a direct impact on the forum's success. For me it's a positive one, for you it might be a negative one, but the fact of the matter is, there IS one. Do you see what I'm saying?

The amount of success I receive -- for good or ill -- with my customised theme is not the same as the amount of success I receive as having the default, but it will still have an IMPACT. That's all I'm trying to say. I'm not saying that you should have one over the other. I have my preferences, you have yours, and the userbase we are trying to cater to will have theirs.

The point is, objectively, how a forum's theme appears does have an impact, for good or for ill, on a forum's overall success, REGARDLESS of whether or not it is positive or negative.

[Kami]

Oct 15, 2016 11:17:17 GMT -8 Violette said:

Oct 15, 2016 2:16:40 GMT -8 Kami said:

I've been re-reading some of these replies and I think the people that are saying 'no' seem to be fixating on whether or not a theme will be the success of a forum. The question is does it impact a forum's success.

I don't think ANYONE is saying that themes are 100% the reason for a forum's success, or that forums with plain / non-professional themes aren't going to be successful. But themes DO impact a forum's success, for good or for ill. I mean, I know this is supposed to be a discussion, but I find that this is an objective statement. A theme won't necessarily be the sole cause of a forum's success or failure, but there is zero denying that having a good, a bad, or a so-so theme will impact user experience, and thus have an impact on the overall success of the forum.

For example: which board is more appealing? The left, or the right? Both have IDENTICAL content, as it is the same forum, but with different themes. Can the people saying 'no, themes don't impact success' honestly tell me they really believe that the default theme would have the same amount of success as the customised one? or that if I had made either of these completely unreadable that people would've stayed to even look at the content?

I would choose the default ProBoards layout over the other one because the ProBoards layout is more peaceful and easier on the eyes.

And that's great! But here, again, is my point: this IMPACTS the success of the forum in question, yes? Your choice over default or not, would make one theme have a different amount of success than the other, in other words IMPACTING the success of the forum.

[Violette]

I agree completely! A theme can make or break a forum!

[Chrissiest Chris]

I think a mix between those two examples is the best option. First one is easier on the eye, but it looks a little too generic. Second one is a little too costumized and have many things going on at once. There's a happy middle.

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

I do see what you're saying, Kami .

What it comes down to is "know your audience".


Even with my forum, I've maintained ProBoards' default theme for those who want to use it.

And I'm not a fan of black backgrounds, but some members are.  So they are accommodated, as well.

I think the important take from this is to try to please those we serve and the genre of our forum.

Themes do have an impact, as well as content and member "vibe".

Even something as simple as the forum's name can connote positive or negative feelings.

[Kami]

Oct 15, 2016 12:33:05 GMT -8 Chrissiest Chris said:

I think a mix between those two examples is the best option. First one is easier on the eye, but it looks a little too generic. Second one is a little too costumized and have many things going on at once. There's a happy middle.

For whatever it's worth, it looks better live because you don't see all of it at once / if you're an RPer you can see the difference between each section and why they look they way they do. ;x But see, again, my point is not that one is better than the other, it's just they would each have a different amount of success. I was very careful in my word choice:

Can the people saying 'no, themes don't impact success' honestly tell me they really believe that the default theme would have the same amount of success as the customised one?

Whether or not you prefer one or the other (or somewhere in between), the point I was trying to make is that people were saying 'no themes don't impact success' when they DO, objectively. What that impact is winds up being subjective / conditional based on your target audience.

[Kami]

Oct 15, 2016 12:35:43 GMT -8 ♥ ℒʊ√ ♥ said:

I do see what you're saying, Kami .

What it comes down to is "know your audience".


Even with my forum, I've maintained ProBoards' default theme for those who want to use it.

And I'm not a fan of black backgrounds, but some members are.  So they are accommodated, as well.

I think the important take from this is to try to please those we serve and the genre of our forum.

Themes do have an impact, as well as content and member "vibe".

Even something as simple as the forum's name can connote positive or negative feelings.

And that's fine! I mean, personally, I find I do not enjoy accommodating all of my members because my designs tend to be quite different from the custom ProBoards theme. I will make accommodations for accessibility issues, but I tend to have one style of theme at a time. Some members complain because they don't like change, but they complain EVERY time it changes and the previous theme was always 'the best' ;x So set in their ways, haha.

But again, as you said, know your audience -- that goes over quite well with the RP community (and some of my more ambitious themes, while aesthetically pleasing / unique, have flopped because they were a little too different, haha). It may not for others. But I feel like the question shouldn't be whether or not a theme impacts a forum's success (because objectively it does), but rather HOW.

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

Humans are visual creatures.

I can't think of an instance where appearance doesn't impact all things in life.


Art is subjective and what is visually pleasing to some; isn't too others.

Some like realism; others impressionism; some paint in chalk; others oil. 

So how much of an impact a theme has towards success is really the question, since many of the most popular of ProBoards' forums maintain 80 to 90% of ProBoards' default theme.

So if we look at the successful boards, the "how much" of the success is due to the theme, the answer is not very much. 

[Kami]

Oct 15, 2016 13:09:18 GMT -8 ♥ ℒʊ√ ♥ said:

Humans are visual creatures.

I can't think of an instance where appearance doesn't impact all things in life.


Art is subjective and what is visually pleasing to some; isn't too others.

Some like realism; others impressionism; some paint in chalk; others oil. 

So how much of an impact a theme has towards success is really the question, since many of the most popular of ProBoards' forums maintain 80 to 90% of ProBoards' default theme.

So if we look at the successful boards, the "how much" of the success is due to the theme, the answer is not very much. 

I would agree, but not because of the 'successful' boards, because (as I think you will agree) 'success' in and of itself is subjective. That said, I do agree that the themes themselves only have a very minor impact in the grand scheme of things. Something can be wrapped up nice and pretty but if the inside is nothing or worse, poopy, it doesn't matter how good the outside looks. You can polish a turd, etc etc.

I think the biggest thing themes have an impact on is first impressions. I think forums that have even slightly customised themes (even just varying from the default PB blue/white, not even messing with any templates or graphics), will have a better first impression on a guest that will encourage them to actually browse content. On the flip side, if you had a theme that was completely unreadable, that first impression would be to 'x' out the tab.

[♥ ℒʊ√ ♥]

Correct. And sometimes that first negative impression can have nothing to do with the theme, but with the person viewing the screen who may not be able to read on light backgrounds or dark; or need larger point sizes, a different type style or color, etc. 

And yes, I absolutely agree, much depends on what your definition of success is.

More many it's post numbers; for others its about the quality of the post . . . and the poster.

Many want lots of members, even if they are inactive; others prefer a few very active, dedicated members.

So these are all the things admins need to keep in mind when deciding to run a forum.