Future ads

**Admin** · **Admin** on Tue Jan 12, 2010 8:50 pm

Future Ads

Congratulations! Your forum review has been completed. The forum review will hold many tips, suggestions, comments, and feedback that's convenient and voluntary for your forum. Here is your forum review:

Generalities

First Impressions (Score: 14/20):
When I first enter your forum I notice that it has a rather basic theme that I have seen many times before. I also noticed that you have no introduction page welcoming your members to the forum; it would be a nice idea to add an introduction page to the forum to add a professional, well organised feel to it. Also a home page would be a great design feature so you could really show your graphics skills when making one as it’s always nice as a first impression to have a well designed welcome page. Another thing I spotted is that you have an announcement saying you are currently looking for staff which is a great idea so if you’re in need of any staff; your members know that they are free to apply. Moreover I love the way that you have hearts round the newest member at the bottom of the page as it looks really effective. The name of your forum is ingenious too, "future ads" nice idea for a name, fits your forum perfectly. First impressions of your forums are that they seem to all be used and organised well too. So nice first impressions just think about a welcome page and make your theme more exciting.
Categories & Forums (Score: 10/10):
You have 4 categories which seems to be the perfect amount you should have, 4 will cover everything you could possibly need at the moment with your forums activity. Divided up into those 4 categories you have placed 19 forums which appear to be a pretty decent amount. You have divided them very well into the categories, the max forums in any category you should have is 8, you have not passed that, and the minimum amount of forums you should have in any category is 3 which you haven't gone below either. So really, your categories and forums are well organised. The descriptions you have for each forum are great as they are detailed and clearly tell your members what the forum is for. I also like the way you have made a special forum for the rules, which is different from any other forum, great idea. Moving on to your sub-forums, you don’t have any more than 6 sub-forums attached to any forum so that’s not an issue and they all have a purpose and are used too. Your categories and forums are great, keep up the good work.

Generalities total ::24/30

Forum Style

Major Graphics (Score: 7/10):

Banner: (4/5)
Your banner is located at the top left of your forum, which is a nice place and makes a change from having it cantered although I would say that although its simple with only text, it could be improved by adding a professional looking picture to the right of the banner to make it less boring and stand out more. As for the text colour and font, it seems fine to me, the font stands out and looks quite professional, the white name of the forum with the black outline makes it stand out and the blue slogan with the white outline makes a contrast which also looks professional and stand out. So really your banner is simplistic but effective although could be improved by a picture on the right.
Navigation Bar: (1/5)
You have quite a rubbish navigation bar, it only consists of some black, boring text and a plain white picture, nothing could be less imaginative. I suggest making the navigation bar central, just under the banner and making some buttons for each option, but make sure it matches your colour scheme. This would make your forum look more professional and better designed; also it would be a nice design feature too. At the moment it’s pretty rubbish.
Images & Icons (Score: 8/10):
Well your forum icons are ingenious like your forums name, they appear to be (forgive me if i am wrong) an ipod or iphone. Nice idea if that’s what they are. To make it easy to distinguish between a forum with new posts and a forum with no new posts you have made the "new posts" icon have a smaller iphone or iPod in the bottom right. This is a nice idea and is easy to understand. For the "forum locked" icon you have simply replaced the small iphone with a padlock, simple but effective. On to your topic icons and they are just as well designed; they are consistent with your forum icons and are just as well designed. This time for the popular topics you have added a star to the top right corner of the main icon and for the announcements and sticky, you have changed the screen colour. Both great ideas that are simple but effective, you have some great forum and topic icons, keep it up! The forum buttons like the "post new topic" buttons are a nice idea but they appear to have a black border around the outside of them making them look even and not match with the background. You need to get rid of this black border to make them look more professional. You have some great icons, just sort out that button problem.
Forum Layout & Color Scheme (Score: 7/10):
Well your forums colour scheme is consistent but some things do not match, like your forum icons, which are black. Your forums colour scheme is clearly blue and white but your forum icons are black, which doesn’t seem to fit although you could argue against it as they stand out against the background and match the text colour. You could change them but I would say it’s not vital. The table background image that you have matches the banners background along with the blue text colour of the banner. So your forums colour scheme is ok, just could be improved. As for your forums layout and I have very few issues with this, the statistics are at the bottom of the index which is a good place, the forums are evenly distributed between the categories and the banner is in a good place too. One thing i just have to point out is that at the top right of the forum you have the search bar, which is not really the best place for it, it also looks tacky there as it overlaps the banners background making it look out of place. I think you should add it as an option on the navigation bar and get rid of it from where it is now. So your forums layout is generally good, just some things to be sorted out.

Forum Style total :: 22/30

Usergroups

Population of Groups (Score: 9/10):
You have 6 groups, a good amount. They seem to be well populated at first glance but taking a closer look. You have 3 administrators which is just about ok for a forum of your size, although really, it should be 2, but you will never need any more than 3 administrators. You have 2 members of the Analytics Team, which seems ok but i don't know the purpose of that group so i cannot comment. You also have a global moderators group called the community team, with 4 members in, this is too many, you should only have a maximum of 3 gm's as your forum isn’t that active yet. Along with those groups you have an elites (VIPs) group and a parcel team group which are both well populated and don’t have too many members, so really your only issue with this area is the amount of gm's
Staff Groups / User Groups (Score: 9/10):
You have 6 groups which a great amount to have, these consist of 4 staff groups and 2 user groups (Elites and Registered users) which seems perfectly adequate for your forums size, you should need any more in the foreseeable future so it’s good for now. The global moderators (community team) group is nice as they can help you run the forum smoothly so that’s a good group to have. Also the VIPs (elites) group is a nice idea as you can use it to reward your best members. One thing i don’t understand as a group is the "Analytics Team" as i cannot see the point of it so if you would tell me what its purpose is I’d be grateful. So your groups seem to be fine!

Usergroups :: 18/20

Forum Activity

Post/Member Ratio & Quantity (Score: 7/10):
Total posts 4250 • Total topics 705 • Total members 200

Your forum has 200 members and 4250 posts, which seem a bit low for your forums amount of members, should be around 6000 really I think. But going into more detail, if you divided the amount of posts by the topics, you would get it out to be an average of around 6 posts per topic which seems ok but could be higher. On to the average posts per user and if you divide the amount of posts by the amount of members you get it out to be an average of 21 posts per member. This is not good enough, you should have around 30 average posts per member which is 6000 posts overall. You should try and get your members to post more which would help your forum to get more active too.
Users Active (Score: 6/10):
Registered users: Google [Bot], Wipper179, Nicholi, Yahoo [Bot], EvanP, PurpleCrow, Mod, StevenF50, apskiitghy, Baidu [Spider], Shiny Star, triforceguy1, Google Desktop, darkly, ToxicTwister, cowsUnconna, =), Mystic_gohan, Fergal, shamzblueworld, Sci-Wrecks, Joel, ethellNeulK, theezy, cassandrahersh, trevorlawrence, Coelho, axomamaidge, Gaz, Breargife, Darkray, powdersnow, xXAnaquodXx, Daniel, effonibot, sylar, Dedweirdo, NugLeffizeLip, Kitty

Well 35 members on during the past 24 hours isn't that bad, it could be a lot worse, I would expect higher, around 45-50 members but 35 isn't bad. It shows your forum is active and your members aren't just joining, posting a bit, then leaving. But you could always try and get some of your old members back. You could try and get your members more active again by sending out weekly newsletters if you don’t already or send out an email to all your inactive members telling them why they should return. Also you could add a new exciting feature to your forum that will get your members to come back again. Either way, you could do something to get your forum more active.

Forum Activity total :: 13/20

Other

Grade Legend: A- Outstanding! B-Very Good C-Good D-Fair/Average E-Poor F-Very Poor

•Aestheticism: C

•Organization: B

•Originality: B

•Forum Language: B

•Professionalism: B

•Rules and Terms of Services: B

•Cleanliness of The Index/Portal: B

•Creativity: C

•Forum Features: C

•Staff Moderation and Activity: A

Others average: B

Overall Marking: 77/100
You have passed!

Your Grade: B+

What could be done to improve your forum:
You need to make a navigation bar that adds to the design of your forum.

The best thing I like about your forum:
Your forums layout as everything is well organised

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Code:: [center][img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/yourfo11.png[/img] [color=limegreen][b][font=Trebuchet MS Bold Italic][size=24]Future Ads [/b][/font][/size][/color] [/center] [table][tr][td][img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/review12.png[/img][/td][td]Congratulations! Your forum review has been completed. The forum review will hold many tips, suggestions, comments, and feedback that's convenient and voluntary for your forum. Here is your forum review:[/td][/tr][/table] [img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/genera12.png[/img] [b][color=limegreen][size=19]Generalities[/size][/b][/color] [list=1] [*]First Impressions (Score: 14/20): When I first enter your forum I notice that it has a rather basic theme that I have seen many times before. I also noticed that you have no introduction page welcoming your members to the forum; it would be a nice idea to add an introduction page to the forum to add a professional, well organised feel to it. Also a home page would be a great design feature so you could really show your graphics skills when making one as it’s always nice as a first impression to have a well designed welcome page. Another thing I spotted is that you have an announcement saying you are currently looking for staff which is a great idea so if you’re in need of any staff; your members know that they are free to apply. Moreover I love the way that you have hearts round the newest member at the bottom of the page as it looks really effective. The name of your forum is ingenious too, "future ads" nice idea for a name, fits your forum perfectly. First impressions of your forums are that they seem to all be used and organised well too. So nice first impressions just think about a welcome page and make your theme more exciting. [*]Categories & Forums (Score: 10/10): You have 4 categories which seems to be the perfect amount you should have, 4 will cover everything you could possibly need at the moment with your forums activity. Divided up into those 4 categories you have placed 19 forums which appear to be a pretty decent amount. You have divided them very well into the categories, the max forums in any category you should have is 8, you have not passed that, and the minimum amount of forums you should have in any category is 3 which you haven't gone below either. So really, your categories and forums are well organised. The descriptions you have for each forum are great as they are detailed and clearly tell your members what the forum is for. I also like the way you have made a special forum for the rules, which is different from any other forum, great idea. Moving on to your sub-forums, you don’t have any more than 6 sub-forums attached to any forum so that’s not an issue and they all have a purpose and are used too. Your categories and forums are great, keep up the good work. [/list] [color=limegreen]Generalities total ::24/30[/color] [img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/forums10.png[/img] [b][color=darkred][size=19]Forum Style[/b][/color][/size] [list=1] [*]Major Graphics (Score: 7/10): [size=11][u]Banner[/u][/size]: (4/5) Your banner is located at the top left of your forum, which is a nice place and makes a change from having it cantered although I would say that although its simple with only text, it could be improved by adding a professional looking picture to the right of the banner to make it less boring and stand out more. As for the text colour and font, it seems fine to me, the font stands out and looks quite professional, the white name of the forum with the black outline makes it stand out and the blue slogan with the white outline makes a contrast which also looks professional and stand out. So really your banner is simplistic but effective although could be improved by a picture on the right. [size=11][u]Navigation Bar[/u][/size]: (1/5) You have quite a rubbish navigation bar, it only consists of some black, boring text and a plain white picture, nothing could be less imaginative. I suggest making the navigation bar central, just under the banner and making some buttons for each option, but make sure it matches your colour scheme. This would make your forum look more professional and better designed; also it would be a nice design feature too. At the moment it’s pretty rubbish. [*]Images & Icons (Score: 8/10): Well your forum icons are ingenious like your forums name, they appear to be (forgive me if i am wrong) an ipod or iphone. Nice idea if that’s what they are. To make it easy to distinguish between a forum with new posts and a forum with no new posts you have made the "new posts" icon have a smaller iphone or iPod in the bottom right. This is a nice idea and is easy to understand. For the "forum locked" icon you have simply replaced the small iphone with a padlock, simple but effective. On to your topic icons and they are just as well designed; they are consistent with your forum icons and are just as well designed. This time for the popular topics you have added a star to the top right corner of the main icon and for the announcements and sticky, you have changed the screen colour. Both great ideas that are simple but effective, you have some great forum and topic icons, keep it up! The forum buttons like the "post new topic" buttons are a nice idea but they appear to have a black border around the outside of them making them look even and not match with the background. You need to get rid of this black border to make them look more professional. You have some great icons, just sort out that button problem. [*]Forum Layout & Color Scheme (Score: 7/10): Well your forums colour scheme is consistent but some things do not match, like your forum icons, which are black. Your forums colour scheme is clearly blue and white but your forum icons are black, which doesn’t seem to fit although you could argue against it as they stand out against the background and match the text colour. You could change them but I would say it’s not vital. The table background image that you have matches the banners background along with the blue text colour of the banner. So your forums colour scheme is ok, just could be improved. As for your forums layout and I have very few issues with this, the statistics are at the bottom of the index which is a good place, the forums are evenly distributed between the categories and the banner is in a good place too. One thing i just have to point out is that at the top right of the forum you have the search bar, which is not really the best place for it, it also looks tacky there as it overlaps the banners background making it look out of place. I think you should add it as an option on the navigation bar and get rid of it from where it is now. So your forums layout is generally good, just some things to be sorted out. [/list] [color=darkred]Forum Style total :: 22/30[/color] [img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/usergr10.png[/img] [b][color=teal][size=19]Usergroups[/size][/b][/color] [list=1] [*]Population of Groups (Score: 9/10): You have 6 groups, a good amount. They seem to be well populated at first glance but taking a closer look. You have 3 administrators which is just about ok for a forum of your size, although really, it should be 2, but you will never need any more than 3 administrators. You have 2 members of the Analytics Team, which seems ok but i don't know the purpose of that group so i cannot comment. You also have a global moderators group called the community team, with 4 members in, this is too many, you should only have a maximum of 3 gm's as your forum isn’t that active yet. Along with those groups you have an elites (VIPs) group and a parcel team group which are both well populated and don’t have too many members, so really your only issue with this area is the amount of gm's [*]Staff Groups / User Groups (Score: 9/10): You have 6 groups which a great amount to have, these consist of 4 staff groups and 2 user groups (Elites and Registered users) which seems perfectly adequate for your forums size, you should need any more in the foreseeable future so it’s good for now. The global moderators (community team) group is nice as they can help you run the forum smoothly so that’s a good group to have. Also the VIPs (elites) group is a nice idea as you can use it to reward your best members. One thing i don’t understand as a group is the "Analytics Team" as i cannot see the point of it so if you would tell me what its purpose is I’d be grateful. So your groups seem to be fine! [/list] [color=teal]Usergroups :: 18/20[/color] [img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/foruma30.png[/img] [b][color=orange][size=19]Forum Activity[/b][/color][/size] [list=1][*]Post/Member Ratio & Quantity (Score: 7/10): [quote]Total posts 4250 • Total topics 705 • Total members 200 [/quote] Your forum has 200 members and 4250 posts, which seem a bit low for your forums amount of members, should be around 6000 really I think. But going into more detail, if you divided the amount of posts by the topics, you would get it out to be an average of around 6 posts per topic which seems ok but could be higher. On to the average posts per user and if you divide the amount of posts by the amount of members you get it out to be an average of 21 posts per member. This is not good enough, you should have around 30 average posts per member which is 6000 posts overall. You should try and get your members to post more which would help your forum to get more active too. [*]Users Active (Score: 6/10): [quote]Registered users: Google [Bot], Wipper179, Nicholi, Yahoo [Bot], EvanP, PurpleCrow, Mod, StevenF50, apskiitghy, Baidu [Spider], Shiny Star, triforceguy1, Google Desktop, darkly, ToxicTwister, cowsUnconna, =), Mystic_gohan, Fergal, shamzblueworld, Sci-Wrecks, Joel, ethellNeulK, theezy, cassandrahersh, trevorlawrence, Coelho, axomamaidge, Gaz, Breargife, Darkray, powdersnow, xXAnaquodXx, Daniel, effonibot, sylar, Dedweirdo, NugLeffizeLip, Kitty [/quote] Well 35 members on during the past 24 hours isn't that bad, it could be a lot worse, I would expect higher, around 45-50 members but 35 isn't bad. It shows your forum is active and your members aren't just joining, posting a bit, then leaving. But you could always try and get some of your old members back. You could try and get your members more active again by sending out weekly newsletters if you don’t already or send out an email to all your inactive members telling them why they should return. Also you could add a new exciting feature to your forum that will get your members to come back again. Either way, you could do something to get your forum more active. [/list] [color=orange]Forum Activity total :: 13/20[/color] [img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/genera12.png[/img] [b][color=limegreen][size=19]Other[/size][/b][/color] Grade Legend: A- Outstanding! B-Very Good C-Good D-Fair/Average E-Poor F-Very Poor •Aestheticism: C •Organization: B •Originality: B •Forum Language: B •Professionalism: B •Rules and Terms of Services: B •Cleanliness of The Index/Portal: B •Creativity: C •Forum Features: C •Staff Moderation and Activity: A [color=green]Others average: B [/color] [center][img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/yourov11.png[/img] [b][size=20]Overall Marking: 77/100[/size][/b] [size=24][b][color=limegreen]You have passed![/color][/b][/size] [size=18][color=blue][b]Your Grade:[/b][/color][/size] [size=24][color=red][b]B+[/b][/color][/size] [img]http://i87.servimg.com/u/f87/13/67/77/07/conclu11.png[/img][/center] [b][color=teal][size=14]What could be done to improve your forum:[/b][/size][/color] You need to make a navigation bar that adds to the design of your forum. [b][color=teal][size=14]The best thing I like about your forum:[/b][/size][/color] Your forums layout as everything is well organised