Feedback appreciated

[JPM]

Hello folks,

The Product Forum (http://www.productforum.info) is around 9 weeks old now, in that time we have developed our forums and blogs to a level we are happy with given the time frame.

However - We want to continue to expand and grow and want to really attract a growing audience of adult 20-40 year olds (but not limited to these) and would like some feedback on ways that we could do this please.

Please take a look at the following


Forums and descriptions
Blogs
Home Page

... and anything else you feel is relevant. I would really appreciate a couple of minutes of your time to help us improve and grow :)

JPM :)

[Fergal]

The forum looks great JPM, well done. The homepage gives a good overview of what the site is about and it encourages visitors to click through and become involved in the community. It might help a little if you could show a few of the latest blog and forum posts somewhere on that home page.

I'm viewing your site using Google Chrome and the bottom of your social networking icons, on the home page, appear below the site border. You can see what I'm referring to here (http://awesomescreenshot.com/07190pxc9) - I'm not sure if that's the way they are intended to display or not.

The first two pages of your blog appears to have a few posts with a very similar title along the lines of "My life with Android and HTC...." I'd be a little concerned that a visitor scanning those posts might be led to believe that you don't have much original content on that blog.

The site looks great overall, very professional and I'm delighted to see that it is growing very well for you. Continued success and good luck with it!

[JPM]

I would also like feedback on ad' placement and design if possible please.

[Fergal]

I feel that your ad integration is good and that it blends in well with the forum. Have your members given you any feedback on that? I like the way http://www.physicsforums.com have displayed ads on their forum and you might find it worth a look. Personally I like the idea of not displaying ads on a forum home page and then including them where people reading threads will see them.

Hopefully some of our other members will also give you some feedback soon.

[JPM]

Thanks Fergal. I Appreciate your feedback. What do you think of the discussion categories, or the blogs?

[GekiDan]

Seems to be very good on what I currently see.
It's professionally designed and I like your color scheme.

I'm just a little bothered on the ad placements and blending. On your homepage, there's an ad below. It's quite short compared to the portion above it. It will look much better if it has a same size with it's predecessor. On this page (http://www.productforum.info/forums/forumdisplay.php/9-The-Consumer-Forum), the ad is above but it's aligned on the leftmost part. It kinda make the balance a little off. Have you considered putting a leaderboard banner on the center?

Another thing is the tag cloud on this page (http://www.productforum.info/forums/forumdisplay.php/14-Site-News-amp-Announcements). I think it's better if you place it below the other threads, not above them.

Good luck on your site.

[JPM]

Seems to be very good on what I currently see.
It's professionally designed and I like your color scheme.

I'm just a little bothered on the ad placements and blending. On your homepage, there's an ad below. It's quite short compared to the portion above it. It will look much better if it has a same size with it's predecessor. On this page (http://www.productforum.info/forums/forumdisplay.php/9-The-Consumer-Forum), the ad is above but it's aligned on the leftmost part. It kinda make the balance a little off. Have you considered putting a leaderboard banner on the center?

Another thing is the tag cloud on this page (http://www.productforum.info/forums/forumdisplay.php/14-Site-News-amp-Announcements). I think it's better if you place it below the other threads, not above them.

Good luck on your site.

GekiDan,

Thank you for the solid feedback. Your points are very valid with regards to both advertisements and the tag cloud.

We are working on the advertisement alignments and size as we speak :)

Will you be joining GekiDan? If not, what would make you join our forum? :)

[Matt]

Well, I really like the way the arrangement of the homepage. The only thing that i thought looked kind of weird was that where the computer, xbox, etc. was, they were kind of all stacked upon each other but that is a really tiny detail and it would be ok the was it is. It gives a user a good idea of what is going on. When I was looking through your forums and descriptions, I thought they were nice and lengthy. I didn't catch a spelling error, however my spelling isn't all that great.

[Fergal]

...What do you think of the discussion categories...
They look good to me and they appear to be working to stimulate discussion on the forum, which is the most important thing.

[GeeOne]

I like the niche :)

Good luck.

G!

[JPM]

Thanks GeeOne. :)

Are you interested in joining us? ;)

[GekiDan]

I'll try to join and contribute to your forum if I have enough free time. :)

[JPM]

I'll try to join and contribute to your forum if I have enough free time. :)

Thanks! Really thanks, that would be great, much appreciated if you do.

Take a look at the new logo and banner guys - what do you think?

http://www.productforum.info/forums/forum.php

[GeeOne]

Sure, I will try to join it.

G!


Thanks GeeOne. :)

Are you interested in joining us? ;)

[JPM]

Thanks :) Nice to see you there. Let us know if there is any more feedback here or on PF :)

[GekiDan]

Cool logo there JPM. I think it's much better than your previous one.
Have you considered purchasing a COM domain?

[JPM]

Thanks GekiDan.

I Have considered it but I think we will try and get a domain at some point has been registered previously and good traffic, to add traffic to the site.

Do you think a .com domain name makes a lot of different?

[mysandyda]

.com is obviously better then for ex. .net or .info because it is the process of promoting is really easier!
and about your forum - I like it and I want to be a part of your community)

[Fergal]

.com domains do have advantages especially when it comes to word of mouth marketing. A significant proportion of the people who hear about the Product Forum, will type the dot com version of the domain into their browser, when looking for your site. Even people who find your site through a search engine, may type in the dot com domain, if they decide to make a repeat visit.

[John1]

On first visiting the forum I landed on your homepage. Although it gives me all the information I needed on what The Product Forum was about, I was tempted to close the window befoew I even reached the forums. The design of the homepage isn't very good, but that is only my opinion.

However, your forums on the otherhand look amazing. The logo is very nice and it fits in well with the forum. The light colour's make it a joy to browse and it's not too cluttered either.

[JPM]

.com is obviously better then for ex. .net or .info because it is the process of promoting is really easier!
and about your forum - I like it and I want to be a part of your community)


Thanks all for the feedback, valuable and informative. I will continue to look for a .com domain. Fergal - what places (other than BAF and DP) would you normally look for a domain marketplace?

mysandyda, looking forward to seeing you there soon.

John1 - are you refering to the fact that there is a different design from the home page to the forum? What is it you don't like about the home page? Would you prefer if the home page content was a custom vB page?

[JPM]

However, your forums on the otherhand look amazing. The logo is very nice and it fits in well with the forum. The light colour's make it a joy to browse and it's not too cluttered either.


And that's really nice to hear, thanks! What is the forum width like for you?

[StarbidAuctions]

Wow it looks really good can anyone tell me if that forum is free or if u have to pay to have a forum loke that as ive noticed its the same kind as BAF's as im currently using a PHPBB site http://www.starbidauctions.com/forum/index.php

[Fergal]

Wow it looks really good can anyone tell me if that forum is free or if u have to pay to have a forum loke that as ive noticed its the same kind as BAF's...
Business Advice Forum and The Product Forum both run on vBulletin software which is not free, you can see vBulletin's pricing details here (https://www.vbulletin.com/order/index.php). You don't necessarily need to pay for forum software however, PHPBB is great free software and it powers many great forums including our other forum at Forum Promotion (http://forumpromotion.net/forum/index.php).

[JPM]

Wow it looks really good can anyone tell me if that forum is free or if u have to pay to have a forum loke that as ive noticed its the same kind as BAF's as im currently using a PHPBB site http://www.starbidauctions.com/forum/index.php

Hi there,

I can't really add anything to what Fergal just mentioned however I have sent you a PM with a potential partnership idea between the Product Forum and starbi auctions.

[StarbidAuctions]

Hi there,

I can't really add anything to what Fergal just mentioned however I have sent you a PM with a potential partnership idea between the Product Forum and starbi auctions.

Thanks JPM i have replied to your email and think that it is a great idea.

[GekiDan]

Thanks all for the feedback, valuable and informative. I will continue to look for a .com domain. Fergal - what places (other than BAF and DP) would you normally look for a domain marketplace?
productforum.com is already registered to someone but theproductforum.com isn't, which in my opinion suits your site. The productforum.com is still not indexed or shown in Google Search listings. I think now is the right time to grab it before anyone get it before you.

[JPM]

productforum.com is already registered to someone but theproductforum.com isn't, which in my opinion suits your site. The productforum.com is still not indexed or shown in Google Search listings. I think now is the right time to grab it before anyone get it before you.

I agree, and I've purchased www.theproductforum.com. Nice work, thanks for your help GekiDan. Much appreciated.

However - I now have a decision to make. Do I just do a URL redirect to www.productforum.info or should I change the hosting. I know that's probably a simple question with an easy answer - but I am still learning.

[GekiDan]

I agree, and I've purchased www.theproductforum.com. Nice work, thanks for your help GekiDan. Much appreciated.

However - I now have a decision to make. Do I just do a URL redirect to www.productforum.info or should I change the hosting. I know that's probably a simple question with an easy answer - but I am still learning.
You can just put the INFO on redirect so that anyone who access it will be automatically redirected to the COM one.
I did it on my blog before when I previously used the INFO one.

[Fergal]

JPM you should probably contact the vBulletin support forum and your Forum Admin to ask for their technical expertise for switching your forum to a new domain. You might also find the threads below helpful;

Changing Domain: Will it do better? (http://www.businessadviceforum.com/showthread.php/8344-Changing-Domain-Will-it-do-better)
301 Redirect to move the whole domain to a new one (http://www.businessadviceforum.com/showthread.php/11253-301-Redirect-to-move-the-whole-domain-to-a-new-one)
Provide assistance in 301 redirect (http://www.businessadviceforum.com/showthread.php/11351-Provide-assistance-in-301-redirect)

Good luck with the new domain and for well done to GekiDan for such an excellent find.

[JPM]

Thanks Fergal,

Just in the process of sorting out, does this mean that I will have to work on back links for the new domain url also?

[Fergal]

JPM if you complete the redirect properly, the links you have built to the old domain will still help your new domain. However, any future links you build, should be to your new domain.

[GekiDan]

Good luck with the new domain and for well done to GekiDan for such an excellent find.
Well, I tried to search his forum via Google and I didn't find the COM anywhere so I researched on it a bit.
And, I found that theproductforum.com is still not taken... So, I suggested it...

[Joel]

I think your forum looks good JPM! Graphics good, content good, and activity is also good. Perhaps you can reduce the number of ads at the forum.

[JPM]

I think your forum looks good JPM! Graphics good, content good, and activity is also good. Perhaps you can reduce the number of ads at the forum.

Thanks Joel, will you be signing up and joining us?

Which ones do you feel are excessive?

[Jerlene]

It's a shame you're selling this forum. It grew pretty quickly and was a nice forum. Hopefully whoever buys it will keep it going.
The design and graphics are really sleek and easy on the eyes.

[JPM]

It's a shame you're selling this forum. It grew pretty quickly and was a nice forum. Hopefully whoever buys it will keep it going.
The design and graphics are really sleek and easy on the eyes.

Thanks Jerlene, I have actually sold it already. I appreciate the comments, I just don't have the time to be a dad to a forum and a child! ;)

[GekiDan]

Thanks Jerlene, I have actually sold it already. I appreciate the comments, I just don't have the time to be a dad to a forum and a child! ;)
It's really hard to let go something you love but less important to your needs.

[JPM]

It's really hard to let go something you love but less important to your needs.

Very true, I really enjoyed running it, however it monetary terms It would have been a couple of years before it paid for itself.

[Jerlene]

Really? Then I understand completely why you're selling it. Why not just bring someone who can run it for you on board. That way when you're able to you can start running it again, or even just pop in from time to time. I bet there's a few people, maybe even from within, that would be happy to run the forum and probably even for free. You can monetize it better so you make revenue while someone else is running it. lol That's what I did with a few of my sites. I couldn't part with them so I just put them in the hands of other people temporarily.

[JPM]

Really? Then I understand completely why you're selling it. Why not just bring someone who can run it for you on board. That way when you're able to you can start running it again, or even just pop in from time to time. I bet there's a few people, maybe even from within, that would be happy to run the forum and probably even for free. You can monetize it better so you make revenue while someone else is running it. lol That's what I did with a few of my sites. I couldn't part with them so I just put them in the hands of other people temporarily.

I had thought of that to be honest, and I did have someone as co-admin with me, but i just wasn't 100% about the decision, so cut my losses. Time will tell I guess, though I got a great price for it.

[Fergal]

Closing thread by request!