So within this topic, mostly just my first post, I'm going to share with everyone some of the tips I've acquired over the years of forum building. To most they may already be part of how they make forums, but to others it might be things they didn't even consider. Feel free to comment and add to my tips! Hopefully if we get some good tips, a staff member can edit my post and add on (separating and labeling who's tips are who's.) Helpful Tips When Opening A New Forum +Clean Layout -Make your layout easy for members to navigate -Keep like forums with each other, don't mix themes (such as member feedback with entertainment) -Try to have no more than 5 forums per category and no less than 2, this keeps the balance even. -Too many sub forums can make it look clutered -Have descriptive forum descriptions +A Matching Skin -Have a clean skin that has matching buttons -Do not try to mix and match buttons with skins -Try to pick out themes that already have buttons made -Be mindful of your members eyes. Don't go too bright or too dark +Finish Your Forum! (I can't stress this enough) -Always have everything finished -Never ever open a forum that's lacking buttons, a banner, or the skin -First Impressions can be everything and you need to make the best. +Get rid of the 0's -Before you open, have a friend help you make topics -Try to eliminate the 0's -Make topics in EACH forum so it doesn't look dead +When Advertising, -Make your ad seem exciting! -Make it easy to read, make the link easy to find -Describe your board! Lots of people just post the link and "this is my new gaming forum." -Tell guests what they're going to be treated to when they register! -Advertise everywhere you can and where permitted. -------------------------------- For now that's all I could think of. Basically these were all based on mistakes that have been common place.
