Forum Design Questions

[Christopher]

Hi Folks,

So we changed the forum design a couple of weeks ago and it went over...meh. That's ok! I've come for some more feedback.

This particular design now is pretty well favored and has been for some time. But I'd like to get some feedback from the members, all of you, this is your forum. What, if anything, do you not like about the current design?

When we switched over, I think the biggest complaint was how "white" it was which can strain your eyes over time. (Not as much of an issue for mobile users) but something I completely understand.

Our goal was to try and match the forum to the new front end (vaportalk.com) store/blog/. So I'm thinking perhaps we can come up with a happy medium, we match the forum to the front end design but perhaps the actual post areas themselves are darker? Maybe even a hybrid format?

A penny for your thoughts and feedback

Edit:

To give an example of what I mean, what about something like this? A design like this would match our front end while still having the darker text areas so often requested.

EDIT 2:

So the dark background with light text as mostly been a "no go" in favor of light background darker text. Thoughts on a global side bar menu? this would be reflected on both the store and the forum naturally

[copper]

Please NO. Light text on dark is the worst.

I ilke it the way it is.

[jasonculp]

I for one didn't like the change from the original to 4.1 at first. After using it a few weeks, I have really grown to like it. In fact I prefer it over 3.0 quite a bit. I also like the light colored theme. My eyes seem to work better with the light background and darker text. Of course this is just my observation and opinion, I will keep coming back no matter what theme you use!

Edited November 12, 2014 by jasonculp

[Compenstine]

My older eyes do better with black text on white or lighter backgrounds. I did not mind the newer 4.0 version and also liked being able to change my color scheme. Maybe something where a person could customize how it looks to them would be a solution. More custom options for background and font color. No matter how hard you try you will not please everyone.

I will say that because of old habits, hitting the "Home" button to refresh the page is frustrating when it now takes me to the store. I would like to see a "Forum Home" button added.

[jasonculp]

My older eyes do better with black text on white or lighter backgrounds. I did not mind the newer 4.0 version and also liked being able to change my color scheme. Maybe something where a person could customize how it looks to them would be a solution. More custom options for background and font color. No matter how hard you try you will not please everyone.

I will say that because of old habits, hitting the "Home" button to refresh the page is frustrating when it now takes me to the store. I would like to see a "Forum Home" button added.

I have to agree wholeheartedly on the "Home" button. I bet the store gets 200 hits a day from me alone. I am getting better at it though!

[Christopher]

Actually if you just hit the forum link up top (same on the other theme as well) instead of home you'll hit the forum home page

[Compenstine]

LOL Yeah I figured that out, but my old dog brain still hits the "Home" button first. I'm sure even if you added a Forum Home button I would hit the Home button anyway.

[Christopher]

Well I'm glad we have feedback coming back on the white background! I'm actually surprised how many favor it (I do as well personally) It's interesting how we can have some contrasting views.

What are your thoughts on a global sidebar menu? (This would be reflected in the store as well) It was an idea that came up we were slightly unsure about (though it is aesthetically pleasing)

[Compenstine]

Honestly I kinda like that. I do like the way it looks, but using it... Can't really judge that by an image. If it were carried on through both sites I think it would be less confusing and a bit easier to get used to.

[Christopher]

Yes it would without a doubt be carried on both sides. (To keep things consistent) Not to many sites have side menus (except perhaps Amazon I suppose, usually it's product based sites)

For us our goal is to feed forum traffic into the store just as much as into the forum. Without store sales, the forum would cease to exist after all so we're trying to keep a balance without forcing anyone's hand too much

I'd have to get quite a bit more feedback from members before pulling the trigger on a change like this though. I will say, the interface is really nice!

[Christopher]

Here are the actual post areas as you can see, not too dark with the light background

[Compenstine]

I agree feed back is important. Yes that would be fine for my eyes. I'm curious to see what others think.

[Jeffb]

I also prefer the light background with the dark text.

[Christopher]

Thanks Jeff

[BDM53ENT]

Light back ground, dark text would be my preference but I'm only one in a large group. Whatever becomes of it Ill still be here and manage lol.

[Tam]

My vote goes for the light background with the dark text, but I would like the light background to be a light to medium gray instead of the white. The white "glare" coming from my monitor doesn't sit well with the eye strain on me. It wouldn't have to be much, just a little to take the mass of white out.

Other than that, I like this format.

There. That's my two cents without the added bonus of a massly caffeinated brain kicked into gear.

[Bebop]

I agree with the majority here.

[bcartervol98]

I agree with the majority here.

Im with you fellas!

In all seriousness I am on mobile the majority of the time so I do not see any difference there. Some of the things I miss from the old forum are the color scheme with a darker background and the ability to clear forums that do not interest you without refreshing the page back to the top.

[Earthling789]

My vote goes for the light background with the dark text, but I would like the light background to be a light to medium gray instead of the white. The white "glare" coming from my monitor doesn't sit well with the eye strain on me. It wouldn't have to be much, just a little to take the mass of white out.

I have to agree with non-white backgrounds... I've built plenty of sites, and one thing I (almost) refuse to do is "pure white", as it creates eye-strain, especially on high-def monitors. Even a 5% Grey has great impact on eye-strain reduction

Side-bar navigation... I can take it or leave it, but one thing I would like to see is a "quick-jump" drop-down at the bottom of the page, so I can change sub-forums or refresh back to the "new content" page without scrolling back up a mile of photo-heavy posts to click navigation...

Edited November 12, 2014 by Earthling789

[copper]

...but one thing I would like to see is a "quick-jump" drop-down at the bottom of the page, so I can change sub-forums or refresh back to the "new content" page without scrolling back up a mile of photo-heavy posts to click navigation...

I certainly agree with this. I am constantly scrolling back to the top just to get to the "New Content" button.

In fact, I am about to do it again right now.

[Christopher]

I have to agree with non-white backgrounds... I've built plenty of sites, and one thing I (almost) refuse to do is "pure white", as it creates eye-strain, especially on high-def monitors. Even a 5% Grey has great impact on eye-strain reduction

Side-bar navigation... I can take it or leave it, but one thing I would like to see is a "quick-jump" drop-down at the bottom of the page, so I can change sub-forums or refresh back to the "new content" page without scrolling back up a mile of photo-heavy posts to click navigation...

This is a great suggestion and in fact we'll do you one better. We have a major update rolling out in about a month or two. Once we're done the forum will load on the fly (no page load) the new content link is easier to access and will actually load up new posts etc without so much as a page refresh which is nice. (We have a small test board running)

Does anyone else have any comment on the side bar menu vs top menu?

[ckf]

I almost always use 'view new content' so side bar menus don't matter to me.

[Christopher]

ok well I appreciate the feedback from everyone!

The focus seems to be on keep the new content button easy to find and use, side menu most are neutral and the most important thing is a light background with dark text without being too white.

One thing I'd like to work on is changing the forum names slightly, they won't move, will just become a bit easier to understand. There are a few sub forums here that have a high bounce rate. This generally means newcomers are hitting that area and simply don't understand what it is they're looking at. So we need to simplify things down a bit further.

At any rate, thanks to everyone for their feedback, if you have more, speak now or forever hold your peace as I'll start working on changes by this evening

[Christopher]

Hey Guys,

Here is a quick sketch I sent off to our designer. The colors aren't exact and this is a rough draw but the forum would essentially match the front end of the site exactly. There's also an "up to top" button on each post that will zoom you back up to the "new content" button

[Tam]

Nice! It's getting there.