Rate me website? 1-10 and why?

[JoshM]

Not a fan of the colors.

WAY too many sections/subsections.

Banner looks weird:
Dumbbells in the background look like teeth.
The top right look like tadpoles.
The 2 people on the bottom right look like dinosaurs.


6/10

[92turboaccord]

why does it keep asking for my cc info to verify age??

[Phempa]

I still maintain that there are WAY too many categories.

I was actually thinking of signing up, but it's just too cluttered for a website with barely any content.

Look at all the major forums, and model after them.
the bodybuilding.com forum has over 47 million posts, and doesn't even have as many categories as yours does.

[91accorddxbuds]

why does it keep asking for my cc info to verify age??

what do you mean by this? what wont allow you to register?


and i am thinking about toning down the number of categories, and making it a bit smaller.

at first i thought the more the better, but now realize this is not true...



and for my logo visual poet created it and i love it, but i do see where you guys are coming from, i may ask him to make something a bitmore simple.


thanks

[92turboaccord]

[QUOTE=91accorddxbuds;2477548]what do you mean by this? what wont allow you to register?

was kidding...lol
great job

[visualpoet]

I'm giving the site a 5; mostly for layout and the aforementioned abundance of sections. Here are my suggestions:

Support/Rules:
Combine it all into one section. And lock the thread. Explaining how to use the site and it's rules shouldn't be open for discussion in this area. Just make it "WELCOME - Rules, basics of the site, and FAQs." You can always edit new rules or FAQs into it when they need to be, but you don't need to have people posting their own bs in this area.


Weightlifting/Daily section:
You could combine the rules into the welcome sub-section, the supplements and food subs could be combined, stretching should be included in the basics as should daily routines.

Bodybuilding:
Combine Routines and Diet. Diet is as much a part of routine as exercise.
Dump junior bodybuilding and female body building until you get requests for seperate subs for them.

I'm okay with the rest of the actual forum sections, except you don't need an off topic and a general chat, they are the same thing.


Aesthetically:
No matter what banners get put up, or what colors get used there are going to be people that don't like them, so if the site owner is happy with them, too bad for those that don't dig it.

Fix the missing image at the top left of the header. A red X in your page is bad.

The section with the login is clumsy looking. I would try to get rid of as much of that blank white space as possible by making the banners on the right the same size, and having one on each side of the login text (which I would center) and ditch the session length at log in, the less options you give people to log in with, the simpler it will be.


Wherever you have a banner on it's own line, and it can be centered: center it. (for instance, right above the forum with the advertiser underneath it also centered. and put a line of space between them.)


__________________________________________________ ___________________________
Okay, I'm not butt hurt, I just want feedback on my artwork, so I can help a brother out.
This is mine

the rest are someone else's work.

3, because the artwork is awful,

Why is it awful? What do you not dig about it? You're one of the select few on the site who I respect and I'd like your opinion, please.

also because the banner of the website name is kind of freaky to look at and may cause seizures..

How is the banner going to cause seizures? It doesn't flash. I've never known a static image to cause seizures.

Banner looks weird:
Dumbbells in the background look like teeth.
The top right look like tadpoles.
The 2 people on the bottom right look like dinosaurs.

Josh, kiss my ass. J/K

The background is a bodybuilder's pecs, shoulders and upper arms, the dumbbells I used because I felt they resembled a twisting spinal column, tying in both health and fitness, strength and flexibility.
I don't see any tadpoles. I'll agree that the yoga poses in the bottom right could maybe be smaller and more recognizable, but it's just a banner and most people will stop paying attention to it. How often do you examine the cb7t banner? It's not difficult to read, it has the information it needs to, and imagery that directly and subconciously makes your brain think about being physically fit.


My original plans were more complex than this, but I felt this was an excellent banner. I understand it's art, and not everyone is going to like the same things, so I'm not upset.

[Phempa]

Why is it awful? What do you not dig about it? You're one of the select few on the site who I respect and I'd like your opinion, please.

Well, maybe not "awful", but lacks contrast. Too blue, and the fonts are a little 'novicey'.

I strongly believe, if trying to attract people with aesthetics, the simpler and cleaner the better.

Take a look at all the big forums (including this one). The logo is clear and concise. Not too much goin' on... just simple and to the point.

[FDAccord]

Site looks bad. Remove the google ads. Wait until you get enough traffic to add it back in.

Remove the second duplicate header. Remove the register graphic and the graphic above it.

Put your navigation in a consolidated area instead of making it difficult to navigate.

Get a better facebook icon and integrate it into the navigation. After that find a better graphic designer.

Other than that, it's a forum, not really a website.

[drummersteve7]

doc said I was out of shape.
I said bullcrap round is a shape!

Not for me. I would rather be warm in the winter.

[visualpoet]

Well, maybe not "awful", but lacks contrast. Too blue, and the fonts are a little 'novicey'.

I strongly believe, if trying to attract people with aesthetics, the simpler and cleaner the better.

Take a look at all the big forums (including this one). The logo is clear and concise. Not too much goin' on... just simple and to the point.

I've been doing graphic design for over 15 years and an artist longer than that. I don't understand how a font can be "novicey". These are clear and easy to read and he'll be able to reproduce them easily since they're actual fonts. Cb7t's logo font is two seperate fonts that have been modified to look the way they do. Plus cb7t has a front page for visitors, he doesn't. His banner technically replaces the front page to give new visitors a quick idea of what they can expect to find.

Most of the big forums like this one have a simpler banner because they only deal with one issue, you only have to get the one idea across and because the majority of them were created by people who aren't artists or graphic designers, so they made a quick simple logo and stuck with it.
Non-forum sites (walmart, eBay, Sears, for example) have a simple logo because they have to be able to print it and printing gets expensive with multiple colors and gradients.
His forum actually has several foci, and therefore needs more information. I can make it simpler if he wants, but then someone else will think it's too simplistic or that it doesn't give enough information about the site. He gave me the specs on size and color, the info he wanted on it and I tossed out the idea and he likes it.

Like I said, not everyone will like whatever the banner is, but I do appreciate the input.


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