New forum site

[paaaaaaaaaa]

I have recently created a new web design forum. im looking for people to post articles, tutorials, etc (currently a paypal paid competition for the best tut post).

Also looking for suggestions on how I can increase popularity of this site and entice new user sign-ups.

cheers.

[Wired]

Sooo.... you're advertising a web design forum... on another web design forum.... ?

[pirena]

Do a lot of SEO stuffs for your forum site to get more traffic ..

[paaaaaaaaaa]

Sooo.... you're advertising a web design forum... on another web design forum.... ?

You know your stuff. I'm guessing people at a web design forum may be web designers. These are the kind of people Im looking for to give me suggestions on.... a web design forum. Be pointless posting at a "show off your poodles here" forum.

Sorry about that reply but the main reason of this post was to ask for help on improving the site.

Do a lot of SEO stuffs for your forum site to get more traffic ..

Yes I agree. Im in the process of adding it too directories etc. Ive also modded the code to rewrite the URL of threads to static pages, though it still needs improving.

The main thing what I will be working on soon though will be to write an in depth article on what a community wants out of a forum. First I need to do some research to find out the answers. So this question goes to all you reading. What do you want from a forum?

Hopefully then I will have a great understanding of what people want from their forums and I can incorperate it into my forum.

Key subjects to discuss would be:

look
Does the forum you visit need to be pretty to look at?

speed
Is it important to have a fast loading forum?

community
Ofcourse the forum needs a good friendly community but do people prefer a large community or a close and tight community? City or village?

content
Does the content have to be focused on the a main small subject matter or a wider more open subject.

features
finally do you want extra features on your forum site? Things like points systems, virtual money systems, easy accessible relevent tools etc

[DC856]

"What do you want from a forum?"

I would suggest asking yourself what someone would want from a forum which would make them switch from an established forum. Having the gazilion-sixth forum on web design does not put it on my must-see list.

In no particular order...

-- Innovative Discussions sections. An entirely different take on web design. (Is there some Soviet-era standards body forcing the same old stuff, replicated endlessly?)

-- Innovative Topics. If digital economics exist, they surely penalized superficial variation and reward innovation.

So what might qualify as innovative? How about the depressing trend toward monkey-see, monkey do web design everyone including Zeldman is seeing. Perhaps do a little piece on unusual web widgets. Or, instead of a link exchange designed to get around a "me-too" site's all-too-correct low ranking, I'd like to see a forum promote a content exchange for a change.

All this would seem to fit in with the theme "web design buzz."

[Wired]

You know your stuff. I'm guessing people at a web design forum may be web designers. These are the kind of people Im looking for to give me suggestions on.... a web design forum.

I would suggest asking yourself what someone would want from a forum which would make them switch from an established forum. Having the gazilion-sixth forum on web design does not put it on my must-see list.

BINGO. You're asking what would make a good web design forum... ON ANOTHER WEB DESIGN FORUM. You're asking your competition how to make your site better than themselves.

Ummm....

[filburt1]

Technically it's allowed for now, but the WDF v5 rules are still being drafted, much to my glee.

[paaaaaaaaaa]

"What do you want from a forum?"

I would suggest asking yourself what someone would want from a forum which would make them switch from an established forum. Having the gazilion-sixth forum on web design does not put it on my must-see list.

In no particular order...

-- Innovative Discussions sections. An entirely different take on web design. (Is there some Soviet-era standards body forcing the same old stuff, replicated endlessly?)

-- Innovative Topics. If digital economics exist, they surely penalized superficial variation and reward innovation.

So what might qualify as innovative? How about the depressing trend toward monkey-see, monkey do web design everyone including Zeldman is seeing. Perhaps do a little piece on unusual web widgets. Or, instead of a link exchange designed to get around a "me-too" site's all-too-correct low ranking, I'd like to see a forum promote a content exchange for a change.

All this would seem to fit in with the theme "web design buzz."

I like your ideas. I love the monkey see monkey do articles you posted. I also see this a lot and believe almost all of us are guilty of it to some extent.

I think the content exchange idea is great.

Thanks for your tips and hopefully soon I will think of a way to make my forum a truely unique and innovative forum.

[paaaaaaaaaa]

Any more suggestions? DC856 has helped lead me to ask these questions for my research now.

1. What would make you register to a new forum?
2. How many forums are you registered to. If yes then do you focus more on one forum? If so why?
3. When you view a brand new forum whats the first thing you look at?

[retielnairb]

I think Web Design Forums.net sets good standards on what a web design forum should be like. Good design and simple layout. Many users that post and are very helpful. I also like how the forum gets the users involved by offering contests and such.

If you want ideas on what people want from a web design forum look at all the successful fourms out there and it should give you a pretty good idea.