🚫 Closed/Paused Feedback Requested for Mesozoic Haven

[kensonplays]

Hello fellow admins! I am looking for some constructive criticism for my site, Mesozoic Haven.

I know there's a lot of red on the theme, but I do plan to offer alternative background choices in the near future (where the body of the site stays the same, just the background changes).

The reason there's a lot of red currently is well, the background itself has red in it, so I chose a different shade of red so it "matched" more. I am willing to try alternative color schemes as well, if you have a suggestion for a new or additional color scheme for the site.

Registrations are currently having some issues, where the email page in the ACP says "connection successful" but it isn't sending out emails. So if you register, please let me know in this thread and I can manually verify your account until we get this email issue resolved. (not sure why, but it says connection was successful with no errors in error log)

Some key areas I want feedback on are:

• Homepage
• Forum index
• Thread view
• Post editor (which would need registration)
• Media Gallery
• Blogs index

You are free to do some, all, or even find other areas not listed above. Again, I want constructive criticism primarily, unless you can write some deconstructive criticism with a more positive outlook on it.

Site URL: Mesozoic Haven

 

[Reverie]

Color - I would recommend greens/greys/blues. Red is harsh, but it is a great option, I would just add other options that are slightly less harsh on eyes. I like that you have the theme and you ran with it though!

Homepage -
Like the introduction, telling what it is about. I would somehow embed a graphic, an attention grabber perhaps. I invision a graphic that states all the bonuses to joining the community.
In the Want to support the community I'm only confused "If you want to help contribute to our community expenses, which are currently around 45/mo," I'm unsure of what 45/mo is, maybe put it into different currencies so others are aware. .

Forum Index -
I mostly like the layout. There are a few small details I would change, but of course it's semi preference. This would give more availability to discuss Dinosaurs specifically.

News & Updates
- Announcements
- Community Suggestions
- Kenson's Blog
- Introductions

Dinosaur Valley
- Dino Discussion Zone
- Dinosaur Trails
- Fossils and Finds

MH Community
- Chit Chat
- Books/Reading
- Movies & TV
- Pets
- Reptiles

Gaming Den
- Dinosaur Games (all other discussion not in a subforum could be other dino games)
- - ARK: Survival Evolved
- - Path of Titians
- - The Isle
- - Indie Dino Games
- Action/Adventure Gaming
- Survival Games
- Sandbox Games
- First-Person Games
- Other Misc Gaming
- - Monster Hunter

Thread View -
I like it overall. I did notice the usertitle bar "Utahraptor" for GameNews and etc, they don't match the theme, and kind of clash with the red. I love that it is dinosaur related though, but maybe a theme that would match them more would be even better! I LOVE the purple of that particular bar. Maybe that's also the direction you could go for the theme?

Media -
I like what you are posting, it is details about the dinosaurs and etc. I love the images you are sharing in it! It's great for members as well!

Blog Index -
I like the images you are putting as the "cover" for the entries. They are attention grabbers and of course on topic with what you're discussing. I quite like the blog actually.

Other feedback -
I would make sure you have a facebook page at the least, I know you also have a stream - is this where you also discuss dinos? I would heavily advertise in Facebook Dinosaur groups, find reddit people interested in dinosaurs, as you are niche specific - it may be difficult to find the members but once you do - I'm sure you will get lots of attention! I was even thinking of Dinosaur Parks that we have in states near us, perhaps "Dinosaur Trails" would be a good forum area or subforum under "Dinosaurs" you could probably advertise to people in groups where there are big Dinosaur towns, there are groups regarding the dinosaurs there and may be interested. I'm thinking of places such as Glen Rose in Texas, but I know there are others.

 

[kensonplays]

I would recommend greens/greys/blues. Red is harsh, but it is a great option

I do have alternate themes I'm building out. Like the Path of Titans Eotriceratops theme has greens, and The Isle Stegosaurus, in addition to the Minecraft styles. They are still a work in progress though as I'm having a hard time finding a way to change the quote colors.

Edit: I have made a slight change to the default background, added a dark overlay to it so the main content "pops" better.

I would somehow embed a graphic, an attention grabber perhaps. I invision a graphic that states all the bonuses to joining the community.

Maybe some sort of table instead of a graphic? Would be a little easier to edit.

I'm unsure of what 45/mo is, maybe put it into different currencies so others are aware

I can add the currency, it is in USD, and primarily for getting and running a game-server for the community.

News & Updates
- Announcements
- Community Suggestions
- Kenson's Blog
- Introductions

Dinosaur Valley
- Dino Discussion Zone
- Dinosaur Trails
- Fossils and Finds

MH Community
- Chit Chat
- Books/Reading
- Movies & TV
- Pets
- Reptiles

Gaming Den
- Dinosaur Games (all other discussion not in a subforum could be other dino games)
- - ARK: Survival Evolved
- - Path of Titians
- - The Isle
- - Indie Dino Games
- Action/Adventure Gaming
- Survival Games
- Sandbox Games
- First-Person Games
- Other Misc Gaming
- - Monster Hunter

I will look into seeing how I can tweak that. Better earlier on before it gets a lot of traffic where it can mess with SEO.

I did notice the usertitle bar "Utahraptor" for GameNews and etc, they don't match the theme, and kind of clash with the red.

These are from an old forum and theme. I just reused them so I didn't have to buy new role banners, since I can't afford new ones currently.

I like what you are posting, it is details about the dinosaurs and etc.

Yep! I do have prefixes for the dino diets, but there are wayyy too many different species for a prefix for each species. There are over 200-300 species even if they're not very well known.

I would make sure you have a facebook page at the least,

I don't really use Facebook. I don't really trust them, tbh.

I know you also have a stream - is this where you also discuss dinos?

We do discuss a lot of things. Dinosaurs, dino entertainment (movies/tv/games), and just whatever is on people's minds if they're willing to share.

I would heavily advertise in Facebook Dinosaur groups, find reddit people interested in dinosaurs

I've looked around on Reddit, a large majority of various dinosaur subreddits don't allow self promotion, unless approved by the mods. And before I do that, I want to make sure the site is at "v1.0" with finalized themes and layouts and whatnot.

I'm thinking of places such as Glen Rose in Texas

I've actually been there! Dinosaur Valley State Park. It was ... a bittersweet trip for me. It was the last thing my grandfather did before he passed away a month later.

 

[kensonplays]

I will look into seeing how I can tweak that. Better earlier on before it gets a lot of traffic where it can mess with SEO.

I have tweaked some things, cleaned up a bunch of boards and replaced game genres with genre prefixes. Then for major "other games" I'll just create a game-specific board, like for Monster Hunter:

I can add the currency, it is in USD, and primarily for getting and running a game-server for the community.

This has been tweaked, along with a table via:

Maybe some sort of table instead of a graphic? Would be a little easier to edit.

Any new recommendations, or reviews from other peeps?

 

[Reverie]

Looking good! I like the changes you've done! The only thing is I recommend to either move Introductions in the first category, or move the MH community area up. Introductions may become difficult to find in the middle of the forum.

 

[kensonplays]

Looking good! I like the changes you've done! The only thing is I recommend to either move Introductions in the first category, or move the MH community area up. Introductions may become difficult to find in the middle of the forum.

Intros didn't feel right in the News section, so I put it at the top of the MH community area. I can try reversing that category so intros is higher up.

 

[Reverie]

Intros didn't feel right in the News section, so I put it at the top of the MH community area. I can try reversing that category so intros is higher up.

Totally understand. I've seen it in the news section before - but not all the time. It's about what feels right though! It looks good and makes sense to me!

 

[kensonplays]

Totally understand. I've seen it in the news section before - but not all the time. It's about what feels right though! It looks good and makes sense to me!

Yea. It makes more sense at the top of the chat areas vs news.

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Does anyone else have input for the updated site? I love to have input from multiple people!

 

[Cedric]

I have written my feedback in an article: Forum Review

Sorry I couldn't do more. ☺️

 

[Tracy]

One suggestion... almost everyone is now doing FA icons for their nodes.... You may want to think going back more "old school" and doing actual images?

vs

Find something like a T-Rex roaring and then normal T-Rex (would need to be the same base image really) and use the roaring for nodes with new posts.
Or use a T-Rex roaring for new posts and another dinosaur for the read nodes.

 

[kensonplays]

One suggestion... almost everyone is now doing FA icons for their nodes.... You may want to think going back more "old school" and doing actual images?

View attachment 1683

vs

View attachment 1684

Find something like a T-Rex roaring and then normal T-Rex (would need to be the same base image really) and use the roaring for nodes with new posts.
Or use a T-Rex roaring for new posts and another dinosaur for the read nodes.

That's an idea! I don't think that's available through FontAwesome or Material Icons, though.

 

[Tracy]

That's an idea! I don't think that's available through FontAwesome or Material Icons, though.

It's not... those that I have were two images I found (of the same object) that were reversed and recolored to give different looks.

https://www.iconarchive.com/show/noto-emoji-animals-nature-icons-by-google/22289-T-Rex-icon.htmlMore toylike
https://www.iconarchive.com/show/dinosaurs-toys-icons-by-fasticon/tyrannosaurus-rex-icon.htmlsomething a "little cooler"
https://www.iconarchive.com/show/in...s-by-iconarchive/Dino-Tyrannosaurus-icon.htmlSomething a little easier to edit into two different color formats
https://www.iconarchive.com/show/incognito-animals-icons-by-iconarchive/Dino-Avatar-icon.htmlThere are a bunch of different icons available from those links... many free to use, some free only for non-commercial use.

 

[kensonplays]

It's not... those that I have were two images I found (of the same object) that were reversed and recolored to give different looks.

https://www.iconarchive.com/show/noto-emoji-animals-nature-icons-by-google/22289-T-Rex-icon.htmlMore toylike
https://www.iconarchive.com/show/dinosaurs-toys-icons-by-fasticon/tyrannosaurus-rex-icon.htmlsomething a "little cooler"
https://www.iconarchive.com/show/in...s-by-iconarchive/Dino-Tyrannosaurus-icon.htmlSomething a little easier to edit into two different color formats
https://www.iconarchive.com/show/incognito-animals-icons-by-iconarchive/Dino-Avatar-icon.htmlThere are a bunch of different icons available from those links... many free to use, some free only for non-commercial use.

Hm, the latter says its not for commercial use. I do offer a paid membership on-site (and off-site) for the community, so that'd be considered commercial, IIRC. The first one seems usable though.

 

[Tracy]

The only one not allowed for commercial use of those I linked was the "toylike" one. The other 4 are free for commercial use.

 

[John]

As a note, I am looking at this with an iPhone, so I don’t have your websites full view.

When I first open the page, I see zero content and just see pop up style agreements. In all honesty, this is a turn off for me. I understand you need to have guests consent to cookies and such, but you need to find a way to put your content in front a guest’s initial view. A guest will judge your website within the first 30 seconds, and you need to make sure that’s a good impression.

As I close out the pop ups, I still don’t see any content, or any directly links to anything to do with your forum. You need to add something that someone, even on mobile, will see an obvious way to connect with you and your community.

Lastly - work on your content. It looks like you’re around a month old. Get on every post exchange you possibly can, every posting package, link to your forum in any way possible. There really isn’t enough conversation for someone completely new to your forum to have a connection.

 

[kensonplays]

As a note, I am looking at this with an iPhone, so I don’t have your websites full view.

When I first open the page, I see zero content and just see pop up style agreements. In all honesty, this is a turn off for me. I understand you need to have guests consent to cookies and such, but you need to find a way to put your content in front a guest’s initial view. A guest will judge your website within the first 30 seconds, and you need to make sure that’s a good impression.

As I close out the pop ups, I still don’t see any content, or any directly links to anything to do with your forum. You need to add something that someone, even on mobile, will see an obvious way to connect with you and your community.

Lastly - work on your content. It looks like you’re around a month old. Get on every post exchange you possibly can, every posting package, link to your forum in any way possible. There really isn’t enough conversation for someone completely new to your forum to have a connection.

Image shows as broken for me.

We are considering switching to another platform for the community, in testing for a bit (will migrate if it works out), and hopefully will resolve that mobile issue.

The site has been around for 2.5-3 years, but was a read-only Wordpress site until just a month ago. Am currently unemployed so I can only get post packages that you can earn for free, which takes time.

 

[Tracy]

Am currently unemployed so I can only get post packages that you can earn for free, which takes time.

There are some around that you can use your points here for...
Or @Shortie has a $5 USD package.
https://admin-junkies.com/threads/s...nd-crypto-are-accepted.1113/page-2#post-27511

 

[Reverie]

Also to add on you can create an exchange thread here:

https://admin-junkies.com/forums/posting-and-affiliate-exchanges.96/

 

[Shortie]

There are some around that you can use your points here for...
Or @Shortie has a $5 USD package.
https://admin-junkies.com/threads/s...nd-crypto-are-accepted.1113/page-2#post-27511

I do post packages myself for AJ Credits as well and as Reverie mentioned above, there is also an exchange forum as well that can help with content on your forum

 

[kensonplays]

There are some around that you can use your points here for...

Already taken care of that.

Also to add on you can create an exchange thread here:

Just posted one recently!

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Also did a very small tweak to my site, added some pixelated dinos to the header and footer!