how can I revive this forum?

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SilverNodashi

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Hi all,

I hope someone can help with this one. A forum that I manage for a friend, http://www.perfectpictures.co.za has died down quite a lot. It used to be rather active, but not anymore.

The main purpose of the forum is photography, but it seems like another one has taken all the action. Does anyone have some suggestions for me to revive this forum a bit?
 
Firstly I would change the theme to a more light colored one, that is easy on the eyes (black writing is alot easier to read).
The top picture is not really a perfect picture? I'd rather do a collage of white framed photos (you know like you get from those insta-print cameras, cant remember the name)
Maybe organize events for the community like a Kruger park drive and who every gets the best photo or what ever get a prize etc..
 
nakedpeanut said:
Firstly I would change the theme to a more light colored one, that is easy on the eyes (black writing is alot easier to read).
The top picture is not really a perfect picture? I'd rather do a collage of white framed photos (you know like you get from those insta-print cameras, cant remember the name)
Maybe organize events for the community like a Kruger park drive and who every gets the best photo or what ever get a prize etc..
Click to expand...

Thanx for the suggestions. The black color was chosen since it enhance photos on the net. But I think your suggestion for the "perfect picture" at the top would be a great enhancement :)

And I need someone to sponsor the prizes, will have to think a bit about this one, thanx.
 
Not a web design expert but I would also say that lightening the theme would make it more visually appealing. Understand the concept of using it to enhance photos but maybe provide a link to open a photo on a dark background instead of using it as a theme for the whole site. As far as attracting or keeping people, you may have to start being proactive: arrange events for existing members, either social or professional e.g. get an expert to offer a discussion group or course and to attract new members, maybe put up some banners on other photography websites and try to get an exchange program going with them i.e. we'll advertise your site if you advertise ours. You may also need to get someone to do a bit of SEO in order to get it found when people are searching. Could also do some sponsored links in search engines although these may start costing a bit.
 
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I had a look at the forum you're working on and it does seem sort of stale. I'm wondering if it would help to allow members to post images in the forum threads and not just in the image galleries because the first thing I notice about the site is that you don't see any photographs on the site unless to track them down in the image galleries. I would work on having some good photography be visible when you initially view the site. Also, an "image critique" thread would get some conversations going I think. If there was a thread for that I couldn't easily find it. It's hard to draw traffic to a website I find. Try getting people to a daycare supplies site. That's what I'm working on currently and it's not easy. If you have any ideas on how to do that please let me know!
 
SoftDux-Rudi said:
Hi all,

I hope someone can help with this one. A forum that I manage for a friend, http://www.perfectpictures.co.za has died down quite a lot. It used to be rather active, but not anymore.
The main purpose of the forum is photography, but it seems like another one has taken all the action. Does anyone have some suggestions for me to revive this forum a bit?
Click to expand...

First time i visited the website I thought the writing colour is ok(worst is gray against white)
The word "Sticky" is displayed as a disabled image in Chrome, but not in firefox( little issue I know but makes it seem neglected)

I think my best tip is that it looks dull, it looks like a default theme slightly improved but nothing more.
Being a Photography website, i think it could help if you attached pictures to your articles.

I can't judge the quality of the topics/articles as I'm not a photo enthusiast although.
Also I tried looking at photography-related websites, these looked quite interesting
http://photo.net/ http://www.perfectpictures.co.za/, and they have forums which seem busy
 
It really doesn't grab your attention at all which is not what you would expect from a photography website. Check some of the sites here for some inspiration: http://cssmania.com/fastsearch?query=photography&x=0&y=0

Once you make it more attractive you may retain more visitors as people are more drawn to sites that are aesthetically pleasing.

You also really need to consider integrating with social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Love it or hate it, loads of people use it and sites that implement these integrations apparently have more return visitors.

Lastly, implement SEO techniques where possible and if possible consider paid advertising, especially on Facebook where you can target those into photography specifically.
 
Maybe size the it a bit if you want to keep the colour, like define the with of the page, at the moment it stretched from side to side and maybe if it was framed it could work.
 
I must say you guys made valid points definitely worth considering, only thing I have to add is that you should never place sidebar navigation on the right hand side ( because for left-to-right (ltr) readers, it's a distraction and can become subconciously annoying after some time)
 
Rudi, youre right, the dark bg does enhance the photo, but then consider using a modal lightbox to display the photos. Im pretty sure there is something you can integrate...

I really think you should go lighter.
 
You can make the site as pretty as you want - it's not going to attract the users. Competitions are a good idea, as are critiques. Take a page out of http://www.all-things-photography.com/ and get a weekly newsletter going to your forum members. Start with one to all members, and get them to subscribe to continue receiving it. Then get some interesting tips on the go, and encourage members to visit and discuss. Have a tip-of-the-week, as submitted by a member. Give that member credit, and discuss.

The aim is to get your members back on board, and give them something to talk about. Once that's done you can work on making the site look good.
 
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