Panel to tell guests how to join

[Rob Lightbody]

Hi,

I was just on the cnet website reading an article, and a panel slid up, telling me how to become a member for free, and it struck me it would be a great idea for my forum.

How would I go about adding this to my forum, only visible to guests?

Screenshot attached of how it looked on their website.

Thanks for any ideas!

- Rob

[Kindred]

personally, I find those panels intrusive and annoying...   If I want to join, I am quite capable of clicking "register"

that being said -- you're have to modify index.template.php and index.css and modifications.english.php to build in the script, the content and the CSS.

[Rob Lightbody]

My problem is an enormous amount of guests, and a tiny number (relatively) of active members... trying to do something to encourage people to join the forum!

[Kindred]

have good content that encourages conversation....  that is, really, the only thing that will work - and needs no gimmicks...

[Aquilo]

I agree with Kindred, but here is something i slapped together that could do what you want.


You will want to link to jQuery from the Google, or download it to your site

add the css to your head section or css files, and that bit of script to script tags on your page.  Kindred posted which files to edit.

here it is...
http://jsfiddle.net/uktg1f94/

[Biology Forums]

A panel like that is not hard to do at all. There are plenty of free javascripts out there that can do this, and here's a general idea (http://www.jsmadeeasy.com/javascripts/Cookies/Only%20Popup%20Once/).

People generally register on a website because there's some value or incentive to signing up. Perhaps there's a member you really want to contact, or a request you want to make. It's the same reason you signed up to SMF. You signed up because you want to discuss advancing YOUR forum somehow (an incentive) - which is totally fine, don't get me wrong. No one signs up 'for fun' to a foreign site. Bottom-line, have something to offer that no other place can and you'll get hundreds of signups everyday without a popup modal.

[radu81]

there is also this mod if could be useful to you

http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=3107

[Biology Forums]

there is also this mod if could be useful to you

http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=3107

That one is just annoying, it has no cookie associated with it. It keeps popping up everywhere, which makes it too intrusive to the end user.

[Gwenwyfar]

I agree with Kindred, I think you should keep in mind this may not have the desired effect or even the opposite effect depending on what sort of community you're aiming with your forum. I, for one, would leave any site that kept making those things pop up as soon as possible, unless there was some really good content there (in which case it would still be better off without the popup).

[Rob Lightbody]

Thanks for all replies, which I really do appreciate.

My forum is about a niche subject (a famous old ship which is now retired) and is the only forum dedicated to that subject.  Its heavily indexed by Google and most searches for anything about the ship, takes people to the forum.  Most people read the forum in guest mode, but for whatever reason, do not login.  Millions of people travelled on the ship, but the average age of them is high, which is a factor I think.  Facebook is another factor (there are a number of Facebook groups about the same subject).

The active members think I should lock the forum down and make the entire thing invisible until you login, but I think that would backfire - the hits from Google would be gone, and people wouldn't see the content to realise they want to register...

I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers,

- Rob

[Gwenwyfar]

I see. Well, as long as it isn't an annoying popup it should have its good points (like those that popup right on the middle and occupy the whole page, those just make you want to close it ASAP to continue reading). Adding it to the left side, top or bottom might work better. (Right not so much from what I've noticed, we start reading things from the left, so things that are in front take more of our attention than just "extra stuff" on the right, which is easier to ignore)

If its not too intrusive you could make it a permanent thing as well, like a bar that stays at the right or whatever works for your forum.