What could you do to the default theme to make it pretty?

[Biology Forums]

Hi,

I'm using the default theme in 1.1.14. The website is highly modified and to convert to another theme would be annoying and long.

What could I do to my website (i.e. change the font, backround, etc.) to make it more desirable.

URL: http://biology-forums.com

[Willie]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

Since you asked......I would reduce the clutter and choose colors that are "pretty".   The purple and blue do not go well together.  The ads are going to stay, so I would reduce the amount of text in the header area and remove the dictionary to another location.  You have a decision to make with information versus "prettiness".      The CMS sites are cluttered, but they get a lot of info on their index page.  I settled for much less information and got what I wanted using a CMS, but made it pretty with my colors and less information.  Open space is needed if you want your site to be attractive.

Your questions box is important. I would probably shorten it up so that you do not need the side bar.  I know you have the shrink, but what you first see is what you get.  And many of your users have no idea what the + + +  + are.     They just want answers to their questions. 

I think I would do as CMS does and get your user to a second page where you can expound on the subject.  Or, you may want to use a static homepage with access to the board. When the user wants to skip the homepage, fine. He can do that anytime. But, the first time user coming to your site will not be discouraged by entering through a front page.  Then, you can concentrate on what is important and keep it uncluttered since the board is not showing.   Just my thoughts. 

It is a great site. Thank you for providing it.

[Biology Forums]

Pleasure, you're welcome. Thanks for the advice.

[Antechinus]

Thefirst thing you have to accept is that the 1.1.x default is a boring and ugly old theme, and if you want to make it look better you may end up doing so much work that you could have just gone with a custom theme. Having said that....................

Ok, what is it: a website that is supposed to look inviting, or a database dump? Too much information. Willie is spot on with his comments about needing space. One mistake that technically minded site admins often make is to assume that the more stuff they throw at new arrivals, the more impressive the site will look. It doesn't work like that.

Starting from the top of the page:

1/ Re make the header/logo combinaton so that it looks clean, integrated and professional. Patching a home made logo onto a non- matching background is not going to rock anyone's world. It creates an instinctive first impression that the site is a home made job and not to be taken seriously.

By the way, I think the dictionary link can stay. It looks fine IMO if the rest is cleaned up a bit.

2/ You could probably get rid of the titlebg bar that holds the header collapse. I doubt anyone will ever use it. It's something I've never used in SMF and frankly I regard it as pointless.

3/ I'd float the Facebook button over at the right with the other Facebook button. Do it all in the one table cell and ditch the second cell (or even ditch the whole table and just use a div).

4/ If you want to keep both side panels I'd centre the menu. Bear in mind though that having two side panels makes for an awfully cramped layout on anything less than a 1280 screen. I'd suggest using only one side panel.

5/ Agree with Willie about the collapse icons. By the way, I custom coded a collapse bar that extends the full height on the left edge of the screen and has hover effects, etc for my SMF/TP site. Works quite well.

6/ The recent/unanswered/latest box needs work. It changes height when you switch from recent to unanswered, which creates a jarring note.

7/ If Jelsoft wanted to push the issue, they could actually take you to court for ripping their icons.

8/ Is looking at a list of top posters the sort of thing that new arrivals will want to see first? Will they be even remotely interested? What do people come to the site for?