Hey guys, I've been thinking for ages now about how I've always wanted to run a gaming forum. The biggest problem is that there's so many of them out there already. As I am extremely new to web design, I am a bit put off by the amount of competition I'll have to deal with. What can I do to make my forum stand out over all the others? After all these rival forums have years of experience, advanced web designing skills, and thousands (if not millions) of very loyal supporters. I'm afraid that people just simply won't want to know about my forum if I were to set one up. Could someone please offer me advice before I make the big jump. I want to go about this properly...but I need some form of a unique service and I'm lost for ideas.
A custom theme for your forum could help. You need something different then the standard forum themes. Good content, reviews and game related stuff are the main factors to get it running. Do something others are not doing! Analyze your competitors websites before you start.
Better show your creativity rather to use the default theme or other themes provided by the sites. Promotions, original content, and other stuffs that stand you among them. Be smart and shoot the competitors
Thanks for the advice guys. If I were to set up a gaming forum I would use vBulletin...someone bought me a licence for my birthday, hence why I want to start up this forum. However, I am absolutely useless with Photoshop. Could someone please help me with styles? I would really like to have that amazing unique style that'll make my forum stand out. But I am absolutely rubbish with Photoshop so don't think I could make it. Would anyone be willing to help me?
Its a lot of work for someone to help you/do it for you. If i were you I would set the forum up first...Do you hang out on any other forums? If so then analyze why you hang out there. Iv found it difficult in the past to set up forums and get enough members to make it worth while. Create good, useful content for it and then try poach as many users as you can from other games forums.... Its really the marketing where the skill is, the design isn't to difficult to code.
That's true. I don't expect someone to "do it for me" as I would like to learn these things for myself. I was asking if someone would be willing to help me though. Because when it comes to graphics I get really stuck. And how am I supposed to "poach" members from other forums? After all they're loyal to that particular forum and will try to defend it as much as possible. I will really have to convince them without alerting the forum staff. If the staff find out I'll get banned for spamming and then I'll have a bad reputation rather than a good one.
WEll the problem is delivering blitz speed along whit stunning graphics . Solve the problem and you might be on to something .
Sorry, but what do you mean by "blitz speed"? Do you mean server speed? I have got a JustHost.com hosting account but I haven't got any of the server upgrade packages on my account. I've just got the standard package with unlimited monthly bandwidth, unlimited subdomains, but the speed is just the standard speed. Don't get me wrong, it's not slow...but it's not amazingly fast either. It would cost me £100 to upgrade my server I think...I'd rather wait until my forum starts making progress if you get me. As for stunning graphics, I will need a little help there from someone...if that's possible. I'd be most grateful but I'd understand if you can't help me.