Gaming commuity - suggestions needed

Discussion in 'Reviews' started by loky, Aug 11, 2008.

  1. #1
    Hello everyone,

    First of all thank you all for the resources and advices you shared with everyone on DP.

    I had a lot of projects in the past few years and i manage to make them work very well. Like 10 months ago i started a website dedicated to World of Warcraft. News, custom guides, custom tools and stuff like that.
    I used a lot of things to promote my website. Signatures and forum participating, directory submission (website and feed also), social bookmarking websites (users started to submit by their own now), yahoo answers, a lot of SEO tuning for my source, idiot-proof layout, etc...

    I guess you guys got the picture. I have done and followed most of your advices.

    Now, what else i should do? I need members/guests participation and maybe some more feed subscribers. I also intend to start a contest or two... some idea of this contests would be cool too. (i already know what to offer for a prize)

    Thank you all in advance.

    PS: The website url is in my signature.
     
    loky, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  2. EGS

    EGS Notable Member

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    #2
    Damnit I thought this was for sale. :p
     
    EGS, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  3. Jeccles

    Jeccles Peon

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    #3
    What is an Expotic Pet? I'm thinking you meant Exotic. Found it on the Green Nav bar right above where the blog starts.
     
    Jeccles, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  4. loky

    loky Peon

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    #4
    Heh, yeah...my mistake... Now dont suggest me to watch my grammar... i already know that :p

    Thanks for pointing this out.
     
    loky, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  5. Jeccles

    Jeccles Peon

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    #5
    LOL I'm the last one to be critical. I am so bad at proofing my own stuff that I have taken to reading it backwards (long story but it helps me catch spelling errors).

    BTW Love the avatar.
     
    Jeccles, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  6. MatthewKammerer

    MatthewKammerer Peon

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    #6
    Incorporate photos into post to make the site more pleasing to the eye. Good content though.
     
    MatthewKammerer, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  7. cia

    cia Banned

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    #7
    Make it apealing by applying bright colours in contrast with the dark ones...Nice layout though
     
    cia, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  8. NsaneNoob

    NsaneNoob Peon

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    #8
    Very nice forum.
     
    NsaneNoob, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  9. loky

    loky Peon

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    #9
    @Jeccles - I never catch my spelling mistakes :(.... have to do something about it...
    @MatthewKammerer - I always use photos when needed. Bu a few more could help. Thanks.
    @cia - This is a good idea...there are some things i could make "jump out" brighter colors could be the answer.
    @NsaneNoob - Thanks, I'm glad you like it.

    Keep the replies coming guys. Thanks in advance.
     
    loky, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  10. losaltos8888

    losaltos8888 Peon

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    #10
    like the layout, but i think this more photos or graphics on the homepage would help. also i find the white text on the green bars to be difficult to read. otherwise, well done.
     
    losaltos8888, Aug 11, 2008 IP
  11. simonspurr

    simonspurr Peon

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    #11
    Fill in the blank space in the header - it looks way too empty
     
    simonspurr, Aug 12, 2008 IP
  12. loky

    loky Peon

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    #12
    @losaltos8888: the layout can be tweaked... more photos will be added when necessary.
    @simonspurr: Any what can i fit in that blank space? (no, i don't want ads)
     
    loky, Aug 12, 2008 IP
  13. loky

    loky Peon

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    #13
    C'mon guys, i need more suggestions and some contests ideas.

    Thanks in advance.
     
    loky, Aug 13, 2008 IP
  14. RoyDixon

    RoyDixon Peon

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    #14
    It doesn't look like a gaming site. Gamers are visually oriented. It looks like a newsletter for a tech firm. You need to bring in some color! You need screenshots and game covers and cool graphics. The only thing about this site that says "WOW" is the url.
     
    RoyDixon, Aug 13, 2008 IP
  15. loky

    loky Peon

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    #15
    Hmmm... you are right about this one... The website should say "WoW" not only by url...

    Great feedback. Thanks a lot.
     
    loky, Aug 13, 2008 IP
  16. mikereen

    mikereen Peon

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    #16
    mikereen, Aug 13, 2008 IP
  17. loky

    loky Peon

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    #17
    Thanks for reply mikereen. I see your point, but this is what i didn't wanted - to make my site using a heavy graphics layout.
    Take a look at wowhead.com... ;)
    I do agree with RoyDixon's reply but a heavy graphics website is not the answer i guess...
    Anyhow, i'd like more opinions about this.

    Thanks again mikereen
     
    loky, Aug 14, 2008 IP
  18. loky

    loky Peon

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    #18
    Any other ideas or suggestions guys?
     
    loky, Aug 15, 2008 IP
  19. bodger

    bodger Peon

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    #19
    I agree with the people on here that have mentioned you need more pics on the front page to make it more appealing. If you don't have a screenshot associated with the post, how about having a small picture depending on the type of post it is?

    Find somewhere to put a bigger link to your forums. Possibly include a banner leading to them either next to the logo, or where the Games Convention graphic is. It should get more people going through to them. You could also include a link at the end of every news article - "Don't forget to visit our forums for great WoW discussion!" or "Discuss this article on our forums." You may have a lot of people who are just recieving the RSS feed and not looking at the site.

    As for contests, when I worked on a gaming site, I installed a 'shop' mod for the forums. Every post got you a point, in the shop were games we'd got from companies (EA and the like were usually generous for giveaways). If you want people to sign up to your forums and repeatedly visit - think of a contest that can be based there. Keep in mind that when word spreads you will have loads of people coming along and, for example, try to spam if there's a min post count to enter. Get a couple of good mods together to combat that.

    In your logo you should include the words World of Warcraft, so that I know what the site's about as soon as I'm there.

    Try and include somewhere what your site is about - a tagline (eg. Your source for the latest World of Warcraft news). It could even be on the logo. If it is, make sure you include ALT text so the search engines pick it up.

    My 2p.

    Dean
     
    bodger, Aug 15, 2008 IP
  20. loky

    loky Peon

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    #20
    Thanks for your reply bodger.
    The links at the end of every article is a great idea. Someone suggested to add something similar for my feed also. I really have to do that.
    As for the contest... i already know what prize i can offer to match my niche and i'm willing to do so, but first i have to find a good idea of a contest.
    The logo and maybe the whole header will be changed a little bit so people will know they are on a WoW website.

    Thanks again for these tips ;)
     
    loky, Aug 18, 2008 IP