I've signed up but I found the green a bit overpowering. Read my forum junkie post and get phpBB hacked to allow me to stalk your forum I'd also recommend getting a blog entry hack to help the members promote themselves, and maybe a ticker for latest prices. Sarah
Somehow I don't think it's a real estate kinda site. Besides real estate and shares are like oil and water! Maybe you need an rss feed with the latest industry news too.
You're right. Here is a real estate investing forum btw to show you guys an example: http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/residential/Forum-index.html
My observations Site definitely needs more visual interest, even for a Forum As Sarah K said, consider adding a ticker; and maybe a summary chart for example one from several posibilities here: http://www.allprofitallfree.com/financial.html I use these guys: http://webmaster.vss2000.com/financial/content.asp and I quite like them because the ticker is fairly customizable; a lot like an AdSense block. Beware of obtrusive content-supplier logos (e.g., thefinancials.com) and check the impact on page load times (a big problem for me! LOL) If you have not already done so, you might want to look at these for ideas on structure, layout, added content etc. You also may benefit from a narrowing of focus; emphasizing the Canadian markets say; and the Income Trusts / Royalty Trusts in particular, as these are interesting, but complex, high-yield plays that don't get much coverage on other sites - whereas coverage of US stocks is already extremely saturated. Your .ca TLD gives you some slight credibility right away on that score.
We can debate that at length when one of my client sites goes live. That site has a huge amount of content but alot of it is locked away unless you pay $$$