I didn’t have the heart to tell you, but your forum is ugly. Your members might not tell you because they’ve gotten used to the ugly table format that plagues the internet. As you go about your merry way, your traffic might ok, but new sign-ups keep going down and old members are starting to disappear. You can keep scratching your head –or you can maybe accept that one of the reasons is your forum is ugly and no one wants to be there.
A look at modern forum software usability
Sometimes modern forums gets criticized for looking to much like a social network. Some even make comparisons to Facebook. It’s an opinion for modern forums makers to embrace. How can 1.2 billion customers using Facebook be wrong? Let’s forget comparisons, though and look at facts. Modern forums make it easy for people to join a community with social logins and integrations. Forums should not be afraid to embrace Facebook and Twitter. People are also tired of creating more accounts, so why not give them an option to use a service they already use? Modern forum software has gamification features that make it fun to participate, and reward those that create good content. Last but not least, modern forums just make the community easy to use. I know it’s hard to accept, but it’s not 1995 anymore. People don’t want to figure out how to use your forum. They want something intuitive, easy to use and connect with others.
Looking Pretty
Let’s address another aspect of why your forum is ugly. The colors. Modern forums do not use the Geocities color palette. It’s also more than changing the logo, and the base colors. I mean it’s nice to use your colors, but shouldn’t your community look like the rest of your site? Why scare your customers with a drastic change when they hit your community? Modern communities let you make things so seamless, it’s organic to the user experience.
Moderating
Moderation in a community has to be done, but why let it be a chore? Why have you accepted that forum software needs endless knobs and switches? Is it really necessary for settings to be ten tabs or menus deep? Shouldn’t all you need be at your fingertips? Modern forum software makes moderation easy, from rewarding good behaviour and taking care of those who are naughty.
Make the Plunge
Sometimes it can be hard to say goodbye to something you know so well. But don’t look at things as a goodbye, but rather a new chapter. A modern forum software can import all your old data and give your users the experience they deserve.
Share it
I’m glad we had this chat about your ugly forum, and you didn’t take it personally. I just wanted to tell you what others were thinking but were too scared to tell you. Now that you are on the way to change, I welcome you to share this message to those other ugly forums. Think of it as a way to pay it forward and save those that think the only option is keep going with their old ugly forum software.
If you are looking to move to a modern community software and don’t want the headaches of hosting, take a look at Vanilla Forums. Get you risk free, 30-day trial here.
Your Forum Is Ugly is a post from: Mark8t: SEO, SEM, E-Marketing And More