There's also the possibility of a more drastic overhaul of the front page. It may be that the listing of forums (as the front page currently does) might not be terribly useful. In particular we see, looking at web traffic analysis, that a large number of visitors arrive on the site (on the front page) and then leave immediately. It may be possible to redesign the front page to be more enticing. Not that we'll ever get 100% of our visitors to stay, but it would be nice to have the community be inclusive and always drawing in new faces. There's a whole world of people who could stand to learn a thing or two about EV's, after all.
I (as a person who'd be implementing the more drastic overhaul) would like to hear thoughts from the community on what would be helpful on the front page, what would help y'all make better use of the site, what would be more enticing to new visitors, etc. You can contact me directly if you like or post here.
Personally I'm comfortable navigating the site minus the forum headers on the front page if it will net more members. So change at will.
Maybe if you had more pics of the different types of vehicles. Something like a bigger snap of Bobs scooter captioned with "Interested in small scooters and how to make them really go?" then click on the image and it would take you to that sub-forum and small scooter news.
Do that with bikes, motorcycles and the like. Say a picture of the MB-1- E with a caption " Get 25 mph performance and the equivalent of xxx mpg with an Ebike " or "Thumb your nose at the big oil boys, ride your E-max and never stop at the pump again".
Basically get a little more flash on page one to set the hook as it were. Mix in some current news and announcements also.
Most people respond to the saving money stuff a little more than the altruistic save the environment side of it.
Just some thoughts, brainstorming by throwing it out and seeing what sticks.
Thank you... About: Maybe if you had more pics of the different types of vehicles. the member vehicle section only has the pictures the members upload. We can't force everybody to upload more pictures, they can only do that themselves. But that said - the Drupal software does have difficulty giving a good experience in uploading pictures - and there is more we could do to reuse pictures in e.g. the member vehicle section.
Thought I would throw a thought out and see if it sticks. http://coppermine-gallery.net/
has a really nice free photo gallery with all the bells and whistle you could ever want. I have used it and customized it for several sites I have built. Just a thought…………
As far as the redesign goes I am not sure what would draw more attention to visitors. Maybe a big picture of money being burned. lol
` ;)
amp_head,
Thanks for the suggestion, we already have our V is for Voltage Community Photo Gallery just waiting to announce it as soon as we get someone to help manage it. MB-1-E has already learned how to use it, and added some images. Would you be interested in helping us finish setting it up, we could really use the help.
Regards,
Board Moderator
Moderators are your dedicated volunteer V Team members who help keep your V Forums running smoothly and provide you with Forum Support.
` :)
amp_head,
Thanks a lot, we'll send you a temp password off site, which you can latter change.
We'll set you up as a admin, and use your current user name if thats ok?
Regards,
Board Moderator
Moderators are your dedicated volunteer V Team members who help keep your V Forums running smoothly and provide you with Forum Support.
Thank you.
There's also the possibility of a more drastic overhaul of the front page. It may be that the listing of forums (as the front page currently does) might not be terribly useful. In particular we see, looking at web traffic analysis, that a large number of visitors arrive on the site (on the front page) and then leave immediately. It may be possible to redesign the front page to be more enticing. Not that we'll ever get 100% of our visitors to stay, but it would be nice to have the community be inclusive and always drawing in new faces. There's a whole world of people who could stand to learn a thing or two about EV's, after all.
I (as a person who'd be implementing the more drastic overhaul) would like to hear thoughts from the community on what would be helpful on the front page, what would help y'all make better use of the site, what would be more enticing to new visitors, etc. You can contact me directly if you like or post here.
- David Herron, http://davidherron.com/
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
Personally I'm comfortable navigating the site minus the forum headers on the front page if it will net more members. So change at will.
Maybe if you had more pics of the different types of vehicles. Something like a bigger snap of Bobs scooter captioned with "Interested in small scooters and how to make them really go?" then click on the image and it would take you to that sub-forum and small scooter news.
Do that with bikes, motorcycles and the like. Say a picture of the MB-1- E with a caption " Get 25 mph performance and the equivalent of xxx mpg with an Ebike " or "Thumb your nose at the big oil boys, ride your E-max and never stop at the pump again".
Basically get a little more flash on page one to set the hook as it were. Mix in some current news and announcements also.
Most people respond to the saving money stuff a little more than the altruistic save the environment side of it.
Just some thoughts, brainstorming by throwing it out and seeing what sticks.
Thank you... About: Maybe if you had more pics of the different types of vehicles. the member vehicle section only has the pictures the members upload. We can't force everybody to upload more pictures, they can only do that themselves. But that said - the Drupal software does have difficulty giving a good experience in uploading pictures - and there is more we could do to reuse pictures in e.g. the member vehicle section.
- David Herron, http://davidherron.com/
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
Thought I would throw a thought out and see if it sticks. http://coppermine-gallery.net/
has a really nice free photo gallery with all the bells and whistle you could ever want. I have used it and customized it for several sites I have built. Just a thought…………
As far as the redesign goes I am not sure what would draw more attention to visitors. Maybe a big picture of money being burned. lol
Matt
` ;)
amp_head,
Thanks for the suggestion, we already have our V is for Voltage Community Photo Gallery just waiting to announce it as soon as we get someone to help manage it. MB-1-E has already learned how to use it, and added some images. Would you be interested in helping us finish setting it up, we could really use the help.
Regards,
Board Moderator
Moderators are your dedicated volunteer V Team members who help keep your V Forums running smoothly and provide you with Forum Support.
Cheers,
Board Moderator
Wow, you guys are one step ahead of me lol
I would love to help!!!! Just point me in the
right direction. :)
Matt
` :)
amp_head,
Thanks a lot, we'll send you a temp password off site, which you can latter change.
We'll set you up as a admin, and use your current user name if thats ok?
Regards,
Board Moderator
Moderators are your dedicated volunteer V Team members who help keep your V Forums running smoothly and provide you with Forum Support.
Cheers,
Board Moderator