new site format

mosc · 11-14-2007, 04:02 PM

Chris, I think you went a little too far on the adds here. I know you have to keep this place funded but the layout has gone to hell. The load times have quadroupled and this nice little menu on the left cuts down substantially on viewing on smaller resolution screens.

From top to bottom:
-We get the nice (now fatter?) wrx tuners banner
-Google add banner (#1)
-useful site toolbar
-Banner Add
-Banner Google add (#2)
-the other half of our toolbar
-site sponsor add

wait, we're on our 8th thing and we still haven't even gotten to the title bar of the forum we're on? next is a little sponsor add tucked in the top of the forum

The left menu for "easier navigation" no doubt features a bunch of things
-navigation menu (which is already built into two toolbars. We don't really need it)
-links disguising Google Add (#3)
-profile (which is already built into two toolbars. We don't really need it)
-featured product add box
-sponsors disguising Google Add (#4)

If we need 8 different adds PER page in order to fund this place than fine but can't we use a layout for them that doesn't keep shifting forum content down and to the right? I only have so much screen real estate. Also, The load time is getting unbearable for navigating. So is scrolling through our literally 12" long header to get to the page you just called up.

If nothing else, can we condense the site's navigation menus at least to free up some space? If advertising space is so needed, than I would rather sacrifice 4x different ways to get to the gallery to be able to actually see the topics on the page I just called up.

Am I alone on this?

baller_v24 · 11-14-2007, 04:21 PM

i pretty much agree 100% but im starting to think the site got some new sponsors, or more sponsors to keep this thing a success

dascrow · 11-14-2007, 06:08 PM

Hi,

I just wanted to drop a quick note and introduce myself. I'm here helping with the redesign.

We are still working on the site and currently just testing different areas for advertising. We plan to drop the yellow toolbar, but we still have links to add to the main one.

You can turn off the left sidebar very easy by going under my profile (user cp), edit profile, scroll down to the very bottom and you will see Sidebar Setting. Just choose disable.

We will work with you on the changes, so please let me know your thoughts on anything else.

Thanks,
Dan

robert.lshoc · 11-14-2007, 09:02 PM

yeah it is a whole lot slower. Remember evryone in this site likes to go fast!

Jave · 11-14-2007, 09:06 PM

yeah the adds are a bit rediculous.

mosc · 11-15-2007, 12:22 AM

This distance really needs to shrink

It's not all about the adds specifically. Having a 140 pixel tall banner and multiple navigation bars is really crowding when you have this many adds.

I'm not very good at photoshop or anything but I took a try at making that gap smaller. I did not remove ANY adds. The only thing really missing is the reply button which I would prefer on the bottom anyway. You can see my gap is a lot smaller:

kh15 · 11-15-2007, 03:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mosc

This distance really needs to shrink

It's not all about the adds specifically. Having a 140 pixel tall banner and multiple navigation bars is really crowding when you have this many adds.

I'm not very good at photoshop or anything but I took a try at making that gap smaller. I did not remove ANY adds. The only thing really missing is the reply button which I would prefer on the bottom anyway. You can see my gap is a lot smaller:

i agree

Kjott21 · 11-15-2007, 06:19 AM

The redesign looks horrible.

wrxgtr · 11-15-2007, 08:44 AM

i dont mind the new layout load times are a little slower and adds are a little crazy but all in all not too bad

rockyrose · 11-15-2007, 08:53 AM

i would also like to see the posts since last log in brought back

Vew · 11-15-2007, 11:17 AM

I don't mind the new additions when view from my laptop since it's a widescreen, but when I'm on my desktop or on a university or work computer, it gets cut off from being too wide.

Longshot · 11-15-2007, 11:23 AM

I've already got rid of the sidebar and that helps a bit, horizontally.

Ludachris · 11-15-2007, 01:41 PM

Hey guys, keep voicing your concerns. Nobody likes change and very few like the thought of more ads on the site. There are some new decision-makers involved here and I am no longer the final authority on matters like this. Don't worry, this doesn't mean everything else is changing too. The site rules and spirit still remain the same. The Moderators are still the same, though we'll likely be adding a few more. We simply will have "new" people making decisions on certain things like layout and ad placement. I would direct concerns about this type of stuff to "dascrow" (Dan).

Again, keep voicing your concerns here. Thanks guys. Feel free to send me any questions.

baller_v24 · 11-15-2007, 01:58 PM

can u guys make it smaller horizontally, i have to use the little scroll bar on bottom to read an entire post, that sucks!!!!! and i already got rid of the sidebar

Longshot · 11-15-2007, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baller_v24

can u guys make it smaller horizontally, i have to use the little scroll bar on bottom to read an entire post, that sucks!!!!! and i already got rid of the sidebar

+1 If it can be made so that we do not need to scroll left and right to read a post that would be very helpful. And pages get laggy from the ads.