Trick out the side bar of the homepage.

[Jeremy]

Imho you guys/gals should customize the right side of the website homepage with recent post, threads widgets etc.
http://xenforo.com/community/resources/categories/sidebar.22/

But knowing Mike I'm pretty sure he's already on top of that and just figuring out the right configuration. I thought I'd post the suggestion anyway just in case.

 

[Mike]

Imho you guys/gals should customize the right side of the website homepage with recent post, threads widgets etc.
http://xenforo.com/community/resources/categories/sidebar.22/

But knowing Mike I'm pretty sure he's already on top of that and just figuring out the right configuration. I thought I'd post the suggestion anyway just in case.

To be honest, I haven't even looked at the options for the sidebar, other than getting our Twitter feed added back over there which I was hoping to have finished by now. I just have to find the right scripts so I don't have to re-write them all.

Any ideas on what sorts of things y'all would like to see in the sidebar in the future?

 

[Jeremy]

Any ideas on what sorts of things y'all would like to see in the sidebar in the future?

Idk, but anythings better than white space. Looks unfinished imho.

Here's a few ideas:
Facebook Like Box
Twitter Feed
Recent Threads
Recent Posts
Popular Threads
Donation Box
Poll/Survey
Contest Info

 

[franklinguy52]

Something in the side bar is fine, but I like the clean look also, so I would not overdo it.

 

[Cool_Hand_Flash]

Something in the side bar is fine, but I like the clean look also, so I would not overdo it.

My thoughts exactly.

And one thing I've been bugging Mike about is a "last picture added"-thingey, to show off the last card someone posted.. but its appearantly insanely difficult to actually do

 

[Jeremy]

You guys decided to remove the recent threads widget from the side bar?

----Humble Personal Opinion Below----

I know many of you subscribe to the less is more ideology and I typically agree. However, when it comes to designing websites one must be objective and put personal taste aside. The #1 priority should always be user experience. And #2 how to keep visitors on your website. And then #3... Getting them to interact.

How many forums do each of us here belong to? I personally, must belong to at least 25+... I may not post on each daily but I do generally visit them every few days or so to see whats new and all the progressive and popular forums all have widgets either at the top, bottom or side letting visitors know whats new on the website. Many forum members do not have time to click on every category and see all new post/threads. Thus less CTR and higher bounce rate.

Additionally, imho and professional experience alot of white space is never a good idea. It makes the website look unfinished and still in progress from an ascetic point of view.

<Forgive me for over stepping my bounds if I offend anyone>

 

[Mike]

You guys decided to remove the recent threads widget from the side bar?

<Forgive me for over stepping my bounds if I offend anyone>

No one will ever be "over stepping their bounds" by offering up a suggestion for change. Suggestions are very much needed, and very much appreciated.

We didn't remove those recent threads permanently. However, I goofed up when I was scripting it (I find myself doing that more and more these days) and it was causing template errors intermittently. I also wanted to rebuild it, anyways, so that it would cache the data rather than fetch those topics on every page view. I decided it was best to just disable it completely, until I could get the entire thing fixed. It will be back soon, though.