Redesign of PAFOA Layout

[FNG19]

Now that Dan's advertising ArmsDealer.Net in the advertising line of the forum, there is officially enough cruft in the header of the site to force out any useful content from the browser window. As a test, I have my browser (FF4) maximized on a 1280x800 screen. The entire first page of scroll on the forum page is, in order, ...

1) The gray banner line with "home page", etc.
2) The huge PAFOA banner
3) Search terms
4) Castle Doctrine
5) Forum breadcrumbs
6) Forum menu bar (User CP, FAQ, etc)
7) PAFOA Sponsor Info
8) The opening line of the "New Posts" screen.

Nowhere on that first screen is any actual useful content, such that visitors to the site might be looking for. I think we can all agree that this is less than ideal. A layout redesign might be in order here.

Thanks!

[mrjam2jab]

Probably not a popular option:

Like eliminating the Castle Doctrine banner....do we really need a short cut to a sticky thread?

and does the Search bar really work effectively?

[Guns4Fun]

And while we are at it. Paying members should be able to opt out on the ads that take up too much space.

[PaBimmerGuy]

yeah. too much crap at the top of the page. i can see people who come looking for info leaving immediately because there is no indication of content.

[MrBi11]

And while we are at it. Paying members should be able to opt out on the ads that take up too much space.

Agreed....

[dc dalton]

Yeah, I have to admit seeing nothing but menus, banners and assorted other crap above the fold is pretty bad ... and I'm running 1680 x 1050 on my main monitor

[Dogpupkus]

Everything looks fine at work (1920x1080) and on my 17" MacBook Pro (1920x1200)

[danp]

And while we are at it. Paying members should be able to opt out on the ads that take up too much space.

Absolutely 100% agreed and I have just implemented that. The sponsors/shopping partners bar is now hidden from anyone who has any active forum subscription. Thank you immensely for your support and my apologies for not realizing how annoying this was. I am spoiled with very large monitors everywhere I work so I was not seeing what most people probabaly were.

Probably not a popular option:

Like eliminating the Castle Doctrine banner....do we really need a short cut to a sticky thread?

and does the Search bar really work effectively?

I agree, this is all but passed at this point, I will add it back if/when something else important needs to happen.

One could argue the banner has been working though!

[danp]

Now that Dan's advertising ArmsDealer.Net in the advertising line of the forum, there is officially enough cruft in the header of the site to force out any useful content from the browser window. As a test, I have my browser (FF4) maximized on a 1280x800 screen. The entire first page of scroll on the forum page is, in order, ...

1) The gray banner line with "home page", etc.
2) The huge PAFOA banner
3) Search terms
4) Castle Doctrine
5) Forum breadcrumbs
6) Forum menu bar (User CP, FAQ, etc)
7) PAFOA Sponsor Info
8) The opening line of the "New Posts" screen.

Nowhere on that first screen is any actual useful content, such that visitors to the site might be looking for. I think we can all agree that this is less than ideal. A layout redesign might be in order here.

Thanks!

In addition to the other changes I made, I'll see if I can make the sponsors bar smaller. The unfortunate fact is that without the sponsors and the ads, PAFOA would need to be A LOT more aggressive about soliciting donations and forum subscriptions to make up for all the lost revenue that keeps the site alive and kicking.

I've always considered ads less annoying than constant begging for money, but I realize that other people may feel differently.

[mauser]

I have my resolution set at 1024 by 768 on a 17" monitor and I found that a quick flick of my index finger on the scroll wheel got me past the banners and into what I wanted. The banners did get my attention and I did click on them occasionally. I honestly didn't have a problem with it, but I'm not seeing it from the perspective of a new member or a first time user.