@phenomlab thanks a lot for these, both of the below are awesome! ā„
https://codepen.io/bennettfeely/pen/vYLmYJz
https://codepen.io/C-L-the-selector/pen/MWZbWBo
@jac exactly. If the site doesnāt have its own content, its not unique in any form and that same information you are offering can easily be obtained elsewhere - typically from the source you obtain it from.
Thereās also the plagiarism aspect, and attribution.
If you were running the site as a primary income based and had the time to interview players, fans, pundits etc, then great - however, I know this is a secondary ājobā so any free time you would have left typically is going to be absorbed instantly which doesnāt create the best home life either.
I toyed with the same thoughts over the years. Yes, I have something unique in terms of my skillset, but the cyber security thing has been ādone to deathā in the sense that is the ultimate cash bandwagon everyone wants to jump on. This platform however is different. Yes, thereās other forums that offer help, but not to the level on offer here.
Without some form of cross promotion (ideally from county themselves), organic growth will take years and can be very frustrating when all of your own hard work is seldom viewed and often overlooked for more established sources.
Iām not trying to put you off, but this isnāt an overnight thing. I tried this with phenomlab years ago, and it just didnāt bite. Then, there was metabullet which was generally ok, but was seen as a one stop Flarum shop which isnāt what I originally intended it to be.
Truthfully, I came up with sudonix as a way of breaking free from that, and in all honesty, it was going to be my very last attempt to create a platform that offered the full breadth of my accumulated knowledge. If that didnāt take, I was going to call it a day.
Thankfully, sudonix in fact has exceeded my expectations, and has been quite the success story. Itās small, but niche - and dare I say it, currently unique.
What Iām trying to say here is perseverance is key, but never trade the success of a site against family life because itās not worth it. I donāt feel the need to constantly write articles (although I do have some great topics for discussion) as an āon tapā technical resource. My view is that people are looking for help, not lectures.
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
@jac exactly. If the site doesnāt have its own content, its not unique in any form and that same information you are offering can easily be obtained elsewhere - typically from the source you obtain it from.
Thereās also the plagiarism aspect, and attribution.
If you were running the site as a primary income based and had the time to interview players, fans, pundits etc, then great - however, I know this is a secondary ājobā so any free time you would have left typically is going to be absorbed instantly which doesnāt create the best home life either.
I toyed with the same thoughts over the years. Yes, I have something unique in terms of my skillset, but the cyber security thing has been ādone to deathā in the sense that is the ultimate cash bandwagon everyone wants to jump on. This platform however is different. Yes, thereās other forums that offer help, but not to the level on offer here.
Without some form of cross promotion (ideally from county themselves), organic growth will take years and can be very frustrating when all of your own hard work is seldom viewed and often overlooked for more established sources.
Iām not trying to put you off, but this isnāt an overnight thing. I tried this with phenomlab years ago, and it just didnāt bite. Then, there was metabullet which was generally ok, but was seen as a one stop Flarum shop which isnāt what I originally intended it to be.
Truthfully, I came up with sudonix as a way of breaking free from that, and in all honesty, it was going to be my very last attempt to create a platform that offered the full breadth of my accumulated knowledge. If that didnāt take, I was going to call it a day.
Thankfully, sudonix in fact has exceeded my expectations, and has been quite the success story. Itās small, but niche - and dare I say it, currently unique.
What Iām trying to say here is perseverance is key, but never trade the success of a site against family life because itās not worth it. I donāt feel the need to constantly write articles (although I do have some great topics for discussion) as an āon tapā technical resource. My view is that people are looking for help, not lectures.
I completely understand every word of what youāve said mate I really do, many similarities between what you have said and why a few of my old efforts shut down. The best way maybe to stick with the forum possibly moving it to something more memorable and something that rolls off the tongue, and then implement what I can, few design changes, a logo, RSS parser to import news & videos and then try and drive it from there once things like that are in place.
@jac Agreed. I think Iād take the below steps
For example, https://footballclubforums.com/ is the first in a Google search, but look at the layout and overall navigation. In all honesty, itās not taking anyoneās breath away is it? However, the layout is simple, easy to read, and isnāt tough on the eyes.
Now in contrast, look at Cardiff City - https://www.ccmb.co.uk/forum.php
This is your archetypal old fashioned PHP based forum (like phpBB). Whatās abundantly clear here is that despite the garish layout, the user base is huge.
This boils down to one factual point - content. Ask yourself why you would take feeds from other sites like this when the visitor can simply go to the same source as you have - and as an enthusiast, is probably already a member. Here, the content is being driven by the members themselves. For example, one member posts a topic for discussion, and then that same topic is then fed by other members adding their comments, thoughts, etc. Essentially, itās self-generating and doesnāt need intervention from site owners. The content is 100% organic.
One thing I usually do in order to see how a site has grown over time is to look at the Wayback Machine
As you can see here, Cardiffās forum has grown exponentially since itās inception in 2016
Hereās another good example. Iāve been a member of this particular forum for years
But, look at their stats
Even with the onset of Social Media, the period of 2012-2018 was exceptionally active and if you were a user of this site, youād know why. Itās because the information held here is not available anywhere else.
Now the hard part for you. You need to identify exactly what hasnāt been done before - a gap that hasnāt been filled, and then, well - fill it
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
This boils down to one factual point - content. Ask yourself why you would take feeds from other sites like this when the visitor can simply go to the same source as you have - and as an enthusiast, is probably already a member. Here, the content is being driven by the members themselves. For example, one member posts a topic for discussion, and then that same topic is then fed by other members adding their comments, thoughts, etc. Essentially, itās self-generating and doesnāt need intervention from site owners. The content is 100% organic.
The issue really is County already have 3 or 4 forums, some of them have been around for years with a lot of members.
I canāt emulate that, for example this is the most popular forum with 828 users.
The second popular is this with 218 members.
Unfortunately thereās nothing I can do to emulate that and sadly the majority of the 11 users most are me trying to build up the post count etc.
Based on everything above and reading through the threads, maybe itās time I shut down the forum?- itās not giving up, or giving in, itās just a product that isnāt going to work unless the others were to shut down, itās just not going to happen sadly.
@jac said in WordPress site:
I canāt emulate that, for example this is the most popular forum with 828 users.
with 64 people currently viewing the threads.
@jac Instead of football, why not consider another topic ?
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
Instead of football, why not consider another topic ?
Or as @phenomlab said, find a feature that others donāt.
Because when I see the first forum with 800 members, it has nothing to envy to another type of CMS
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
@jac Instead of football, why not consider another topic ?
I honestly wouldnāt know where to start mate .
@jac What other interests do you have ?
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
@jac What other interests do you have ?
Aside from Football and IT, Iād possibly do something like a blog & forum on Stockport really. Events etc etc.
@jac or believe it or not a church forum I do go to church now and again
@jac Both of these are valid topics, and certainly worthwhile perusing.
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
@jac Both of these are valid topics, and certainly worthwhile perusing.
possibly yes, the issue would probably be as always thereās always plenty of other sites doing the same thing
@jac said in WordPress site:
possibly yes, the issue would probably be as always thereās always plenty of other sites doing the same thing
Yes, but then we go back to the same ethos of providing information or a service that the others arenāt
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
@jac said in WordPress site:
possibly yes, the issue would probably be as always thereās always plenty of other sites doing the same thing
Yes, but then we go back to the same ethos of providing information or a service that the others arenāt
Very true Mark, Iād have no idea how Iād achieve any of this!
Iāve been that used to creating County sites/ football sites. That may be the best effort realistically to create a football based site where users write content on their club so you have a Arsenal fan who is classed as āArsenal correspondentā delivering match reports & news when possible.
@jac Yes, make it club agnostic - that way, it appeals to a far wider audience.
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
@jac Yes, make it club agnostic - that way, it appeals to a far wider audience.
Absolutely! Still of course a massive task but one I could do .
@jac said in WordPress site:
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
@jac Yes, make it club agnostic - that way, it appeals to a far wider audience.
Absolutely! Still of course a massive task but one I could do .
I would unfortunately still look to close down the County forum.
@phenomlab said in WordPress site:
@jac said in WordPress site:
I would unfortunately still look to close down the County forum.
Ok
Iād be probably looking to see if the above is possible with Ghost either that or do a different idea like suggested.