Help bring back WCF

[Gavin]

Hi all so as stated in this post http://windowcleaningforums.co.uk/threads/where-is-everybody.11498/#post-160432 the forums have been quite for some time. There could be several reason for this and i have made a couple of suggestion in the linked thread but i want your ideas?

If we don't do something soon it could continue to get worse and more quite and i don't want that. Our posting and activity stats have been dropping massively for some time, so how are we going to fix this?

I would love to have everyone's suggestions, lets see if we can get WCF thriving once more.

Reply with your suggestions and ideas on how we can improve member posting, engagement, and forum growth. I always like to include members in these sorts of things as you are the members and i i can get an idea of what you want/think might help then hopefully together we can sort something.

I am now wondering if the theme does not help, maybe it is to different. I know i said before i wanted it to stand out from the crowed so to speak but there must be a reason a clean bluish style is popular on many sites. Maybe this one is just a bit to different for people to get used to.

Members are coming on and we are getting new ones but just not like we used to. /emoticons/sad.png

Our monthly posts have dropped massively, to a point that has actually shocked me compared to Jan 2013. I really hope some how we can bring WCF back to her former glory.

I am now looking at introducing a few extras like a gallery again (sort of pintrest style), maybe a video gallery as well among a couple of other little extras. Sadly though all these features cost money so will have to wait a while, unless anyone fancies donating towards them? Seriously though if you have any suggestions on how we can get this place booming again let me know.

You can vote for certain features and changes

http://windowcleaningforums.co.uk/threads/have-your-vote-on-getting-all-forum-features-for-free.11504/here http://windowcleaningforums.co.uk/threads/bringing-back-the-old.11505/

 

[Richard Barnes]

I don't come here often now I must admit, since the change in style, the facebook pages seem to have taken over.

 

[Smurf]

My main reason for joining wcf back in the day was due to how appealing layout/colour and modern I thought the site looked compared to others. So first impressions and being a totally free site to join including being able to access all the functions like pm and uploading images etc for free drew me in to join.

Once this had all changed I felt it was a big mistake to be honest but I went with the flow. However I do understand @Gav the reasons why you decided to changed over to use different software and reduce the functionality of standard membership.

Only you can decide if it is worth all your efforts and ongoing cost to keep this site running by making further changes or not.

At the end of the day it is your call what/if any changes you make but it would be a said day to see its demise.

Just my thoughts you understand

 

[Gavin]

I know facebook is certainly a factor along with twitter and social media in general. Some would say forums are old and dead and social media is the way. This maybe so but i dont think that means forums are dead, and i still think there is a place for forums and will be for some time. Social media are often fads/whats popular. forums have been going for years and never realy died out. Remember Myspace, beebo etc thats what i mean by social media. So facebook and twitter are to cool, IN social networks. Google is now on there tail, and at some point i am sure these will be replaced but the good old forum will still be standing. Well that is my feeling anyway.

We have all the members her but as you have just said and others. You don't login in very often or post. Maybe that is due to social media but i am sure we can try to improve our community.

 

[Gavin]

My main reason for joining wcf back in the day was due to how appealing layout/colour and modern I thought the site looked compared to others. So first impressions and being a totally free site to join including being able to access all the functions like pm and uploading images etc for free drew me in to join.
Once this had all changed I felt it was a big mistake to be honest but I went with the flow. However I do understand @Gav the reasons why you decided to changed over to use different software and reduce the functionality of standard membership.

Only you can decide if it is worth all your efforts and ongoing cost to keep this site running by making further changes or not.

At the end of the day it is your call what/if any changes you make but it would be a said day to see its demise.

Just my thoughts you understand

Thanks smurf, i have been thinking about when we were doing well and yes as you state things we free and access to features etc. The problem i have is i need to recoup costs a little. I have been toying with the idea of dropping premium membership and giving all features for free but i am not sure if this would make a massive difference. Also if i did this it would mean premium members would once again see google ads on the site which currently premium members don't see. I am sure some would be fine with this and others not so much but i guess that would be the trade off. Maybe we could change the current premium package to ad removal so users still get the option to remove ads but everything else is fee. We would have to put it to vote i guess.

 

[Smurf]

I have no problem with seeing Google ads on pages myself as I know from experience how a busy site can generate a steady cash flow from Google adwords (paid by click advertising)/emoticons/wink.png

 

[Gavin]

i am thinking maybe something like this. Clean fresh and clear http://pixelexit.com/demo/?theme=xenDisconnect

Or maybe this http://xenfocus.com/demo/index.php?misc/style&style_id=10&redirect=/demo/index.php i prefer the first.

 

[koopmaster]

I stopped visiting because I preferred the old website.

 

[brightvision]

I love forums because the info contained within them remains. When I first started out middle of last year I was on here every night reading through old threads and gleaning what snippets of help I could.

The other advantage is that forums aren't time conscious as far as replies are concerned. you might post a question and not get a reply for days.

I have stopped coming on as often (never posted much but still ...) primarily because each time I log into this site it seems to freeze on loading and I have to refresh once or twice before it lets me do anything. I don't have this problem with ANY other site I visit so assumed it was something to do with the amount of flash or whatever contained within the pages.

The big advantage with Facebook is that many people seem to live their lives by it now. You switch the computer on, forget what you went on for, so click to FB whilst you remember. Many of us have our own business page on there so will check that, then check updates from friends and family, then have a nosy at pictures of fit birds ... then maybe go harvest your strawberries on Farmville or summat!!!

I'm not keen on the fact that you have to trawl through for a while to find something you read earlier but FB is here to stay.

 

[laddergarder]

The look is fine. The inline adds are a bit annoying but wouldn't put me using the forum. The biggest pet hate I have is users slagging each other off and swearing on the forum. When members who come on to do that, donbt get banned, it puts other members off using the forum.

It seems to me like there is two reasons for coming on here. Members just starting out looking for advice, and experienced members enjoying giving others advice. That what it should always be about.

 

[keir]

Gav, i think some forums have a life span. Personally i dont think the look of the forum is a consideration for me anyway, its content and speed of replies/traffic. Also most forums seem to have a clicky group of 10 or so posters, (which i honestly dont think this forum has) and when a few of those posters stop posting due to life being busy or covering well trodden topics they move on which spells a downfall of traffic.

In our case i dont think this is the case, sadly i cant give you any advice on how to increase traffic, i think its a pretty good place to be, a nice mix of experienced people willing to share ideas on equipment and techniques with newish people asking for help.

Just keep up the good work and i think it will be ok, dont forget things always slow down this time of year

 

[Tuffers]

I liked the old forum and all the different dedicated sections. They day you changed it is when WCF fell to its knees I'm afraid. Me and a couple of others voiced our concern and are still here. Lots of others didn't voice their concern but just voted with their feet. The ones that left were bloody good posters too.

For instance you had Dodger, RC, Belfast, Mark m, Kips to name but a few. It can't be coincidence that all these posters left at the same time. I know there was poaching going on, but is faeces book better than here? I dunno, because I don't want every man and his dog knowing what colour socks I'm wearing today.

Moderators; we had loads, now just you Gav, why?

 

[keir]

I liked the old forum and all the different dedicated sections. They day you changed it is when WCF fell to its knees I'm afraid. Me and a couple of others voiced our concern and are still here. Lots of others didn't voice their concern but just voted with their feet. The ones that left were bloody good posters too.
For instance you had Dodger, RC, Belfast, Mark m, Kips to name but a few. It can't be coincidence that all these posters left at the same time. I know there was poaching going on, but is faeces book better than here? I dunno, because I don't want every man and his dog knowing what colour socks I'm wearing today.

Moderators; we had loads, now just you Gav, why?

Good points tuffers, i cant remember the old format as i have only been here a year or so, but losing the names you mentioned deffo seemed big loss..........come back lads lol

I dont do and will never ever do face book, i tried it once years ago and hated the drivel spouting out onto the screen from people who i never considered friends, just people who i knew, hate the idea of it

 

[Gavin]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. On the most part I would probably agree which is why I am now trying to rescue us. This time of years as stated is a factor but still the drop we have had in posting and activity is a lot less than I would expect. My thinking is if we can get back to a lighter clearer theme. Add a few more features and open things up etc maybe just maybe those posters might come back and we might gain some more new.

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[RiceRocket]

Seems fine to me but I don't want to spend my life on the forum, got telly to watch!

 

[norm]

we lost a lot of the o.gs and they are gone

time for the young turks to step up

key to growth is encouragement and participation of all new and old, not just a few posters but a collective

dont look back in anger

 

[kevinc250]

hi all,i just responded to the e-mail i had,what was wrong with the old format?i liked it and most others did because it was fairly busy,(i re-joined just to post this)tbh when the changes were announced i like smurf and others didn't want to make the move,although the layout is the same i find the look of the pages well,not nice or appealing and for me its not the kind of look or feel that i could feel comfy with,i think others have voted with there feet because of this or other things,lots of lurkers as you would have with any forum judging by the stats/don't like the adverts constantly being there

 

[Daftoldgit]

I've rarely posted on here, I just came on in response to the email..

For me its nothing to do with themes, 1 way or the other, its simply that CIU is a long above this one in my alphabetic order bookmarks! so if you change the name to "A Window Cleaning Forum"??!!!

I would think having ads is a good idea too.

 

[jimmyboots]

I Dont mind this look, maybe another colour, grey is a bit dull /emoticons/tongue.png

I dont mind the odd advert.

I would like to put up a personal Avatar without having to pay, it makes you feel less, well like a nobody.

I would like to see a post count though that is not a must.

I think things will pick up in the Spring hopefully. Peters site is a little quiet too. I think CIU is sucking the life out of the other sites as everyone is posting on there, except me, I just lurk and seive through info as I cant stand the ego's /emoticons/biggrin.png

 

[Gavin]

Appreciate your thought guys and thank you for coming back to respond. I appreciate CIU is way up there in states I am not trying to compleat with them and never have really they are a different ball game. Yes they cover window cleaning but also so many other things.

Anyway thanks again for coming in to share and hope we can redeem the forum for you guys and others.

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[Gavin]

I Dont mind this look, maybe another colour, grey is a bit dull /emoticons/tongue.pngI dont mind the odd advert.

I would like to put up a personal Avatar without having to pay, it makes you feel less, well like a nobody.

I would like to see a post count though that is not a must.

I think things will pick up in the Spring hopefully. Peters site is a little quiet too. I think CIU is sucking the life out of the other sites as everyone is posting on there, except me, I just lurk and seive through info as I cant stand the ego's /emoticons/biggrin.png

Thanks jimmy those thoughts are exactly why I am evaluating. At the end of the day the community is not me nor the site it is you the members and like you say if you feel less that is not going to help.

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