The Site Review Rules

jScott_Harris · #1 (**permalink**) 06-30-2003, 03:46 PM

Welcome to the WebProWorld Site Review Forum!

Our Site Reviews provide some of the most hands-on and provocative ebusiness, site design, and marketing ideas you'll find anywhere. They are also meant to be a useful tool for all of those involved, so WebProWorld is going to try and make this process as easy as possbile. To help aid in this we're posting a few simple rules we ask everyone to follow. For a complete list of the WebProWorld Forum Rules, click here. Please note that the WebProWorld forum moderators have the right to edit or delete any posts not in compliance with the forum rules!

#1. Make your domain name the subject of your post. We cannot emphasize this enough!! This makes things a little more organized, and keeps us from having 50-something posts with the subject line: "Please review my site..." If you fail to follow this rule, the moderators will edit your subject line.

#2. Reciprocate reviews. If someone is kind enough to give you their suggestions, please offer to do the same for them.

#3. Be specific. Don't just post a vague one-liner and try to call it a site review. Place some thought in the review or it's worthless to everyone and may be deleted from the topic, particularly if serves only as an advertisement for the poster. Try to be as helpful as possible, especially if you expect people to review your site in return.

#4. No porn, adult content, or explicit site material. If it's not acceptable for people under the age of 18, then don't post it. Any offensive posts will be deleted. If you have a legitimate ecommerce site, such as a lingerie store, which contains some unsuitable material, please include a warning in your request for review.

#5. NO SPAM. The purpose of this forum is to get feedback about your site from experts and peers -- NOT to spam our forum with shameless self-promotion. Any posts that advertise excessively will be deleted.

#6. Constructive criticism is desired -- abuse isn't. Don't just make negative statements! Try to say something nice when you post a review.

#7. You don't have to be a pro to submit a site review. We welcome reviews from everyone, regardless of skill level or profession.

#8. Please don't post multiple review requests for the same site. To avoid clutter and confusion, the mods reserve the right to merge or delete multiple requests.

#9. Only request ONE site review per thread at any given time. If you have more than one site that you'd like to have reviewed, please post separate threads for each site, unless the sites have the same or clearly related content. This also means that if someone reviews ONE website for you, DON'T write them back asking them to review THREE of your websites.

#10. Don't be shy. Even professional designers need advice sometimes. Just because you don't consider yourself to be an expert, doesn't mean you can't offer help! Designers need input on how their sites look to non-designers. After all, you're their potential clients. They need to hear what you think.

#11. When you post your site for review... make sure you post it in the Sites for Review forum (do I really need to explain why this is necessary?), and make sure you hit the "Post New Topic" button.. not the "Reply to Topic" button. You want your site to be its own separate topic, so that it gets more reviews/feedback... At least, I hope you want more reviews and feedback! When reviewing someone else's site... you should always hit "Reply to Topic" so that your review stays within the same thread.

#12. Do NOT Post Product Reviews. WebProWorld doesn't accept product reviews. This forum is for Site Reviews only.

Have fun, and don't forget to reciprocate reviews!

Thanks,

The WebProWorld Team

Garrett · #2 (**permalink**) 07-07-2003, 03:57 PM

I originally called this topic "Reciprocate Reviews." I changed the name because reciprocating reviews is just one way of getting more people to review your site.

Here are some techniques I've noticed that seem to win more reviews for certain sites:

1) Respond to all people who post to your topic. Thank them, ask for more information, object to their ideas -- say something!

For one this raises the number of posts in your topic, and for two it means that the reviewer will come back and have more to say.

2) I've also seen that those who spend time reviewing other people's sites get more reviews. It's common sense, really. They're active, submitting reviews of other people's sites, and this spreads their name around.

3) Go ahead and review the sites of those people who seem to be active members -- they're likely to reciprocate reviews.

4) Say in your post that you'll reciprocate reviews. Wouldn't it be nice to know that if you review someone's site they'll come back and review yours?

5) Read SyrenSong's (Site Review Forum Moderator) advice on administering site reviews:
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=4359

Post any ideas you have for getting more reviews here!

Keep those reviews coming!
Garrett

paulfromwales · #3 (**permalink**) 07-18-2003, 10:06 AM

After a week's absence, I have just tried to look up those web sites I had contributed a comment and see what others had said. What a jumble!

Surely there must be a better system than going through 20+ pages? What about a search facilty, or some attempt at categories?

An even simpler suggestion to implement is to make those seeking a review put their URL first, followed by a three word topic summary in the first box? Look at the number who have said "Please Review" This is an absolutely hopeless system for trying to find anything afterwards and will also deter reviewers. People like to write about sites that interest them - I respond `to certain key words because I have opinions on them and so, I suspect, do many others.

Paul

jamal · #4 (**permalink**) 07-18-2003, 01:13 PM

I have an idea for getting more reviews. Actually I give all the credit to bDoc, since I spotted this technique used first by this member. You can post a little message in your signature! At the end of your post, you would have something like "please review my site at ....webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=000000"

I personally think its a great idea to encourage others to review your site. For example you may be discussing a topic with someone, on any subject, and you see a member who makes many useful contributions, and you want to give them something in return, and there you have it, a quick link to review their site!

And Paul, try this: http://www.webproworld.com/search.ph...=paulfromwales

ched · #5 (**permalink**) 07-18-2003, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulfromwales

After a week's absence, I have just tried to look up those web sites I had contributed a comment and see what others had said. What a jumble! .....
Paul

For me, it's easiest to find 1 place where I posted a comment, then click on the button of my post where it says "profile" at the end of the post, then that page has a link to view all posts by this member.

Just my humble opinion

Yadmot · #6 (**permalink**) 08-08-2003, 09:28 PM

Hello Garret,
I believe we should respond to ONLY construtive criticism. Why waste our time on people who are trying to get attention by throwing-up negative un-merited comments. IGNORE THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!
I've reviewed several sites on my first day, and I've found a great deal of good stuff. This is what I'll focus my efforts on.

Question: Can we block people who are hecklers?

Gary Golden · #7 (**permalink**) 08-09-2003, 10:39 PM

I agree that it is important to provide positive information when you critique a website though I also feel that one should not just sugar coat problem area's by not even talking about it.
I have been in business for over 23 years that in order to succeed in business you should be able to hear the good and the bad, then make a decision as to what information you want to keep and what to throw out!
So when looking at some one elses site it is important to give the good points along with the bad, it then becomes their decision to decide what information to keep and what to throw out!
When I have received input on my sites I do several things.
1. Check the individuals ranking on their site as compared to Your site at:
http://marketleap.com
http://alexa.com
These are two good resources to use.
2. How long the site has been up.
http://whois.com
3. Go to Google and type in the domain name with out the .com after it and check the link count. Works great if it is not a highly relevant keyword, ie "travel" which would produce millions of links whereas "PanTravels" is not so relevant and would produce on 900 direct links.

So if the individual ranking your site has better rankings than you, then you should put more merit on their input and accept their information as relevant.

"Proof is in the pudding"

Of course their are ways to cheat on this information also so be careful and do you own research.

I guess I have a tendency to ramble on!

SpitFire70 · #8 (**permalink**) 08-12-2003, 03:28 AM

The newer folks should be reminded about the basics regarding etiquette and probability of getting reviews when requested.
In your "subject" don't post "Need Review", "Please review my site", or even "Help! Site needs review" or anything of the likeness.
If you are posting in the Requested Site Review Forum...we ALL KNOW you want a site reviewed! Place only your site's address in the subject area, then, if you have further specifics as to what the direct questions or requests are, state them in the message area.
Also, many of us appreciate recipricated reviews. State that you will recipricate a review, which gives more confidence in your reviewers as time well spent.

nazwiz · #9 (**permalink**) 09-12-2003, 12:49 AM

Hello,

I was the first one to ask for a review on your site. I was impressed with the quality and sincerity of the reviews at that time. I'm returning after a period of time, and I'm really sorry to see comments like the following:

"Please reread web design basics. Chapter 0ne.
I love the comcept. It's just done crappily.
Cheers Bob"

One guy who can't even write a sentence is putting out all kinds of obnoxious stuff, and claims to have authored sites that he couldn't possibly be associated with.

krisl711 · #10 (**permalink**) 11-04-2003, 03:53 PM

I Just wanted to say thank you for posting the site that tells you about ranking. I put my own site into the search area and I feel I received some good information. I am still new to this and thus trying to decipher some of the information and what it means.

I look forward to reviewing other sites to see what other people are doing.

Kris
http://tishtreasure.zoovy.com

Nargule · #11 (**permalink**) 11-05-2003, 03:22 AM

As I review the site's of others, I find it much easier if the person requesting the review place a link to the desired URL in the body of the post as well as the subject. This way, I can easily open the site in a new window by clicking on it rather than copying and pasting the URL into my browser window.

I am amazed at how many people are putting "Please review my site" or the like in the subject line; therefore, I am going to echo SpitFire70's comments -

If you are posting in the Requested Site Review Forum...we ALL KNOW you want a site reviewed!

SyrenSong · #12 (**permalink**) 11-07-2003, 04:50 PM

I thought I should probably step in with a comment or two here, since folks have made comments about posting site names, and the way some people review sites.

The other Moderators for the Site Review forum and I try to make sure all the posts have a website address as part of the topic name, but sometimes we miss one or two. Or occasionally there is a reason we leave one without a name because of the nature of the post.

The Moderators in all the forums also try to keep an eye out for folks who post with less-than-helpful responses. Or those responses that are just truly negative and unnecessarily rude, like the one nazwiz mentions above.

However because this forum is so busy, sometimes we miss things. If at any time any member sees a post that is inappropriate for any reason, please don't hesitate to let one of the Moderators know.

We'll be more than happy to take a look at the post and, if necessary and appropriate, modify it and let the person who posted the message know why it was necessary to make changes to their post.

The Moderators are here to help keep the forums friendly and helpful for all WebProWorld members. So if you see something that just doesn't seem right, or something that you think is against The Forum Rules, please don't hesitate to let one of us know.

The Moderators for each forum are listed on the top of each page, and also on the Forum Index. Please feel free to let any of us know anytime you have a problem or question.

We're here to help! :)

Syren
Moderator - Submit Your Site For Review

SyrenSong · #13 (**permalink**) 11-08-2003, 03:01 PM

I've noticed that folks who put a link to their request for a site review in their signature line seem to get more reviews as well. Generally, they put something like "Please review my website...." then insert the location of their request.

To edit (or create) a signature, look for the "Edit Profile" link near the top of any forum page, just under the WebProWorld logo. The place to edit your signature is near the bottom of the Profile page.

Willers · #14 (**permalink**) 11-10-2003, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden

"Proof is in the pudding"

Actually it's "The proof of the pudding is in the tasting." And while I'm on a roll, it's "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio," not "I knew him well." Yes, I'm full of useless and annoying information. 8-)

But I must agree with your original point which was not to sugar-coat problems or ignore them so you don't come across as negative... there are ways of doing CONSTRUCTIVE criticism which will help as opposed to ripping someone's eyelids off over a typo. And I think your site is really good, BTW. 8-)

Shadows_Papa · #15 (**permalink**) 12-11-2003, 10:06 AM

I've noticed a couple things - some of which makes me believe that people have not left their highschool thoughts behind them when looking at web sites......
USERS with catchy and/or provocative user names seem to get more attention, and, web sites posted here for review seem to get more views, and thus reviews, when the web site domain name is sexy, provocative or otherwise causes you to ask "cool name, I wonder what it's about" (the one selling shoes is a great example!).
I looked at a site by a Dr here, the site name has DR in it, and I see very few views for that one. The name maybe isn't compelling enough to nudge young people into looking at it? His site is excellent! Well done - yet other sites with names that would invite young people to visit get the views and reviews. Go down the list, look at the pages with the most views, then the most reviews, then look at the page name and the ID name of the submitter..... So are people here basing whether or not they will even look at or consider a site for review basing it completely on the name of the domain or submitter? IT sort of looks like it might be..
I've submitted in here two times. Not a single review yet. None at all. In fact, each time the message was only even looked at a couple of times (the "number of views" comumn). Maybe our domain name and my user ID isn't sexy enough? I've followed the rules......
What is the average age of the typical user here?
I suspect it's under 30.........hmmmmm human behavior? Other forums where the average age is over 40 get much different results. (and the critiques are very technical and well thought out - not saying that some of them here aren't as well)

Oh, Willers - I' with you on your pet peeve on phrases - "I saw the writing on the wall" or "I saw the handwriting on the wall" I believe are both wrong - If I'm correct, it's "I saw the hand, writing on the wall"
Big difference. One states that you saw a hand, and it was writing something on the wall - not that you went to the mens room and saw the writing on the wall. :-)

mruser · #16 (**permalink**) 12-11-2003, 10:10 PM

I spend time looking at the sites of others and have posted here but not one reviewer has noted anything about the site. Is it a waste of my time to use it in responding to requests of others wishing feedback? My time off work is much more valuable to me then the time I spend earning money. The lack of response
leads me to think that ether my time is not important to others or that my opinion is not valued. Is there something I'm missing here?

SyrenSong · #17 (**permalink**) 12-12-2003, 01:19 AM

Those are some interesting observations, Shadow_Papa. I'll have to keep an eye on that in the future.

I also know that folks who have done quite a few reviews for others are more likely to have their site reviewed in return.

Many people have a link in their signature line that tells others how to find their site to review it. That also seems to help increase the number of reviews a site receives.

mruser -

I'm honestly not sure I totally understand your question, but I did take a look at your site review request and left a few comments for you.

I don't think that there's any intentional slight if people don't review your site.

Sometimes it's simply because people don't know what to say or what to comment on.

Sometimes a site will also get missed for review because so many people are requesting reviews that it's hard to keep a request near the top of the first page.

However, if you keep posting occasional comments to your topic, it will continue to rise to the top and that should help you get a few more reviews.

HTH!

m4K · #18 (**permalink**) 12-20-2003, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garrett

I originally called this topic "Reciprocate Reviews." I changed the name because reciprocating reviews is just one way of getting more people to review your site.

Here are some techniques I've noticed that seem to win more reviews for certain sites:

1) Respond to all people who post to your topic. Thank them, ask for more information, object to their ideas -- say something!

For one this raises the number of posts in your topic, and for two it means that the reviewer will come back and have more to say.

2) I've also seen that those who spend time reviewing other people's sites get more reviews. It's common sense, really. They're active, submitting reviews of other people's sites, and this spreads their name around.

3) Go ahead and review the sites of those people who seem to be active members -- they're likely to reciprocate reviews.

4) Say in your post that you'll reciprocate reviews. Wouldn't it be nice to know that if you review someone's site they'll come back and review yours?

5) Read SyrenSong's (Site Review Forum Moderator) advice on administering site reviews:
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=4359

Post any ideas you have for getting more reviews here!

Keep those reviews coming!
Garrett

Greate advice, thanks.

shawtyshygurl · #19 (**permalink**) 12-31-2003, 06:49 PM

YOU MAY BE RIGHT BECUZ ITS TRUE FROM WHAT I SEE. WELL IM GOING 2 START DOING THAT BECUZ ITS THE BEST STRATEGY. cAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME HOW I CAN IMPROVE MY WEBSITE AT HTTP://SHAWTYSHYGURL.TRIPOD.COM AIGHT COME HOLLA AT UR GURL.

RhondaHawkins · #20 (**permalink**) 01-06-2004, 12:43 AM

I have read quite a few of the posts in this forum today. I find a lot of useful hints, tips and kindness. I would like to submit my site for your eyes to review. I'd also like to reciprocate reviews with others. Thank you for your kindness. Rhonda

SyrenSong · #21 (**permalink**) 01-08-2004, 11:41 PM

For those who are interested, shawtyshygurl's Site Review topic can be found here: http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?t=10921

RhondaHawkins:

The best way to get your site reviewed is to start a topic in the Site Review forum.

Just click on the box under the top navigation bar that says "Post New Topic".

Oh, and make sure you include your URL (website address) in the Subject of your new topic to comply with Site Review Rule #1.