Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Ok folks, this is....hmm.....the 6th site I`ve created. All for different purposes or businesses. I started off using basic HTML in my first project. Now, I`ve grown accustomed to using SMF Forums with Tiny Portal added. This allows me a lot of customization on the site. I tried Joomla in the past and just found it to complicated to get anything done quickly. I`m also testing other CMS`s as we speak.
So this site is dedicated to the surplus building materials industry. I spent 25 years in the remodeling industry and have seen far to many good materials go to waste or in the dumpster. So ,I thought there would be a good need for this. There are other very similar sites out there, so I`ll have to fight for my spot. But I find that these sites work and sell best on a regional basis due to shipping charges. I have little competition in my region.
So, it`s a week old, officially. I designed the banner and some graphics. I have an auction system as well as a classifieds and forum section.
I know,..I need a bridge for the auction section and the main site, but there is none available at this time and I can`t afford a coder to make one.
So check it out, and give it to me straight. I have learned from my construction business how to effectively take, and  implement good critisicm.
SBM Trader

Very crowded and busy, hard to figure out what to look at or what to read.

Agreed, I didn`t know where to start either. So I gave up. I think there are about 3 too many different font styles/sizes/colors. Not that there is anything wrong with doing something like that, but it seems very random to me. You have a lot of generic keywords that won`t get you anywhere in your meta tags ( ie: free, forum). I`m sure your not looking to be top of SE`s for "forum".

On the plus side, your auction page is better and actually has an intuitive flow to it.

You have a lot of work ahead of you! Good luck.


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Guitar Repair - RepairMyGuitar.com - The Guitar Repair Directory

In my initial design, I had left out the side blocks to create a more organized look to the page. After some thought, I added them back. This site`s members may be using the personal message function often to contact sellers. So I first added the user box back in so they could better see if they have a message in their in-box. I can make that a pop-up function though, so I can go back to a page with-out the use of the side blocks, which will also reduce some of the different colors and text. And I can add  the reciprocal links on a separate page.
I appreciate the input and will wait for others to throw their 2 cents in, but I`ll clean up those Meta tags to start with. I also changed font sizes of articles to match the welcome content.
Thanks,
Steve