Forum Restructuring Update: Community Pages Live Now!
As some of you will know, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to upgrade the look, feel, and structure of our forums. Recent changes from the last year have already doubled the amount of posts in the community! Next week another big change will roll out across the site.The upgrade next week is to improve the layout and design of each community page (e.g. anxiety support and 35+) and is only for the web browser platform. No threads or forums will be moved as part of this change. The big change is to make a community (e.g. 35+) feel like a single page rather than endless pages to search through.From a community home page you will be able to make a new post, comment on other posts, browse by topic, like posts and much more. To do this we have turned ‘sub forums’ into ‘topics’.
We know that change is hard, particularly if you are experienced user of the community. The aim of these changes is to make the forum easier to use if you are new to the site. Helping as many people as possible better manage their mental health is our shared goal. And we hope that you can appreciate the work that is being done to make the forums easier to use for more people.
This update is now LIVE since Tuesday, October 4th. Lastly, we would like to thank our community leaders for their support and involvement in this ongoing process.
For feedback on this update or other forum functionality, please visit this thread
Stay tuned for updates on the creation of new communities in the coming weeks!
@theriverissinging @tami150 @bookworm274 @MistyMagic @Sunisshiningandsoareyou @SoulfullyAButterfly
@CheeryMango
I'm all for change on most things. Some things can be challenging to accept at first, but things work out in the end. If they don't just try again. This new look looks user-friendly and pretty exciting. Doesn't seem like this will be a hard one to accept. Can't wait to try it out when it happens!
@Jenna
I totally agree! I find the forum difficult to use. To me, it feels either unorganized and overwhelming (on the dashboard) or insular (the forum itself). To use the forum, right now, we are kind of required to know the structure beforehand and drill down to where we want to get. I really look forward to the changes! And I hope everyone who uses the forum more than me will appreciate them as well. 💜
Thanks for posting the screen shot, as that was very informative as well. I'm excited for these changes and hope it encourages more users to use the forums in meaningful ways. Bravo for all the hard work that has gone into this project behind the scenes to improve the user experience here at 7 Cups.
@CheeryMango I can't wait! It will be much cleaner and clearer and user-friendly too! Thanks to all the team that worked on this ⭐️
Listening - One Step At A Time!
Very nice.
What the forum would benefit of since that's really hard: faster response time for the search engine and not breaking links to forum posts when they get moved from forum A to forum B.
@kindSoul10 I don't think the links get broken, even currently. They still function (previous/new links) even if posts are moved
Glen also mentioned here about a better effective search function!
@theriverissinging thanks for explaining. well I see broken links happening. So either threads explaining roles get deleted without updating the referers or they get moved around by duplicating the original thread and deleting the original after that.
I see a minor problem:
Judging the screenshot the list of tags isn't sorted alphabetically. I think that's suboptimal. Tags should be sorted in alphabetical order to be easily used for selection. @7cupscommunity
@kindSoul10 it's alphabetical, in the screenshot as well
I take it back, they look sorted alphabetically. 😹
@CheeryMango
The "create a new thread" textbox at the top makes it very inviting to post. Encouraging members to post is top priority for us.
Seems more like a user-friendly dashboard, transparent, with all the kinds of content shown at the front. So easier to navigate and locate posts.
It looks fresh and pretty, which also encourages involvement (aesthetics also has its impact...)
Congratulations to you and your team!
Thank you for the update.
@cherrymango
Will there be a training to give our forum supporter leaders????
@magicalOcean594
Hi Magic! Aside from any support and training we will get, I offer you to PM me at any time about doing things with this interface. I have used similar systems before, so I am familiar with them.
@magicalOcean594 We are continuously looking closely at the sub-community leadership roles and we will make any adjustments and improvements necessary after the restructuring is complete. Then, hopefully soon, a Refresher Guide will be made available to all forum leaders.
It's definitely an exciting time!
Listening - One Step At A Time!
Did you say it’s only available on a desk top? I use my mobile a lot and wondering if can see the changes there. What about an iPad? When I went on it on my phone the layout looked different but don’t know if it was the same nee version.
@TreaureSeekers3 Hi, if you use a browser even on your mobile/other device you will be able to see the update.
I like the new idea aswell on the forums and making the site and friendly more welcoming place. Giving it colour and creativity is good. It’s not just one dull page.
@TreaureSeekers3 yay for color and creativity! 🌈