In the past years I've learned the hard way that a simple design is much more user friendly in the end than a complex full out custom design. And believe me I have spent Thousands of dollars and really custom stuff.

But I've found out nobody really cares except admins. Users want ease of use and easy to read.

So my advice, keep the design simple.

I agree which is why all my sites use the default vBulletin layout minus color changes and a logo

x2, that, and i am very non-creative, ill-skilled at design, poor, and most of all, pretty lazy

I get blasted about this everywhere I have a forum reviewed. "it looks too default".

I laugh, say thanks for the comments.

Now, there is a happy medium here. A nice design can help a forum develop quicker. What you have to do thouth is remember to keep it very userfriendly. You can do both.

One thing to add, when you are planning a new design, factor advertising into the picture. Think about where you will be placing your advertising and have that buit into the design if possible.

I am a huge fan of simplicity. It doesn't necessarily have to be vBulletin standard but all of the elements (new thread button, thread reply button, look of forumdisplay and showthread pages, etc) do have to be consistant with where someone would expect to find them on a forum.

What exactly is a complex design? as in what is it that makes it complex for end users, surely every style has same elements.

So light colour styles are simple and dark ones complex?

To me a complex forum design is something that moves away from the traditional forum layout. It doesn't have to do with colors alone.

An example of a more complex design would be NotebookForums.com - Notebookforums.com Notebook reviews - laptops reviews

You take the user out of the default forum layout which they are familiar with and make them adjust to something different.

Attached Files

Recipe Mod Database 2.1.zip (13.3 KB, 2 views)

Isnt that good? People look for something extra or is that just the webmaster in me that is talking?

Personally I think that the majority of people prefer simplicity and respond better to something they recognize instantly. IMO I prefer the simplicity of a default vBulletin layout. However... that is just me.

I have to agree with Brent on this one. I am more prone to leave a site if I don't instantly recognize and feel comfortable with the design. I can handle simple skins and such, although I do prefer the default style. However, when you get into a complicated style and almost complete re-design of the forum layout, forget it, I can't get into it. I don't want to have to re-learn something I already know.