Hello All:

Over the past 6 months, we have had a few requests to have some buttons on the website that people could display on their websites to link to WHT.

A couple of people suggested images that are dynamic, much like the images on HotScripts.com that generate statistics in real-time on the image.

We have come up with 3 specific concepts for those that want to link to WHT on their websites. These 3 images contain dynamic content that would be displayed in real-time when the image is requested from the website.

One image displays total members, threads and posts. Another image will display a members total posts and member since date as well.

Please see that attached image for a screen capture of the 3 concepts we have in mind.

We are thinking of creating a link at the top menu in between "Rules" and "Logout". One would be "FAQ" followed by "Links"

So the title would go Home | Profile | Calendar | Search | Rules | FAQ | Links | Logout

All of this would be subject to moderators' approval. Looking for community input....

Thanks!

i like the middle graphic, for an reason unknown to me, i don't really care for the third graphic

I like it. However, one small suggestion on the first image. The font looks to be too condensed together, making it a little hard to read. Making it a bit more spaced out would vastly improve upon it's appearance.

#1 I like the best, #2 is OK, and I dislike #3

I like the middle one, myself. Lotsa 'neato' info.

Button number one seems awfully squashed... doesn't look too good.

Buttons 2 + 3 look good.

I say go for it :)

I like the middle graphic

Thanks for the feedback. We will be improving these images a bit more, they are just mock-ups for now to give you an idea of what we were thinking.

We will probably add some other images as well, including a 88x31 WHT button that does not have dynamic data but is just a standard animated GIF.

Thanks for the great feedback.

One idea would be a simple non-animated gif for those of us who avoid animated gifs like the plague on our sites... :D

Not a fan of red and white blinking images?



I like #2 the best

Gabriel, have you considered using syndication? A lot of webmasters who participate here would choose to have real time updated content (for certain forum subjects) on their web sites than just a banner.

People would be able to click on a thread that leads them to a discussion - the sign up conversion rate could be much higher in that case. And the best part is - it changes constantly, so more chances to grab someone's attention on a topic of their interest.

Best,

Or maybe a vB hack that let threads appear on a outside forum and have it work as Artashes described...

Originally posted by Artashes
Gabriel, have you considered using syndication? A lot of webmasters who participate here would choose to have real time updated content (for certain forum subjects) on their web sites than just a banner.

People would be able to click on a thread that leads them to a discussion - the sign up conversion rate could be much higher in that case. And the best part is - it changes constantly, so more chances to grab someone's attention on a topic of their interest.

Best,

Originally posted by Artashes
Gabriel, have you considered using syndication? A lot of webmasters who participate here would choose to have real time updated content (for certain forum subjects) on their web sites than just a banner.

People would be able to click on a thread that leads them to a discussion - the sign up conversion rate could be much higher in that case. And the best part is - it changes constantly, so more chances to grab someone's attention on a topic of their interest.

Best,


I don't know if you noticed the ISPcheck banners we now do which are pulling the actual listings from ISPcheck, but is this something like what your talking about?

Jeremy,

I think they're referring to something similar to a RSS feed, kinda like google adsense or whatnot. A HTML block that would pull some recent threads in from the forums.

That'd only work if you kept the ad forums out of the feed, imho. I certainly wouldn't syndicate ads for other web hosts on my sites :D

How about one in the form of 468 * 60 pixels
and maybe a affiliate program? ;)

#2 is good, go for it :)

Originally posted by jsjohnst
I don't know if you noticed the ISPcheck banners we now do which are pulling the actual listings from ISPcheck, but is this something like what your talking about?
Hi Jeremy,

Very close, but not exactly that. The best way to explain it is to show an example. If you see here, phpBB has a few syndication hacks for the forum: http://phpbb.com/phpBB/catdb.php?cat=56

I'm proposing something very similar where a webmaster can insert a code into his web site in a certain location. That code will connect to WHT database and pull live information for certain forum areas specified by webmaster to display on his web site.

This way if someone visits www.my-webmaster-related-web-site.com, they will see the latest topic titles on certain forums from WHT.

Best,

Originally posted by thedavid
Jeremy,

I think they're referring to something similar to a RSS feed, kinda like google adsense or whatnot. A HTML block that would pull some recent threads in from the forums.

That'd only work if you kept the ad forums out of the feed, imho. I certainly wouldn't syndicate ads for other web hosts on my sites :D


RSS feed is already available to premium members.

Originally posted by Artashes
Hi Jeremy,

Very close, but not exactly that. The best way to explain it is to show an example. If you see here, phpBB has a few syndication hacks for the forum: http://phpbb.com/phpBB/catdb.php?cat=56

I'm proposing something very similar where a webmaster can insert a code into his web site in a certain location. That code will connect to WHT database and pull live information for certain forum areas specified by webmaster to display on his web site.

This way if someone visits www.my-webmaster-related-web-site.com, they will see the latest topic titles on certain forums from WHT.

Best,


Ok... I will look into this and run it past others here. I can't guarantee anything, but I will see what I can do.

Originally posted by jsjohnst
I can't guarantee anything, but I will see what I can do.
I'm just making a suggestion and giving you some ideas. I do not expect this to happen without any research done. Since I don't have enough information, I cannot tell you that something like this will work better that regular banners. Its just an assumption.

But whatever you guys decide will probably be better for the community.

Best,

I was pointed this way after asking abut where I could locate a small banner/logo to add a link back to WHT from my sites.

After looking at the three examples, I thought they where just a little to obtrusive.

Here is my version (http://epoch.adminz.net/~cpsubs/img/icons/wht-linktous_fergus.gif)

Questions is, what can be used now if any? How would WHT like it linked? What's going on with this anyway?