ProBoards v6, Codename: Phoenix!

So here is a update to the forum that is coming.

PB v6: Floating Action Button

Since the beginning of the development on version 6 our primary focus has been very straight forward: What can we do to help you succeed?

I’d love to talk to you about how actions are performed on our forums; how one goes about adding content to the forum or simply interacting easily with the many different functions we provide for your use.

Analyzing hundreds of thousands of interactions of users with our software we found some key points that required addressing to improve usability. With an eye to not only increase engagement, but help forum owners and their forums succeed with the least amount of effort. We will be presenting more of them in the coming weeks and hopefully presenting an open look into the changes we decided to implement.

Let’s start by looking at the actions we perform in the current version of our software with a few quick examples.

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The problem

Visiting a board is pretty straight forward. You have a list of threads, some numbers, some users... and most importantly a “Create Thread” button that’s really just hiding in the corner. The button isn’t really incentivizing anyone to create a thread and add to the discussion.



We’re presented with a very similar situation inside of a thread.


Over here the method to reply seems pretty straight forward; type into the quick reply box and be on your merry way! However, how many users realize that the small “Reply” button in the corner will take you to a completely separate page with many more options for formatting your post? As it turns out, very few! For those of you reading here, did you know that you can also start writing in the quick reply box, then press “Reply” and continue writing from there without losing anything? Alternatively, have you ever thought why the separation of the reply screen on a completely separate page? There has to be a better way to handle that.

For the last example we can take a look at the categories and boards in the admin panel.


The buttons are located both on the top and the bottom with new buttons appearing when you click certain elements. Nothing really guiding you to a specific action despite the most common action being new board creation.

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The solution

We spent a while trying to find an appropriate solution to unifying how actions are performed across the new version. How do we make them far more prominent on the page? How do we increase the visibility and hopefully guiding users to the most common actions?

It’s called the Floating Action Button or “FAB” for short.


Present on any page that has a main action you’ll find a brightly colored button floating over the bottom right corner of the screen, regardless of the device you are viewing it on. The button follows you around and always represents the main action you can take on that page and always remains contextual.

Inside of a board you will see a button that helps you to a quick thread creation:


While in a thread you will see the same button guiding you to create a post with some more of the relevant options quickly accessible.

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It would be fair to say that software needs to be intuitive and guide users towards the most important actions that embody the forums and our software in general. Aside from reading the content, contributing is of utmost importance to a forum owner. A floating action button inviting a user to create a post or a thread embodies what forums are all about.

The increased prominence of primary features (like thread and post creation) across the forums will guide users to the two goals we all share in common: participation and interaction. Every member will be able to quickly see how to participate in a thread, and they will continually be invited to participate in the conversation on the forum.

Last but not least, let’s see how quickly a user can create a post in the new version.


Of course none of this changes on mobile!


It's important to note that our designs are not finished. The images seen above are from pre-alpha builds and are subject to change. Please do not presume any of the above as final design versions

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Frequently Asked Questions

• My users won’t be able to find the button!
  While we believe the buttons are incredibly prominent on the pages and hard to miss. Users will be presented with a quick walkthrough/tutorial the first time they visit a page to aid them with the changes in the button placement. The walkthrough should only take seconds and fully communicate the basics of how to use the forum.
  
• Can I change the colors of the buttons?
  Yes.
  
• Is there a way to not use the FAB?
  While there will not be an enable/disable for the feature, theme creators and fellow developers will be able to edit templates to achieve the same effect without difficulty.
  
• Can I add/remove/modify buttons inside the FAB?
  Yes. The v6 JavaScript API will include functionality to add and remove buttons.
  
  Pseudocode examples:
  pb.fab.addButton({ text, icon, action, className, href });
pb.fab.removeButton({ className });
pb.fab.modifyButton({ className, newDescriptionText, newAction });
  
• Where can I read more about Floating Action Buttons?
  You can find some more information and some guidelines with using a Floating Action Button inside Google’s Material Design guidelines: material.io/guidelines/components/buttons-floating-action-button.html
  

[/quote]FYI, the people who pay for forums.net would also probably like to be able to be asked what they need to succeed. I bet that alot of them do not wander into the proboards support forum. Might want to email this stuff out to them/us. 

For the record, I like the idea of that Floating action button. It would be cool to see V6 to have some features that other forum software doesn't have. The ability to be 100% responsive is badly needed. To me, it's the one thing iv'e needed like yesterday. 

Lets face it. We all need to focus on what we can do to compete with Facebook groups. They are killing forums all over, simply because people are inherently lazy and they are already logged into facebook on their phones, so they join a Facebook group instead of a forum that has a "mobile mode" because to so easy to upload pics to Facebook while out and about.  I hate Facebbok groups. It's just one long stupid thread but their immense popularity is a sign that people don't care about forum features or buttons or colors and styles and background images. They care about it being the easiest and most convenient platform to share and learn with instant gratification.  

With that said, Im here to tell you and Patrick and the entire team that I feel you should work on a paid APP option for forums.net and proboards forums. I have been studying the latest and greatest forum software out there, I really look forward to Version six and how it can help my forums grow and retain members. But I honestly feel that any forum software that is to compete with Facebook groups will need to have an app option or we will all die on the vine over the next 5 years. 

With a phone app, like Facebook, it draws members back to the forum by displaying forum posts/news on their phone's homescreen. It negates the need of having to login or even open a browser, they just click on it and go right into the forum. It makes it really easy to post pics from within the app. And honestly, I think an app option would set proboards apart and put you guys and our forums, seriously high up on the ladder of forum software. It's what people want now. 

Ok, these were just my meager thoughts and I fully expect to see some retort below. I deserve that. I really like Forums.net/Proboards but man, this Ver-6 update is a long freakin time coming. If there was a way to make a theme that is 100% responsive before Ver 6 comes out, it would be freaking great.