Do you have an "About Us" page?

As the title asks... do you have an "About Us" page or thread? Do you think it helps visitors understand your forum's purpose/goal or anything like that? What benefits do you see it providing?

 

I don't think so, the link on my main site just goes to my profile page. Is it a good idea to have one?

 

I'm not really sure; that's sort-of why I'm inquiring and seeing what other people think.

 

I don't use one. I think the forums you have listed give a good idea of what you're about. Maybe it could be a good idea to list what you want to accomplish? Not sure.

 

I have one which I setup this year. It's really a must for any business site IMO, though we are not a business site, I think having a dedicated page explaining who you are and what you offer is a good thing - instead of making users read though the forums to find out. It shows the site has a professional touch and as a user it's always fun to read about any site you're interested in. If you're gonna take the time to write up an about us page, I would recommend making it a custom page and not a thread.

 

^ Yours is really good! I think for me personally, its definitely something I'd consider a year or two into existence

 

Nice.

I was going to change the FAQ button into a About/FAQ button, then put the information in there. But I am starting to dig into the next version of forum software, perhaps an article or blog would be better.

 

My home page is basically an about us page and I have an about me page as well.

 

I have something like that. To start, here is an excerpt from the guest welcome message near the top of my forum (emphasis added):

That links to my lengthy post explaining everything I can remember about how the forum got where it is, and what my motivations for creating and maintaining it were.

Also, I customized the showgroups page, which only lists staff, is titled "Staff List," and is a link on the navbar. When you click it, there is this message above the listing:

The topic linked to in that message contains the biographies of all the current staff members.

Finally, Saint, one of my fellow administrators, created a not-so-serious, but entertaining and somewhat informative "The Infinity Encyclopedia" sub-section, which includes a "Short History of the Universe," a more entertaining account of the forum's history, along with topics such as "Notable Members" and "Notable Threads" which contain my fellow administrator's thoughts on certain people and topics, respectively, and why you should probably care, too.

That said, I think this information is quite important for my forum, since it is a stand-alone, general discussion forum that relies on my word-of-mouth.

 

Mudora: My favorite Doctor AND Companion!

On-Topic:

In the past (as in on Astromech Factory), I've used the main CMPS page to explain what my forums have been about. But I've discovered that it's pretty annoying (to members AND me), so I think I'd like to make an About page for my forums now.

Tex's is a perfect example to follow.

 

Thanks guys. I actually saw the about page on vb.org and got my layout idea with the navigation menu from there, so I can't take full credit on the layout. I still had to figure out how to make the custom page and menu. It was worth the time it took though.

I would be willing to post the template code I used for my about page if you guys are interested. Just let me know.

 

Chani: Glad to see another fan of the Doctor and Romana.

Tex: I would be interested in that. A dedicated About Us page is a splendid idea.

 

I've included everything you need for an about page like mine. You can download the zip attached to this post. There is a Read Me included with instructions. Basically you just need to upload the contents in the UPLOAD folder to your forum directory and then create a new template titled: ABOUT

If you would like the rollover effect menu as I have on my site then use the code below for your template. If you want a simple menu with no rollover, I've included that code on the bottom of the Read Me. Enjoy!

HTML:

$stylevar[htmldoctype]
<html dir="$stylevar[textdirection]" lang="$stylevar[languagecode]">
<head>
<title>$vboptions[bbtitle]</title>
<style type="text/css">
<!--
.style50 {font-size: 11px}
-->
</style>
$headinclude
</head>
<body>
$header

$navbar

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" border="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="160">
<table class="tborder" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" width="160" border="0" align="center">
<tr><td class="tcat" align="left">Information</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; About Us</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Meet Our Staff</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Donations</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; F.A.Q.</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Site Map</span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tcat" align="left">Policies</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Rules & Guidelines</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; TOS Policy</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Privacy Policy</span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tcat" align="left">Extra Links</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tcat" align="left">RSS Syndication</td></tr>
<tr><td class="alt2" align="left">
<span class="style50">Subscribing to RSS Feeds allows you to receive up-to-date information from yoursite.com.</span>
<ul style="list-style-type: none;ist-style-position: outside">

<li><a href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtomyyahoo.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Add to My YAHOO" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.live.com/?add=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtolive.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Add to My Windows Live" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://my.msn.com/addtomymsn.armx?id=rss&ut=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtomymsn.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Add to My MSN" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtomygoogle.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Add to My Google" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/?url=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtomyaol.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Subscribe in your AOL" /></a></li>
</ul></td></tr>
</table>
<br />

<td width="10"></td>
<td width="100%" valign="top"><table class="tborder" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="4" border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td class="tcat" width="100%">About Us</td>
</tr>


<tr>
<td class="alt2" valign="top">
<p>YOUR PAGE CONTENT HERE</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
$footer
</body>
</html>

 

Just a small update to my post above.

I installed the Advanced Forum Rules modification by Cybernetec and wanted to implement the custom menu on the left side of the page as I did with my About page. If you have this modification installed and wish to do the same then you need to edit the following template:

Cybernetec Templates -> cyb_frules

Find:

HTML:

<if condition="$cybfrules_showgeneral">

Paste this after it & edit links for your site:

HTML:

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" border="0" align="center">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="160">
<table class="tborder" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1" width="160" border="0" align="center">
<tr><td class="tcat" align="left">Information</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; About Us</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Meet Our Staff</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Donations</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; F.A.Q.</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Site Map</span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tcat" align="left">Policies</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Rules & Guidelines</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; TOS Policy</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Privacy Policy</span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tcat" align="left">Extra Links</td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#ebecee" width="100%" onclick="window.location='http://www.yoursite.com'" style="cursor:pointer; background-color:#ebecee" onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#fafafa';" onmouseout="this.style.backgroundColor='#ebecee';"><span class="portalnav">&raquo; Link</span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tcat" align="left">RSS Syndication</td></tr>
<tr><td class="alt2" align="left">
<span class="style50">Subscribing to RSS Feeds allows you to receive up-to-date information from yoursite.com.</span>
<ul style="list-style-type: none;ist-style-position: outside">

<li><a href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtomyyahoo.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Add to My YAHOO" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.live.com/?add=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtolive.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Add to My Windows Live" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://my.msn.com/addtomymsn.armx?id=rss&ut=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtomymsn.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Add to My MSN" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtomygoogle.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Add to My Google" /></a></li>
<li><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/?url=http://www.yoursite.com/external.php"><img src="../images/misc/addtomyaol.gif" border="0" width="90" height="16" alt="Subscribe in your AOL" /></a></li>
</ul></td></tr>
</table>
<br />

<td width="10"></td>
<td width="100%" valign="top"><table class="tborder" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="4" border="0" width="100%">

Finally, paste this just before $footer:

HTML:

                </td>
</tr>
</table>

 

Dewd Tex, pardner.

To me, that is pretty slick About Us page. I really like your layout and use. Idk that I'd have a use like that, but if I ever did....I know where to go.

:headbang:

 

On my forum, we really don't have an "About Us" page..But we do have a welcome page. The welcome page basically states what the forum is about, services, ect..