I fess up - cos I think I've created it.
http://www.maranoa.org.au/xoops/

We've had a community website at http://www.maranoa.org.au for a few years, and with a change in hosting, got access to XOOPS. Eventually I'd like to migrate all content to the http://www.maranoa.org.au/xoops/ part of the site.

But I can't seem to stop it looking so damm ugly. I see other sites that look slick and professional - this looks a dog's breakfast at the moment.

I'm kinda doing it alone now - cos I'm not good at delegating, but I'd like to be able to sort out a nice slick look - I really do like the template we used, and plan to use lots of pictures of locals eventually.

Anyone got ideas on what I need to do? Be harsh - I can sort of take it!

Basil

I suggest cutting down to 3 columns - maybe just use a single center column, and put the poll/random pictures in one of the side columns?

Where is Maranoa? (just saw the map - very impressed that you have internet there).

I've seen worse

Ease up on yourself, Bruce. That ain't all that bad, and in time, you will refine it.

Damn big Cockatoo in that picture.

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I know what you mean about falling in love with a theme. There have been more than a few instances when I've spent waaaaayyyyyyyy too much time designing a site because I liked the way the theme looked. After a while, you have to ask yourself, "Am I trying to make the site fit the theme, or the theme fit the site?"

(Heck, I'll be honest. It's happened on every site I've done. Guess you can call me hard headed. )

Some themes look great until you start filling them with content or try customizing them. Then they slowly start to lose their appeal because they don't look quite the way you imagined, or the columns don't appear the way you want them to, or....

I suppose most of us here try a few different themes before we find the one that works best for a particular site; I know I go through 5 or 6 sometimes.

Anyway, here's a suggestion for XOOPS theme that may work for you if you can't get the results you want. It's called Harmony:

https://xoops.org/modules/library/singlefile.php?cid=1&lid=81.

It's an easy theme to work with and very versatile, in my opinion. I've used it on two sites, and the results are so different, you wouldn't think they were both made from the same theme. And if you're familiar with RGB, you can easily match the theme's original colors to match the one you're using on your site now.

P.S. Luciano was right. I've seen worse. All of them made by me.

P.P.S. I just learned something from your site! I didn't know that xoopgallery & xcgallery could co-exist on a web site. Ya learn something new every day!

What exactly is bothering you about the site? I mean, I can see bits that I would change, but are you looking for design advice, or do you know how you want it to look but can't quite get the theme to do as it's told?

If it's design comments you are after, I must say that there's one specific change rom the original imago06 theme that's kind of hurting my eyes; the change from the darker, muted blue to that bright blue. It doesn't fit the colour scheme any more. If you are dedicated to that bright blue then maybe a complete change of the site's colour scheme will be required, which means more splashing around in the style.css file.

I hope that helps!


KK.