Does Wincustomize need a make over?

Bash2cool

Join Date 08/2004

Does Wincustomize need a make over?

it's been i think three years since Wincustomize changed its website look so should it change it's look now? Well to me ... i think they should wait till Microsoft releases Longhorn cause longhorn will be different than windows. and there will be new styles.

So should it have a new make-over? please place comments on what you think.

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

it's been i think three years since Wincustomize changed its website look so should it change it's look now?

WOW!!! i think thats how this thread started

Yes, but it was erroneous....the 'new' site look dates to the beginning of 2005, and it ain't 2008 quite yet....

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I think Boss is striving to reach new levels of antagonism. I tuned him out early on. There is a fine line between constructive criticism and abuse.

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I am really amazed at the amount of anger and frustration that has been vented here in this thread and in others like it. I've been a subscriber here since February and I have to say that, even with the amount of problems the site has had lately, it has been MORE than worth it.

It was $20!

Try going to one movie with your significant other, or out to dinner for less! For my twenty dollars I get a whole year of unlimited (yes, even with the problems) access to an amazing world of creativity and community.

It is clear that the people (paid and unpaid) who administer this site are doing their best to handle the problems that come up, and I for one applaud your efforts. And, I appreciate the opportunity to experience and participate here.

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Fairyy~

Join Date 02/2004

+49

~When I made my initial comment which was more or less on the topic about " site makeover " I hadnt had time to read this whole thread..

I was too busy dealing with trying to stay logged in and turning pages.

Money will always be the basis for any business to run smoothly.I agree that more effort should be put into increasing Subscriptions. But in your effort to bring in new subscribers..if you lose just as many "old" ones its a vicious circle.

Just a small observation:
#50 by dj_cityboy
"
But..... most of this thread has been people shooting off there mouths about one another and other silly CRAP!!!the only thing that would make me stop comin here wouldnt be the "sites look"
it would be how people act towards each other here...

grow up....or stay in kindergarden and take it to the sandbox

I HEART WINCUSTOMIZE"
dj_cityboy
UserID: 809828
Member Since: 1/3/2004
Last Visited: 7/19/2005 9:42:10 PM
Access Class: Citizen (1)
User Level: Visitor (2)
********************************
#52 by Emily
Tue, July 19, 2005 10:58 PM
"
I think Boss is striving to reach new levels of antagonism. I tuned him out early on. There is a fine line between constructive criticism and abuse. "
Emily:
UserID: 1925
Member Since: 5/9/2001
Last Visited: 7/19/2005 10:51:00 PM
Access Class: Apprentice (2)
User Level: Visitor (2)

*****************************
Perhaps maybe if more of you would put out $20 for a WC subscription..then we wouldnt need any further site issue discussions.

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Indeed. A WinCustomize subscription goes to help the site directly. The more subscribers we have, the more money WinCustomize has to spend on making this a better place. A site this size doesn't run on fresh air, bills have to be paid.

If you want to help WinCustomize, subscribe now. Considering what you get in return, $20 is a bargain

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Island Dog

Join Date 06/2003

+1048

I have had no regrets about paying to subscribe to Wincustomize. Sometimes the problems with the site are frustrating, but I have confidence that they will be fixed. At least the people who run the site actually take the time to listen and respond, even to criticism. How many sites do that?

I am very happy with Wincustomize and Stardock products in general. However, I do feel their marketing is poor, and they could attract more customers.

I agree with the other posters that more subcription drives, contests, and promotions are necessary. I for one, can volunteer for whatever you need. Just ask.

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

When my WC subscription comes up for renewal. I'll happily pay the $20 without qualm....despite the few bugs the site is experiencing now. I have the utmost confidence that the people who strive to keep it functional will resolve whatever issues that may arise. Yes, I experience time-outs and etc, but hey, I don't need to be there yesterday...nor does life depend upon the skins or forums here.

Whilst the skins, forums and interaction with others make it a great place to visit, patience and understanding goes a long way towards enjoying the experience here, also. Losing ones patience and temper resolves nothing...nor does bitching and slanging off at WC and those who endeavour to keep it running....doing so gives others reason the view one less and less favorably. If the standard of the site is lowered, it's not through newbie skins or the like, but with impatient, aggressive and obnoxious behaviour. Furthermore, it's less likely to attract subscriptions from old and new visitors, when the tone is often less than pleasant

I was always told that if I had nothing nice or constructive to say, it was better to say nothing at all....and that applies here. Flaming skinners is frowned upon, so as not to discourage them from uploading and sharing their works....same with the site....when enough flaming is more than enough, it just won't be there for the lack of gratitude and respect. Besides. nobody's arm is twisted to come here....so for those who find WC so darned bad, why persist with something you've deemed so annoying?

I'm not alone in my praise and gratitude for WC and each and every person who endeavours to provide a great place to visit, so hey guys.....

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starkers

Join Date 05/2004

+1153

As for a site make-over....well how about some curtains, a vase of flowers here and there, a painting or two...maybe picket fences to separate differnent areas.......

Maybe a bit of rouge and lipstick on some of the emoticons to better represent our female members:

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5) The specific cause of the problems is that *something* is locking the articles database across our servers. In turn, requests to it pile up and eventually the database starts to go down but not before everything slows to a crawl.

Have you considered using well established and mature 3rd party forum software, rather than (I think) your own proprietary sotftware? Or wouldn't that help?

Posted via WinCustomize Browser/Stardock Central

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Frogboy

Join Date 03/2001

+2419

Have you considered using well established and mature 3rd party forum software, rather than (I think) your own proprietary sotftware? Or wouldn't that help?

It's hard to say. That third party forum software would still need to access the database and until we find out what is locking the database, odds are the same thing would happen. Third-party forum systems are just a different set of scripts. Our issue is that there's probably some stored procedure or some job in the database that's tying everything up.

I think we are on the road to narrowing it down - has the site not been running pretty flawlessly for around the past day?

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PurrBall

Join Date 02/2003

+23

has the site not been running pretty flawlessly for around the past day?

Yes, it's been running GREAT! (exept for one little insect that prevented me from searching; T-Man's DA MAN.

)

Nice and speedy also.

Meowy
UserID: 589429
Member Since: 2/21/2003
Last Visited: 7/11/2005 5:54:23 PM
Access Class: Apprentice (2)
User Level: CurrentCustomer (4)

I'm no visitor!

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I think we are on the road to narrowing it down - has the site not been running pretty flawlessly for around the past day?

Yes, well done to all those involved!

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the site today was running really bad this morning that i couldn't even to to wincustomize.com but hey... it was running pretty good and fast after a while.

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Yes the sites been running better (except that search thing yesterday - but has worked today!)

UserID: 717325
Member Since: 10/19/2003 3:03:04 AM
Last Visited: 7/11/2005 12:55:54 AM
Access Class: Apprentice (2)
User Level: Subscriber (5)
Bytes Downloaded: 631 MB

Yes, when it's time I'll renew, even a Troll can spot a good deal.

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Member Since: 3/3/2004 1:59:36 AM
Last Visited: 7/15/2005 10:29:41 AM
Access Class: Apprentice (2)
User Level: Subscriber (5)
Bytes Downloaded: 1251 MB

Yeah, me too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Member Since: 11/27/2002
Last Visited: 7/16/2005 10:42:43 PM
Access Class: Citizen (1)
User Level: Subscriber (5)
Bytes Downloaded: 1559 MB

I'll happily renew this year since I've downloaded so much.

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and peeps call Trolls greedy!

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you guys are lucky to subscribe.

if my parents knew that i was on wincustomize.com, they wouldn'like it cause they think that it's a waste of time and money. so i make skins and articles secretly.

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you guys are lucky to subscribe. if my parents knew that i was on wincustomize.com, they wouldn'like it cause they think that it's a waste of time and money

and peeps call Trolls greedy

He's got a year on you and two on me. Trolls and Dragons? Greedy!!

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As long as we're allowing for a little vanity:

UserID: 913
Member Since: 4/14/2001
Access Class: Journeyman (4)
User Level: Subscriber (5)
Bytes Downloaded: 745 MB

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I enjoy this website and what it offers. Its not so congested like I feel DA is. Plus its an easy site to use and find what you want. I do wish more would subscribe, its not that much money. I do wish however there was more incentive for those who haven't subscribed yet to do so. The unlimited downloads don't really matter to most, they'll find a way around it. It used to be you could look forward to getting a premium skin with it, however the last one made was over a year ago. Maybe even offer a free version of Windowblinds randomly or something along that idea.
I just don't think there is much incentive for people to subscribe these days.
Overall I think it runs very well. Occaisionally I have had problems but its not the end of the world. I just come back later. I won't die without my daily Wincustomize fix.

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I won't die without my daily Wincustomize fix.

I might.

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NightTrainthedark

Join Date 07/2003

+255

Someone that specializes in Marketing can probably produce some more realistic numbers but here are some casual figures.

Let's say Wincustomize sells 10,000 subscriptions.

10,000 x $ 20.00 = $200,000

10,000 x $ 40.00 = $400,000

50,000 x $ 5.00 = $ 250.000

10,000 x $ 1.00 = $10,000

1,000,000 x $ 1.00 = $ 1,000,000

My point being that a solution to increasing subscription sales could be as simple as lowering the price.

Personally I would pay $40.00 to help out the site but I think raising the cost that would reduce subscriptions. Getting $1.00 out of people is alot easier than getting $20.00. Heck, you could do 6 month subscriptions at $ 1.00 each. How could a parent not want to spend $1.00 to keep the kid's happy. They get hours and hours for $ 1.00. Thats less than a can of soda in alot of places. There is obvious risk in reducing the subscription cost, it's just a matter of if someone wants to take the risk.

You can reduce the download cap forcing people to subscribe earlier. I don't think the give em a taste and then they are hooked appraoch at selling works very well. That's just my experience.

Was just doing some thinking and thought I would throw that out. As usual there is probably a huge flaw in my logic.

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Frogboy

Join Date 03/2001

+2419

$20 per year is pretty modest I think. deviantART charges $30+ or so per year I believe and subscriptions provide fewer goodies and they get a lot more subscribers.

Personally, i think a lot of it is that we need to support PayPal which is something we're goiing to look at once the site is stabilized.

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My point being that a solution to increasing subscription sales could be as simple as lowering the price.

Personally I would pay $40.00 to help out the site but I think raising the cost that would reduce subscriptions. Getting $1.00 out of people is alot easier than getting $20.00. Heck, you could do 6 month subscriptions at $ 1.00 each. How could a parent not want to spend $1.00 to keep the kid's happy. They get hours and hours for $ 1.00.

That's a good idea! you should tell that to Frogboy and see what he thinks

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