http://www.marriagelaughs.com/<p>I threw together a small site for people to submit funny/odd/interesting stories about their married life.<p>I could use some stories and some suggestions on improving the site.<p>Thanks
I like the idea, and I think you're missing two tricks. I think you have two key metrics that if you grow will end up making the website grow nicely:<p>1. Visitor engagement measured as time on site, pages viewed per visit, number of comments, etc. I say you're missing this trick because there is only one story as far as I can tell. Give me more! I really wanted to read more but there wasn't anything. Get a few (10?) stories up there as "seed" content.<p>2. New stories posted: you want people to register and post stories. You have no massive call to action about this. Yes there are links to register but where is the Big Red Button that says "Post your story"? Make it extremely obvious how people can post stories and make it extremely easy to do so.<p>On making it easy: how about accepting anonymous submissions and then asking the user to sign up and when they do their anon submissions are claimed into their account automatically?<p>Or how about just making the site user-moderated with anonymous submissions without the need for accounts?<p>I'm not saying you should do these, but they are ideas to get you thinking about what you're comfortable with.<p>Edit: The contact page says "My Fieldset". Rename it :)
Provide other ways for people to interact with the site beyond submitting lengthy stories. Right now, people might be put off thinking that their story isn't entertaining enough or long enough.<p>So, accept "quickies" - short items, one-liners, etc. Style them differently and encourage people to submit one of their own. Give some inspiration - what does your wife sound like when she snores? The best white lie told? The excuses given for buying chocolate (my wife came home and told me that she bought me a block of chocolate today - I don't really eat chocolate and never buy it)? Techniques used to hide evidence of shopping ("I've had this for ages."). Bizarre places/positions in which your husband has fallen asleep, etc. Items of clothing he refuses to throw out.
First off, I love the idea, though I would extend it beyond married life to Relationship laughs, or even just "sharing space" or some such. Just stories about trying to live together and be together with people.<p>It's a solid implementation, though the design is nothing spectacular, it's not an eye sore either and does the job. The one thing I would suggest is allowing comments - but using a solid moderation hand.<p>One question though, will you allow stories of a non-pg nature?
I like the site too. I have to agree that the site's design isn't too captivating. My suggestion would be to highlight a random story on the front page, with a call to action to submit a story right below it.<p>Your site is one I can see myself spending time on for a good laugh.
I like anything which makes light-heart out of things like relationships, politics. Its great to read other people's stories. Make the site more engaging so I feel compelled to contribute. I don't think accounts are a necessity for a site like this; anonymous posts are fine.
How about: "I'll post the site url on my blog, facebook, community page, and see what happens". My suggestion is find a way to drive traffic(me smiling). I like your idea and hope to see it grow. I'd post but I'm not married.....
Simplicity is key for these types of sites. Right now your site looks like a standard blog. The other comments have some good ideas on how to influence users to submit