Forum Posting Basics

Be clear about what’s not working

Please don’t just tell us that your “site layout is broken” or that it is “not working”. Be clear about what is not working.

Often we read something like “there’s a problem with the widget” … but when we check the site, it’s not at all clear what this “widget” is. Remember that we have probably never seen your site before, and that we may have different names for the various components anyway. (For example, “banner” usually refers to something at the top of your page, but recently someone was using it to refer to something in the footer—without telling us! )

So be as clear as you can about what element is not working the way you want, and be clear about why it’s not working. It might look fine to us, because we don’t know what you are expecting to see. It can be very helpful to post a screen shot (say from Photoshop) of what you are expecting to see. (As they say, a picture tells a thousand words.) Make it as easy as for people to help you as possible: you may only have someone’s attention for a few moments, so don’t waste the opportunity to get helped!