The future of Evo-Web

Mart

Mart

Executive Janitor
Staff
Joined
28 February 2002
Location
NYC
Team
Darlington FC
We will be moving servers imminently (likely tonight) and need to make some changes to make the site sustainable. At the moment I'm paying for the hosting/software and have been for many years but this isn't sustainable and the costs keep rising. It also means if I'm unemployed that the site would have to go away or be sold etc. My plan is to:
  1. Enable ads again. This will just be a banner at the bottom of the page from Google AdSense. I have no intentions of splattering ads all over the place and making the site annoying or hard to read.

    I know people use ad blockers and I don't blame you but it does stop us getting any revenue from the ad scheme.

  2. Start an Evo-Web Supporter donation scheme. This will be $10 a year to become an Evo-Web supporter and will deliver a completely ad-free experience. You will also show up as an Evo-Web supporter with a banner under your name on posts etc.

    This is not meant to create a tiered membership system so at present there are no more perks and the price is very low.
I'm not expecting to make money from this, the goal is purely to make the site sustain itself.

All of this is a trial. I'm open to other ideas if people have them.
 
I've spent more time in my life being registered to Evo-Web than the time I spent without being a member.
This place has become like a second home to me, even if I'm not active anymore in the editing scene: if the donation scheme became a thing (are you planning on using PayPal perhaps?) I'd surely consider it.

The only thing I'm kindly asking (but I'm sure you are with me on this and I think it shows from your message above) is that accepting donations to keep the site running shouldn't prevent non-donors from accessing any content/section of the forum.
I've seen a couple of forums in which some sections were hidden behind a paywall, and this alone made me decide that I could make do without them.
 
Thank you and I'm glad this is still like a home for you.

The only thing I'm kindly asking (but I'm sure you are with me on this and I think it shows from your message above) is that accepting donations to keep the site running shouldn't prevent non-donors from accessing any content/section of the forum.
Click to expand...
That's exactly the plan. I hate paywall stuff too so will always try and do right on here.

Also, yes, PayPal is the easiest option to setup and it integrates with XenForo.
 
nikolapfc89 said:
Just give us donation link to remove those ads :D
Click to expand...
This! Not for the ads, but as a means to support the community.

Jokes apart, it looks like they get a bit in the way on mobile and cover the navigation buttons at the bottom of the page (screens taken with Safari on iOS here):

1763714993279.png 1763715001171.png

You see that when the ad is "closed" the navigation buttons on the right are visible and the "back" button on the left is somehow there... When the ad is open they're totally covered.
Well... A reason more to go ad-less with a donation, I presume.

And no, you don't really want to know why I'd surf Evo-Web at 5:30 AM while having breakfast.
 
Tom said:
It works!
Click to expand...
Yes it does! ❤️

EDIT: may I have a try at designing an alternative "supporter" banner?
I'm imagining it made with the same font the "evoweb" title image is made with (gotta reshape some letters but I have an idea for those).
 
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You can but the idea behind this one was to match the 2001 label on the logo. Now fixed for Windows users.
 
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*aLe said:
Yes it does! ❤️
Click to expand...
Uhm... I'm not sure it does.
I thought I managed to upgrade my account (to the extent that I got this confirmation) as it sent me through the PayPal part:
Screenshot 2025-11-21 191537.png

Yet, no sign of Paypal transaction and now it offers me to upgrade again.

@Mart do you want me to retry? Willing to, of course, but I thought I'd ask before doing it again!
 
Hmm, I've removed the recurring option for now. Would you mind retrying? I don't see anything on our side.
 
Done it again (it's three times now), but nothing changed. 😟

I'm paying via a prepaid card, not via the PayPal balance, if that matters.
When I pay, I'm going through the bank's 2FA on the phone and I'm receiving the e-mail notifications from the bank that isdsued the prepaid card I'm using, but there's no sign of transaction within PayPal (and I guess this is the reason you don't see them either).
 
Yeah, nothing at all here. Sorry. :( Might be a thing Paypal needs to look at.
 
Yes, definitely something between PayPal and my bank I guess.
I'm reaching out to them and see what they say. I'll keep you posted (and of course I do hope they could sort it out soon).
 
Mart said:
You can but the idea behind this one was to match the 2001 label on the logo. Now fixed for Windows users.
Click to expand...
Well... I did mine but I think yours is better.
I thought it would look cool with the font matching the header, but it's "meh" at the moment:

supporter.png
 
I’ll grab it and see how it looks in different situations. It’s a tricky font to work with. Ask me how I know.
 
Thank you. I’m not sure it’s fully working at this point.
 
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