Regarding the site design - it's excellent. The pleasant background on the forum. BUT, if you compare it, say, with Liga Geroyev (I hope this isn't considered advertising) - their design is practically nonexistent, yet the league rules... because of the great "content" and great players! So I think design is far from the main thing; the main thing is tournaments and attracting newcomers.
Regarding the DB system - the highlight of HeroesWorld, it's definitely needed. Leave the birds where they currently sit! Though I have indeed noticed a couple of times that some players raise their spirit only to comment on the previous comment.