Anime Website [Nihonomaru] Xenforo

KatieH

KatieH

Member
I keep testing Xenforo and I am really happy with it. I think in January I will buy it. Is there an easy way to convert from Vbulletin to Xenforo? This is my forum http://forum.nihonomaru.com

As you can see, it is heavily modified and the design is sleek, now how would this work with Xenforo :/ This is my main issue. Any expert here who is good with design and Xenforo? I do have like 4 custom styles including the default style. Is converting the design easy?

My only issue that is preventing me from buying Xenforo is finding the help i need to move from vb to xenforo and convert my vb designs to xenforo. If this is done and the price is not that steep, than I can certainly move to Xenforo! :0) because i love its simplicity. But it lacks many of the good modification on Vbulletin :/
 
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I've just converted a vB 3.x board to XenForo. It's not a problem at all for most of default datas, except for the smilies (you will have to reimport them with extra addons that are available here, see the Smiley Manager of htdesignZ, and some Smilies import tools: Smiles bulk importer (sonnb) or Smilie Importer by Waindigo.
  • If you use extra addons such a shoutbox or a thank system, you will also find Luke addons here (Post Ratings - taking likes to the next level & TaigaChat Pro), but you will have to manually import your previous sql datas. It can be done with phpmyadmin with a few tweaks.
  • For your bbcodes, I've had a look, it shouldn't be a problem at all to convert your few customized ones. I'm just not sure for your "pwsword".
  • There is a great tool, that you will certainly to use : Kier's Post Content Replacement Tool. It will allow you to make quick replacements inside your posts
For your default content, the import tool has an option that will make your posts, members, attachments keep their original ID. There is also a Mike redirection script. So you can install your XenForo forum inside another directory.

"Converting" the design is the thing that will take you the most of time, but it's your website identity, so try to start as soon as possible and do a little day by day. XenForo templates system is using more default colors than vBulletin 3.x. So it might be strange at the beginning, but the appearance options are really powerful. The only problems I think is that there are really a lot of properties. Before to convert my themes, I have preferred to make this tool first. In my case it helped me a lot. Try to make your four themes used the same architecture (ie: 1 parent theme and three children with color & pictures variations). If you plan to make modifications inside templates (html or css), you should really use Guiltar Template Modification System (TMS).

So let's sum up:
  1. Move from vb to xenforo is not a problem at all. You might have problems, but the community will help you.
  2. Convert your themes will take you a lot of time, that's for sure. Start as soon as possible. It's not that hard, it's just very long to do.
  3. About modifications, you said he lacks here good modifications, which ones for examples? I'm pretty sure you will find everything you need inside the resources manager. For example, I think for your website an addon such as Showcase from Bobster could be a success from an editorial perspective.
You also have to know that XenForo forums are more targeting by spammers than vB 3.x (see the reasons in that thread). As soon as you installed XenForo, use at least Chris Registration From Timeraddon).

Now, a last thing to add, my users really loved the jump from vB 3.x to XenForo. So take some time to convert your forums is worth doing.
 
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Well given the long process, i would rather get a price quote from someone who is familiar with Xenforo and an expert, not experimenting.. So the process can go smoothly :0) because i think that is a lot of work.
 
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Also be aware of any functionality/features you might be using but will be lacking once you switch.

For example - I used the "Request to join usergroup" feature in vbulletin, but had to revert telling members to PM a moderator or myself when they wanted access to a private area. I think there is a mod for that now, but when I switched there was nothing available.
 
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Now that is an important modification :/ What i was thinking is once our homepage project is launched, i will buy Xenforo and use it for a small community relative to the homepage and leave the big community for vb forum. I know it is weird to have two boards but now that i think about it there is too much that would be missing for Xenforo. I use for example AME addon, Media Embedding. And then user, usergoup tag, promotion and rank is part of vb, i don't think Xenforo has one like it.
 
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I used AME as well, but xenforo handles embedded video links very well by itself. I have vimeo, youtube, facebook, and liveleak working without issue. Usergroup promotions are also in xenforo, and though I don't use it, the criteria for usergroup promotions seems to be very extensive.
 
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KatieH said:
What i will do, i think i will have two board vb and xenforo and integrate the design of my vb into xenforo, without all these vb addons. I think that is the best solution =)
Click to expand...

Whenever I access your site I get redirected to the fraudulent "Mac Cleaner" app, which just does not go away, and yes I do use a mac
 
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It must be one of the ads, they appear from time to time until they are reported. If you can pm me a screenshot of the ad, that would help reporting it. B/c i didn't get it so far.
 
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KatieH said:
Now that is an important modification :/ What i was thinking is once our homepage project is launched, i will buy Xenforo and use it for a small community relative to the homepage and leave the big community for vb forum. I know it is weird to have two boards but now that i think about it there is too much that would be missing for Xenforo. I use for example AME addon, Media Embedding. And then user, usergoup tag, promotion and rank is part of vb, i don't think Xenforo has one like it.
Click to expand...

Splitting a board like that sounds like a sure fire way to kill your entire anime network there. You have thousands if not more competitors...I wouldn't split your board if I was you. You'll have to make choice. VB is bloated software and spammer friendly...but it also had a bigger mod development area (for now..remember Xen is at a stand still right now). Xenforo is better software but has less mods. You could always hire people to make your mods but that's not a sure fire guarantee.

You might want to sit on the idea for a bit and decide which is truly better for you. The hassle of moving software generally annoys forum goers if done too many times.
 
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Cal said:
Splitting a board like that sounds like a sure fire way to kill your entire anime network there. You have thousands if not more competitors...I wouldn't split your board if I was you. You'll have to make choice. VB is bloated software and spammer friendly...but it also had a bigger mod development area (for now..remember Xen is at a stand still right now). Xenforo is better software but has less mods. You could always hire people to make your mods but that's not a sure fire guarantee.

You might want to sit on the idea for a bit and decide which is truly better for you. The hassle of moving software generally annoys forum goers if done too many times.
Click to expand...

Well my idea is to buy xenforo and link it to the "Community" tab, now the sections there will be different than my actual forum and will be related tot he homepage which is really a huge project, it is going to get launched by the end of February. I like Xenforo and I also like VB. So having both won't hurt. I don't want to sacrifice one for the other.
 
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Hi there KatieH.
Cal is totally right about what he said. Splitting your community that way wont help you.
KatieH said:
Well my idea is to buy xenforo and link it to the "Community" tab, now the sections there will be different than my actual forum and will be related tot he homepage which is really a huge project, it is going to get launched by the end of February. I like Xenforo and I also like VB. So having both won't hurt. I don't want to sacrifice one for the other.
Click to expand...
Even if you say so, I assume the people who gonna register on your new board would be the old members from the original board, this is somehow bad atleast for me, since your members are used to vB and I guess they love it.
Don't just think about yourself :p because I had a similar situation where I had to switch from vB to Discuz.
Actually there are a lot of reasons why you shouldn't but I kept it short :D
 
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Insanitariume said:
Hi there KatieH.
Cal is totally right about what he said. Splitting your community that way wont help you.

Even if you say so, I assume the people who gonna register on your new board would be the old members from the original board, this is somehow bad atleast for me, since your members are used to vB and I guess they love it.
Don't just think about yourself :p because I had a similar situation where I had to switch from vB to Discuz.
Actually there are a lot of reasons why you shouldn't but I kept it short :D
Click to expand...

I think I am going to buy Xenforo sometime next month or so :0) with the release of our homepage beta. I need Xenforo to act as a community for reporting bugs relative to the homepage, request for new features and discussion related to the homepage project improvements but nothing major in term of a big discussion board.

Homepage sneak peek:
http://www.nihonomaru.com/beta/profile.jpg

I am leaning more toward Xenforo because of its SEO features.
 
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