If we have a custom theme

[gail]

If we have a developer integrate XenForo into the website he's going to do for us and he'll also customize XenForo to the same design of our website, does the developer have to do updates to the theme he creates on a regular basis to keep it or XenForo from being hackable?

What about when there are XenForo updates or has new versions. Will the developer have to do updates to the theme also?

While I'm at it, when XenForo does updates or new versions, do I have to update all of my add-ons?

Apologies in advance if these are stupid questions. Just want to be sure.

 

[EQnoble]

If we have a developer integrate XenForo into the website he's going to do for us and he'll also customize XenForo to the same design of our website, does the developer have to do updates to the theme he creates on a regular basis to keep it or XenForo from being hackable?

What about when there are XenForo updates or has new versions. Will the developer have to do updates to the theme also?

These are things you sort out with the developer who creates custom things for you.

While I'm at it, when XenForo does updates or new versions, do I have to update all of my add-ons?

Only if your addons have updated versions released as a result.

 

[Amaury]

The only way there'd be security issues with templates would be if Java code were involved; otherwise, no, style updates wouldn't be needed other than compatibility updates for new XenForo versions due to a possibility of something breaking.

See above. A style update is not necessarily needed for each XenForo third-point release.

No. Although it's strongly recommended, especially if it's a security update.

 

[JustinHawk]

If we have a developer integrate XenForo into the website he's going to do for us and he'll also customize XenForo to the same design of our website, does the developer have to do updates to the theme he creates on a regular basis to keep it or XenForo from being hackable?

Depends what type of contract you have with the developer, he may support it till 1.X.x but may not support for 2.X.x.

What about when there are XenForo updates or has new versions. Will the developer have to do updates to the theme also?

If there are any major templates edits or customization done then yeah little bit tweaking will be required.

While I'm at it, when XenForo does updates or new versions, do I have to update all of my add-ons?

Keeping your addons latest is always better, if a add-on developer release a new version better to shift to it for security + safety concerns. Also be sure you perform all upgrades first at a test site so that there is no loss of data.

 

[gail]

If we have a developer integrate XenForo into the website he's going to do for us and he'll also customize XenForo to the same design of our website, does the developer have to do updates to the theme he creates on a regular basis to keep it or XenForo from being hackable?

The only way there'd be security issues with templates would be if Java code were involved; otherwise, no, style updates wouldn't be needed other than compatibility updates for new XenForo versions due to a possibility of something breaking.

See above. A style update is not necessarily needed for each XenForo third-point release.

No. Although it's strongly recommended, especially if it's a security update.

Suppose our developer is out of the picture. Will I be able to find someone who can do updates to his design for me?

 

[JustinHawk]

Suppose our developer is out of the picture. Will I be able to find someone who can do updates to his design for me?

Yeah u can post a request in custom development forum and someone will contact you

 

[gail]

Yeah u can post a request in custom development forum and someone will contact you

Thank you

 

[gail]

Depends what type of contract you have with the developer, he may support it till 1.X.x but may not support for 2.X.x.



If there are any major templates edits or customization done then yeah little bit tweaking will be required.



Keeping your addons latest is always better, if a add-on developer release a new version better to shift to it for security + safety concerns. Also be sure you perform all upgrades first at a test site so that there is no loss of data.

Great - thanks for the advice.

 

[sbj]

The best and easiest way is not to hire someone to make custom theme development for you. Because in the long run you will be dependent on that 1 guy, when you need something changed.

The better way is to use one of the paid themes you can find here on XF. Because then you can be sure that you are not the only one using that theme, that means a lot of customers for that 1 theme, that means that theme will be updated regularly to fit with the new versions. Although you can be almost sure that there won't be new versions for XenForo 1.X anymore. Probably minor updates for 1.x.X but not major updates, cause XenForo 2.0 is on the way.

So better you purchase a paid theme, ask the creator of the theme to make it look like to your site (as much as possible) and then let a developer make it integrate to your website. So the developer only needs to make sure the forum is integrated to the website whereas the theme creator is responsible for the theme (probably you need to pay the theme creator extra to give such a support).

And for addons. It depends on the addon but usually all addons need to be updated regularly. But as we have a special case right now, cause XF 2.0 will come out next year, you don't need to worry for the 1.X release anymore. That means any addon you can find in the Resource Manager which works for 1.5.x will work in the future, too. As it is very unlikely that there will be a major update for XF 1.X. Only minor updates 1.x.X. So if you go live now and use XF 1.5.X like the most of people here, and use addons, no need to worry for the future.

But on the other hand all addons for 1.X won't work with the XF 2.0 version. For that we all have to wait for the developers to re-release a new version of those addons.
That is why most websites won't switch to XF 2.0 when it comes out. Cause most forums use many addons and are dependent on them. They will wait longer till their addons get a new version for 2.0 and will make the switch later.

I tried to explain it as best as I can, but I am not a native speaker, so if you didn't understand some things, just ask straightly .

 

[gail]

sbj - You explained it perfectly. I was surprised you said you're not a native speaker. Your writing is impeccable. The one question I have is how can I find a theme that will be easily customizable to fit with the style our developer does for our website? Wouldn't I have to find a theme that's at least somewhat similar to our website design to begin with?

 

[sbj]

Thank you for your kind words.

That is a good question and that is exactly what you have to decide.

XF has a built-in setting, where you can easily change any color on your forum, so if you find a theme you like, you could match the colors on your website easily. Also with little html/css changes you could match more stuff (but it is limited).
But what you can't do is to match the look of the forum with your website 100%. For that you need a custom theme development.
But again, let's say you have a forum/site about gaming. There are a lot of gaming themes out there. Why need to re-invent the wheel (custom development), when you could get one of those existing ones and match it with your website as best as you can (colors and html/css changes)?
In other cases, when it is a unique thing, it will not be possible. You need customized theme.
(You can find free/paid themes here).

I suggested to get an existing theme, because you were asking about the updates. That is exactly what you need to consider.

You get a custom theme, which means on the upside it matches with your site, but on the downside you need to worry about updates (although for XF 1.5 not anymore).
Or you get an existing theme, on the upside you don't need to worry about updates, on the downside it may be not representing your website as best as you want.

There are so many themes available and in most cases there is always 1 or 2 themes people find fitting for their niche, without needing a custom development. You must make the call.
For example you can find here many people showcasing their forums. Each have a niche but most of them go with available themes. You can see how much you can make it fit with available themes.

Frankly said, it also depends on your budget. The big boards tend to have customized themes (you can find a good list here). They have the budget to go with that way. You have to know what you want to go with. There are handful of good theme creators here, who all can do great custom work for you and who make sure that the styles they create can be updated easily. Maybe ask for a quote and ask for the support they would give. Then decide what is best for you.

Wish you the best, good luck.

 

[gail]

Thank you for your kind words.

That is a good question and that is exactly what you have to decide.

XF has a built-in setting, where you can easily change any color on your forum, so if you find a theme you like, you could match the colors on your website easily. Also with little html/css changes you could match more stuff (but it is limited).
But what you can't do is to match the look of the forum with your website 100%. For that you need a custom theme development.
But again, let's say you have a forum/site about gaming. There are a lot of gaming themes out there. Why need to re-invent the wheel (custom development), when you could get one of those existing ones and match it with your website as best as you can (colors and html/css changes)?
In other cases, when it is a unique thing, it will not be possible. You need customized theme.
(You can find free/paid themes here).

I suggested to get an existing theme, because you were asking about the updates. That is exactly what you need to consider.

You get a custom theme, which means on the upside it matches with your site, but on the downside you need to worry about updates (although for XF 1.5 not anymore).
Or you get an existing theme, on the upside you don't need to worry about updates, on the downside it may be not representing your website as best as you want.

There are so many themes available and in most cases there is always 1 or 2 themes people find fitting for their niche, without needing a custom development. You must make the call.
For example you can find here many people showcasing their forums. Each have a niche but most of them go with available themes. You can see how much you can make it fit with available themes.

Frankly said, it also depends on your budget. The big boards tend to have customized themes (you can find a good list here). They have the budget to go with that way. You have to know what you want to go with. There are handful of good theme creators here, who all can do great custom work for you and who make sure that the styles they create can be updated easily. Maybe ask for a quote and ask for the support they would give. Then decide what is best for you.

Wish you the best, good luck.

sbj - you are very kind to spend so much time on this. Thank you. You've been a tremendous help.

 

[TPerry]

Many of the style/theme updates can easily be handled by the merge system in XenForo. The only "big" issue is when there are extensive modifications to the templates in the style and they (or any associated add-ons) depend upon the template modifications that are a search/replace type.

 

[gail]

Many of the style/theme updates can easily be handled by the merge system in XenForo. The only "big" issue is when there are extensive modifications to the templates in the style and they (or any associated add-ons) depend upon the template modifications that a search/replace type.

Thanks