If you were starting a new XenForo forum today, what would you do differently?

[MAXIM100]

Hi everyone,

I’ve just launched my forum using XenForo and I’m still learning the platform. I’d really appreciate advice from experienced users.

If you were starting a brand new XenForo forum today, what are some mistakes you would avoid?
What tips, best practices, or important settings would you recommend to a beginner?

Whether it’s technical setup, add-ons, performance tweaks, SEO, community building — any insight is welcome.
Even the smallest details can make a big difference early on.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience!

 

[Alvin63]

I don't think I would do anything differently really - except read up more about all the functions in ACP which I only gradually learned and didn't know half of them were there. And possibly spend more time getting a better logo but I go so fed up trying to do a logo I just stuck with one in end. It might have been an idea to pay someone to design a logo but I didn't want to spend that money and don't think I would want to even if going back.

Once you have your design right and are happy with it, it's a case of posting and having a few members posting and gradually others will find it. And backlinking it. And writing articles to help it get found. The best thing I did near the start was getting one of Russ's styles from Pixel exit.

 

[Seeker-Smith]

For one I’d extend the way users could join. Example by SMS and it’s something we’re working on now.

 

[MAXIM100]

For one I’d extend the way users could join. Example by SMS and it’s something we’re working on now.

Cool, I just set up Google account login. I think it's really convenient

 

[Seeker-Smith]

Cool, I just set up Google account login. I think it's really convenient

Yeah but I hate giving google, facebook and others more of our personal data.

 

[bzcomputers]

Yeah but I hate giving google, facebook and others more of our personal data.

I think you may be confused how connected accounts work. The little bit of data that is shared goes TO XenForo, like display name, email address, and profile photo if selected. XenForo does not share any personal details the other direction with the connected account source.

 

[Seeker-Smith]

I think you may be confused how connected accounts work. The little bit of data that is shared goes TO XenForo, like display name, email address, and profile photo if selected. XenForo does not share any personal details the other direction with the connected account source.

You don't think Google provides this service to gain data on users? It's not the data given to Xenforo its the login data and tracking that login data. I could be completely wrong but its not a benefit to google and others they wouldn't offer it.

 

[bzcomputers]

You don't think Google provides this service to gain data on users? It's not the data given to Xenforo its the login data and tracking that login data. I could be completely wrong but its not a benefit to google and others they wouldn't offer it.

No, I don't. If data went back to Google it would require your authorization (within OAuth or Google Sign-In depending on what is being used). This is standard for any connected account. They offer the api service simply for reasons like name recognition / ecosystem growth, enhance user trust, dependency, competitiveness, etc.

 

[Seeker-Smith]

No, I don't. If data went back to Google it would require your authorization (within OAuth or Google Sign-In depending on what is being used). This is standard for any connected account. They offer the api service simply for reasons like name recognition / ecosystem growth, enhance user trust, dependency, competitiveness, etc.

Okay. I apparently have trust issues.

 

[Ian Hitt]

I'd recommend keeping the total number of forums pretty low, and only creating new ones when you notice that there is enough engagement around that specific topic to warrant separating it out. A lot of new forums create a bunch of nodes, which raises the barrier for posting new content, and makes it harder for users to find content.

+1 for adding login providers to reduce the barrier to register to the site.

Also, I have a whole article about some small but important things to configure for a new board, which you can read here https://adjourn.audent.io/essential-setup-tips-for-xenforo-community-software/