Is there a CMS planned?

[p4guru]

Yeah xenforo should focus on forums first and maybe close integration with drupal and wordpress next after than for cms end. It would allow you to open up xenforo to the drupal and wordpress markets to expand rapidly and get a foot hold in market share

 

[GodForum.com]

Was that before or after the announcement of IE6?

1 free product vs cash cows ... I think their focus is mostly where the money is

 

[Jafo]

Making it pluggable into other existing CMS's might be a better first step imo.. This is by far my most popular mod and it used to do just that, I just have no time to develop it anymore as I code and admin almost 24/7 now. It does show a clear demand though..

 

[Hasann]

Yes there will be cms in next years maybe

 

[Biker]

While I can understand the desire and need to ensure the core product is tight before thinking about a CMS product, I think delaying the CMS project would be fatal without providing some means of bridging existing solutions into the forum software. There are many packages out there that provide built in CMS abilities. What's NOT out there, is an easy way to bridge existing CMS pages to the forums. The need for a CMS solution (whether it be your own, or a bridge that allows admins to tie their site to another solution such as WordPress or Joomla) is extremely important to many, and could be the very thing that makes or breaks your business plan.

 

[Eric J.]

But why should lack of a CMS hinder it in early stages? vB made it just fine without a CMS for quite a while, and I'm almost positive there will be people creating bridges to CMS softwares, so really, there's nothing to worry about on that end.

 

[Biker]

Why would it hinder it? Because there are packages out there that DO provide CMS solutions. Why should I, as a prospective customer, look at this software if it doesn't provide what other packages do?

Again, I strongly feel that failing to provide some type of rudimentary CMS ability on release would be fatal to the success of this software.

 

[Eric J.]

I suppose you do have a point, but only to an extent. Your comment is limited to the people that actually care about a CMS, and within those people, you can take out those who are faithful to Kier's products, as well as the ones who still go for it because they like the software of the forums or even the design that much more. So honestly, it may hinder the software, but I don't think it's as much as you must think.

 

[MilesDB]

But why should lack of a CMS hinder it in early stages? vB made it just fine without a CMS for quite a while, and I'm almost positive there will be people creating bridges to CMS softwares, so really, there's nothing to worry about on that end.

Well, forums are a bit outdated and restrictive nowadays. I would say there is a huge need for an affordable "social activity" tool that has a top-notch user management system with a variety of add-ons (forum, cms, media, groups, blog).

I am advocating for XenForo CMS because of long-term benefits (read above). As it was mentioned before with bridging there is twice of work and something is always not working right. As it's clear CMS is needed for XenForo, why force new customers to start on Joomla, WordPress, etc when a simple CMS can be offered and XenForo as a business can capitalize on it? It will eventually grow in complexity. Remember a Chinese saying: "A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step".

 

[Biker]

I'm not looking at this as a "fanboi". I'm looking at this as a prospective customer, and how it may or may not meet the needs and vision of the site's owner, the needs of my users, and myself as an administrator. After using vB for over 8 years, we recently switched to IPB. And while the overall experience has been a good one, I'm not happy with the forum software from an Administrator's standpoint and it would not take much to get me to thinking about another switch. Internet Brands' attempt at a CMS was decent, but it does fall short in many areas. IPB's attempt at a CMS was... Well... Let's just say while the option is there, it's not one I looked at as a feasible option to install. What's needed is a bridge that allows Admins to tie existing packages into their sites. I would kill for a good, tight WordPress bridge. Want to make this software the greatest thing since sliced bread? Build it with the ability to bridge WordPress, Joomla, etc., and people will be beating down the doors to purchase the software.

 

[Sador]

I'm not a huge fan of bridges, to be honest. Integration is always better, so I'm hoping for a XF CMS too.

 

[Eric J.]

Well, forums are a bit outdated and restrictive nowadays. I would say there is a huge need for an affordable "social activity" tool that has a top-notch user management system with variety of add-ons (forum, cms, media, groups, blog).

I am advocating for XenForo CMS because of long-term benefits (read above). As it was mentioned before with bridging there is twice of work and something is always not working right. As it's clear CMS is needed for XenForo, why force new customers to start on Joomla, WordPress, etc when a simple CMS can be offered and XenForo as a business can capitalize on it? It will eventually grow in complexity. Remember a Chinese saying: "A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step".

But long-term benefits shouldn't be questioned, because in the long-term, they should have one developed anyways lol. I'm not saying I'm against it, I'm just saying I don't think it's needed for any of their first releases. A CMS can come later when the software is becoming more elaborate and well-encompassed, not early on when there aren't even groups / albums / etc.. (Of course, hopefully they'll have time to add it all in before their first release, lol, I can only wish, then I wouldn't mind the CMS )

 

[Qwest]

I honestly feel at this stage such things are better left to the add on/mod community, when that develops.

I want blogs and CMS too, but at the moment what is needed, what is so, SO needed, is a good forum platform to build on, one that's modern, up to date, stable and not bloated.

Not to knock the mod community because they do great work and IMO are the very reason vbulletin has dominated for so long. But we've left a Wordpress bridge/Integrated CMS up to them for years already. It has not turned out well.

 

[MilesDB]

A CMS can come later when the software is becoming more elaborate and well-encompassed, not early on when there aren't even groups / albums / etc..

I don't get your point. What does it have to do with groups/albums/etc and becoming more elaborate? I am talking about a very simple CMS for starters like vBa CMPS, something to put on a home page.

 

[Eric J.]

If you just want something like that why not just use a Portal? If you want a CMS, it should have plenty of things to integrate with in the forums don't you think?

 

[Qwest]

But long-term benefits shouldn't be questioned, because in the long-term, they should have one developed anyways lol. I'm not saying I'm against it, I'm just saying I don't think it's needed for any of their first releases. A CMS can come later when the software is becoming more elaborate and well-encompassed, not early on when there aren't even groups / albums / etc.. (Of course, hopefully they'll have time to add it all in before their first release, lol, I can only wish, then I wouldn't mind the CMS )

I think you're looking at it from a development prospective and not a forum owner one. It's too late to release something that is just a forum and expect wide adoption. This is not 2001. Social media and smarter search engine algorithms have changed the game. Forum webmasters in many niches (not all but most I'd say) need more than just a forum to grab users. They need unique, custom content to please the SERPS and grab backlinks as well as cutting edge social features to get attention and compete with social networks for users' time.

Any site that's already doing all that today will not switch to a platform that is just forum only. And launch day sales will reflect that. They'll get a lot of cheers and praise but the fact is, forum owners who need those features aren't going to buy it.

 

[Marcus]

Publish the forum, earn your money, and then go for the blog.

I will only convert to xenforo once there is a blog included, but for a business perspective, concentrating on the forum first is by far the best choice.

 

[Mike]

Actually, I should note that we do have a very simple "pages" system the builds into our node tree (basically, the tree where forums, etc go). It's by no means a "CMS", but it does allow you to add some extra content. We'll have to add a demo of that shortly...

 

[Eric J.]

I think you're looking at it from a development prospective and not a forum owner one. It's too late to release something that is just a forum and expect wide adoption. This is not 2001. Social media and smarter search engine algorithms have changed the game. Forum webmasters in many niches (not all but most I'd say) need more than just a forum to grab users. They need unique, custom content to please the SERPS and grab backlinks as well as cutting edge social features to get attention and compete with social networks for users' time.

Any site that's already doing all that today will not switch to a platform that is just forum only. And launch day sales will reflect that. They'll get a lot of cheers and praise but the fact is, forum owners who need those features aren't going to buy it.

Well, even as a forum owner, I wouldn't want to have a page on the front of my site with a bunch of empty space on it, which is why I don't use Portals. I see where you guys are coming from, you're saying that a CMS just makes the forum software a hundred times better because without it it doesn't have everything all the other softwares have, but if you look at it from a closer perspective something that isn't well thought out and feature packed will just simply make it look even worse. If they could manage to get everything they'd need into the software to make a CMS look needed, then I would understand, I'm just not trying to get my hopes up.

 

[MilesDB]

Actually, I should note that we do have a very simple "pages" system the builds into our node tree (basically, the tree where forums, etc go). It's by no means a "CMS", but it does allow you to add some extra content. We'll have to add a demo of that shortly...

Nice surprise. You are amazing, guys!