Switching my site from vBulletin

[dvduval]

So I just found out to go from vBulletin 3.8.4 to 3.8.7 I have to pay them $175, while I could switch to you for $140 it seems. I don't how labor intensive the switch would be. Basically I need to switch my site, pick a free skin, add a logo, and run the importer. Could a good developer do this in 1-2 hours?

How likely would I be in the same situation with xenforo where I have to pay $175 just for a security/maintenance update?

Is the transition pretty easy where moderators, admin and users won't be too confused? Or do I need to plan on working a lot with the settings to get everything right?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[dvduval]

So we are up and running now!
http://www.salsaforums.com/
More work to do but looking really good and hoping to make a couple more switches from vBulletin this year.

 

[imlps]

I have seen you site before, wonder if you are a member of AdminAddict? I forgot where I found your forum from. But congrats!

 

[HenrikHansen]

Really nice. Please post if you get any feedback from your members. I am quite sure they think it is an improvement.

 

[dvduval]

I have seen you site before, wonder if you are a member of AdminAddict? I forgot where I found your forum from. But congrats!

Yes, I have been there before. Probably where most webmasters know me is I see a script called phpLD.

 

[Adam Howard]

So we are up and running now!
http://www.salsaforums.com/
More work to do but looking really good and hoping to make a couple more switches from vBulletin this year.

Congratulations

I bet the first thing you noticed other than how secure your site is now.... Is how little resource you're using and how much faster your community is now

 

[Digital Doctor]

So we are up and running now!
http://www.salsaforums.com/

The style needs more red Salsa makes me think of Red. I see the google warning is long gone !

Yes, I have been there before. Probably where most webmasters know me is I see a script called phpLD.

Did you make phpLD ? (see = make) ?
XF phpLD integration could be cool. You might be interested in http://xenforo.com/community/threads/surreyforum-xenkingdir-link-business-directory-directory.27019/
But if you "see" created phpLD ... I would suggest using that. .

Your LD could contain local salsa groups from around the world !

 

[dvduval]

@Adam, my initial impression is the activity is higher now than before. I also just added google adsense in the posts, and hoping that we will continue to pay our hosting costs that way. Overall, great experience so far.

Probably the biggest complaint was the default font being harder to read than previously, and the background color being white. They were used to a light grey. If anyone knows how to change the background color in posts, let me know. The font I already changed (except not sure how to do in quotes).

 

[Digital Doctor]

If you like Tagging ... get this ...
http://xenforo.com/community/threads/bd-tag-me.28345/
It turns :
@dvduval
to an alert to you about a specific thread.

 

[dvduval]

The style needs more red Salsa makes me think of Red. I see the google warning is long gone !


Did you make phpLD ? (see = make) ?
XF phpLD integration could be cool. You might be interested in http://xenforo.com/community/threads/surreyforum-xenkingdir-link-business-directory-directory.27019/
But if you "see" created phpLD ... I would suggest using that. .

Your LD could contain local salsa groups from around the world !

Yes, phpLD is my "baby", so maybe I should look into a bridge or similar. Anything I should ask my developers to review?

 

[Digital Doctor]

Yes, phpLD is my "baby", so maybe I should look into a bridge or similar. Anything I should ask my developers to review?

Cool. I remember that script !

Bridging tools:
http://xenforo.com/community/threads/kotomi-generic-script-bridge.26937/
http://xenforo.com/community/threads/xenapi-xenforo-rest-api.34270/
xenscripts.com (http://xenforo.com/community/resources/xenscripts-wordpress-to-xenforo-bridge.604/)
http://xenforo.com/community/resources/schmitzit-xenforo-mediawiki-bridge.15/

HTH

 

[Adam Howard]

@Adam, my initial impression is the activity is higher now than before. I also just added google adsense in the posts, and hoping that we will continue to pay our hosting costs that way. Overall, great experience so far.

Probably the biggest complaint was the default font being harder to read than previously, and the background color being white. They were used to a light grey. If anyone knows how to change the background color in posts, let me know. The font I already changed (except not sure how to do in quotes).

There are a wide range of skins you can pick from


Personally, I would make a new theme (hidden from view) and play with it and change things to something more your likely, than make it public once ready (maybe even making it your default for user selection).

AdminCP > Appearance > Styles > Create New Style


But in the mean time for a quick fix, you could take all the colors that are bright white

AdminCP > Appearance > Styles > Style Properties > Color Palette

And change them to this color: f5f5ff

It will make for an easier read and I use it on all my skins (that are naturally bright to start with).

The 3 popular skins I would suggest (2 free, 1 paid)

Sea stone - Easy to read. Not bright, but not dark either (will not require color changed)
http://xenforo.com/community/resources/qapla-com-seastone-fluid-and-fixed.103/

Social - This has been my system default from day 1. Will need to change some things to f5f5ff (simple as point and click easy)
http://xenforo.com/community/resources/social.95/

And the one paid skin (the other two are free) I would suggest is

Imperial
http://xenforo.com/community/resources/imperial.451/