the xenForo mobile app created by xenForo, when ?

wal94

New member
Hi ! i plan to purchase a forum software,
i appreciate xenforo but vbulletin has a native mobile app created by vbulletin with licence for life,
so i really hesitate.. :rolleyes::unsure::cry:

thank you to give satisfying information about the title question..
 
Unfortunately it’s the same song on both sides of the fence. An app can’t do what you can do with your site normally out of the box. Forget about the fancy conditionals and things you want to display or do if using a controlled app.

This debate isn’t new and again there are 2 sides. Ones that can do without custom functions and the ones who can’t.

Is it feasible to invest 6 figures into developing and maintaining an app? We don’t know and usually know one can tell unless you throw the money at it and to see it takes off.
 
Why can't the app act like the responsive design way?

The key is to have an app in the store + getting notifications from it. The look and feel can exactly be like the responsive design mode we have now. This means all addons will work, too.
Apple and Google won’t approve low quality web browser apps that don’t offer any benefit to the users.
 
To be honest I do not care at that point about addons. I only care whether teh app is helping me to increase the interaction among users. Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, Whatsapp, Threema, Signal etc. did not become leaders because of design or addons.

They became successfull, because they motivated the users to visit their platform very often. Thanks to the smartphone notifications. No GDPR problems, no spamfilters, no blacklisting.
 
They became successfull, because they motivated the users to visit their platform very often. Thanks to the smartphone notifications. No GDPR problems, no spamfilters, no blacklisting.
They also need to run smoothly on data plans. One of the reasons why Discord is so popular and people are ditching Skype.

I don't think an app needs the full functionality of the site. Just keep it simple, allow some customization and tell members who want the full experience to use a web browser. They can mix and match when needed, and still get the push notifications they desperately demand.

Only thing I'd want is compatibility with a chat addon. Maybe third-party developers can develop for the app to add compatibility.

And some of the major addons we use are:
  • Awards
  • Credits / Money
  • Trade Reputation
So it's not like I won't be taking a sacrifice and not being OK with it.

I'll have to keep an eye on the progress of their app. Wasn't expecting them to take the lead with this.
 
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They also need to run smoothly on data plans. One of the reasons why Discord is so popular and people are ditching Skype.

I don't think an app needs the full functionality of the site. Just keep it simple, allow some customization and tell members who want the full experience to use a web browser. They can mix and match when needed, and still get the push notifications they desperately demand.

Only thing I'd want is compatibility with a chat addon. Maybe third-party developers can develop for the app to add compatibility.

And some of the major addons we use are:
  • Awards
  • Credits / Money
  • Trade Reputation
So it's not like I won't be taking a sacrifice and not being OK with it.

I'll have to keep an eye on the progress of their app. Wasn't expecting them to take the lead with this.
Even I use reddit app because it’s so much less bloat compared to their website. I can’t even figure out half the things there.

does Skype consume more data than Discord?
I only thought that the Skype UI is laggy.
 
Even I use reddit app because it’s so much less bloat compared to their website. I can’t even figure out half the things there.


This sounds weird, but sometimes when I'm sitting at my desk with two big monitors in front of me I'll browse reddit on my phone using a native app because it's easier to browse, navigate and collapse comments sections on the phone using gestures and swipes rather than click on the tiny tap targets on old.reddit.com

does Skype consume more data than Discord?
I only thought that the Skype UI is laggy.

The Skype UI has been a dumpster fire for years. They completely removed the ability for me to look up a contact on my mac and click to dial their telephone number the last time I tried it. It was a mess.
 
IPS has one now....


Maybe it is time to rethink the strategy and offer an app for Xenforo too?
Wow, I didn't expect to see this. Xenforo must deliver now. that's it.

Why can't the app act like the responsive design way?

The key is to have an app in the store + getting notifications from it. The look and feel can exactly be like the responsive design mode we have now. This means all addons will work, too.
Also this.
 
If you don't mind, next time post them as thumbnails so those not interested in the pictures don't have to scroll through about a dozen page-downs to get the next post.
 
The problem with the web is:
People visit 100 pages every day.
They have to remember to go to your website.
It’s a beauty pageant when they visit your website and people expect better websites.
Now try to remember which website that you visited in the last 10 days, you visited again today.

The benefit with apps and the push notifications they offer is that people are like:
"Give me important news that I want to share."
Apps lets them do that and on top of that it brings the user into your ecosystem and locks them in the experience. It's much easier to engage a person who has your app installed vs a random user who you know nothing about and you have no way to contact them either.

You don't need an app.

Use this:


Works well. Easy to set up. One click access to your favorite Xenforo forum.
 
You don't need an app.

Use this:


Works well. Easy to set up. One click access to your favorite Xenforo forum.
How many users have this installed?
 
I don't know. I posted instructions on two forums and I do know that some former Tapatalk users applied those instructions and use it. I use it myself on one forum that I check frequently, simply because it is a one-click solution.
 
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I am new to all this as I just started my Xenfor forum last week.
I have not had a chance to try Xenforo or my website on mobile yet, so I ca'nt comment much.
Except to say that many people today do not now what forums even are!
We all know most people are on their mobiles all day. (except office workers)
One forum that was very popualr here in my country has lost many of its regulars. They say where is everyone. And they get the reply that they have created Facebook groups.
 
Facebook groups have their use but they're not a replacement for a full forum. It depends on what the use case is, the type of content.

I agree but I do not think that this was his point.

I do think his point was, that these users switched to facebook because of usability advantages with the Facebook app on a smartphone.

If smartphones are the devices which the majority of our users is using, then we should make it as easy as possible to interact on a smartphone.

My 16 year old son is only using something on his phone, if it is available as an app.

The way notifications are working with apps on the phone vs getting emails is THE major reason for this attitude. And he is not alone with this attitude. All his friends are thinking this way.

If Xenforo wants still to sell licences in 10 years from now, they should better start to invest in an app asap.

I do not need blinking features. I need better/easier ways how my users can interact with each other on the smartphone.
 
True notifications and full screen mode are really the only advantages I can see to an app, but they're HUGE. Other than those two things (and a few more I'm sure I'm forgetting) I'd prefer it be a simple 'wrapper' for the same responsive version of the site served to visitors via the browser.
 
Also the ability for client side manipulation and compression of media from the device before getting uploaded to the server. ie. images and video.

Which is also pretty important considering how much smartphone generated media people share these days and the increasing file sizes due to the crazy capture resolutions on the high end devices.
 
Also the ability for client side manipulation and compression of media from the device before getting uploaded to the server. ie. images and video.

Which is also pretty important considering how much smartphone generated media people share these days and the increasing file sizes due to the crazy capture resolutions on the high end devices.

This is actually a really good point! I worked on image compression when I was working on building a hyperlocal social network(https://github.com/prathmeshranaut/skooterapp) around 6 years back. I studied WhatsApp around that time and they were compressing images into a set of 2 images before upload and 1 of the images was very pixelated and very compressed but could load really fast, giving the user the illusion of fast UI even on a slow network connection and then WhatsApp could fetch the original size image in the background, which again used tiny lossy compression.
 
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