Months ago we started a journey from PhpBB2.x fully-modded, to Xenforo 1.4. Anyone new to Xenforo and who has done something similar will identify - the learning curve is huge, the steps are many. We discovered that Xenforo is hands-down the best board software out there we could find to take us to the next level. It is a culmination of brilliant coding, intelligent design and a strong understanding of the needs of people on both sides of the board: administrators and moderators on the one hand, members and advertisers on the other.
But there are two more groups of people who multiply the power of Xenforo: addon developers, and service providers.
Yet, when you are new to the game, the service provider you link with can make or break your experience. And for newbies, it could be a shot in the dark. Thankfully in our case, we ended up with the right team
and the right team leader.
In the beginning, I purchased addons, styles or "support" services, only to realize the addons were not well supported, communication with the developer was flawed, and sometimes the addon just didn't deliver on its promises. It was still in development and prematurely released. Too often I was left to figure things out for myself, something that can be very taxing for non-technical people. By the time you finally realize which of the purchases you've made were useless to you, you could easily have spent a few hundred dollars based on reviews and a need to trust someone. But in the end, you are still on your own. And poorer.
Tech support are busy people. Sometimes much too busy, and either their performance suffers, the stress on them is too much, or their skills were too specialized to be any good to us in our situation. Or we just didn't have that history with them that gives you some hope that your ticket will not be ignored for 3 days, at a crucial moment, in the middle of a huge migration project.
Google is my friend, but a lot of information is disconnected from context, so we get answers that make no sense until we finally understand the foundational structure of Xenforo, by trial and error, and how addons and what not actually interact with it. There could be better tutorials out there, and I have to believe they will be made. Too many people need to discover Xenforo, who spent years trying to force PhpBB or other boards to do things that should be native to their software it's just so common sense.
From the get go, Claudio understood our starting point, and where we wanted to go. He did have to explain some things a few times (naturally), and he was basically patient and making sure we were connecting and not talking pass one another. I appreciate that very much when talking to tech support. As newbies we already feel incompetent, that's why we seek help. Claudio has been patient, willing to help in any way he could within the parameters of his business expertise, and a schedule.
It took us nearly 4 months to bring our Xenforo migration to fruition. Claudio has been available in very reasonable delays whenever I needed him, and he adapted to our pace. When we finally initiated the full conversion and updates, he was there for us, for hours at a time, engaged, focused, competent, making sure we didn't miss anything. At one point he even rescued the whole site, bringing it back from the effects of a blunder I made because of fatigue and confusion.
He has remained polite, encouraging, and respectful, and most of all he knows how to find answers and solutions and apply them. He understands more than Xenforo, he has a clear grasp of the whole infrastructure Xenforo needs to run: databases, servers, directories, backups, as well as the more random human elements. He has been mature and professional, and it is thanks to him that not only is our forum up and running, but running very well.
For peace of mind, we also purchased Todo10's "XenForo Monthly Maintenance services" as we wanted to make sure to start on the right foot. Having a competent team to help you take your first steps is essential.
I highly recommend Claudio and his Todo10 team! At least contact them to make sure you give YOURSELF a chance. Having the right team to help migration will give you a lot more than you think. And I found their pricing affordable and accessible.
For a hands-down forum software migration, pick a hands-down migration team! Todo10 is that team for us!
Mucho much gracias, Claudio!
Regards,
Andre Lefebvre
for
VI-Control.net
