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vBulletin

by Ryan1
15 replies
Hi Guys,

Just wondering if someone can give me some advice.

I want to start a forum. I fancy using vbulletin to do this. I have a great idea and think it will attract lots of people. I am confident in promoting it but my questions are

1. Is Vbulletin the best option. I'm not too concerned with cost, i would prefer to pay for something good rather than get some lesser product for free.

2. I don't know too much about hosting, anyone got any ideas on hosting costs relating to a forum.

3. Does anyone have any recommended hosts they are currently using.

Any advice would be greatly received.

Best Wishes to you all

Ryan
#vbulletin
  • Profile picture of the author tryinhere
    Community Forum Software - IP.Board

    give that a look as well they also have packs with hosting and pretty well options on a as you need basis. / learning ipb is a little different to using vb but both work well / not saying one sytem is better than another just options is all.
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    | > Choosing to go off the grid for a while to focus on family, work and life in general. Have a great 2020 < |
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Baker
    I highly recommend Invision Power Board instead of vBulletin. Either one of the 2 will work fine on the lowest hosting package that HostGator has to offer. I ran a couple of successful forums using Invision through HostGator and never had a problem.
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    • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
      Currently Vbulleting is good and support is superb i've been using it for 3 years now and it works flawlessly with a forum of over 2000 members... but personally i think it's starting on a downward spiral. The cost is getting too high and as pointed out above there are lots of good alternatives .
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      If you are serious about online marketing come and Join our free community The Foundation
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  • Profile picture of the author indiatext
    thanks for this information...i'm sure that it must be usefull for some of our warrior members...
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan1
    Thanks for your comments. Anyone tried simple:press? A forum plugin for Wordpress?

    Also if using IPB do you host with them or seperately?
    And can you have a paid membership section on IPB?

    Best regards

    Ryan
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Baker
    I have not used simple press as I feel if you want a secure place for a forum, then the best thing is to buy a forum package like IPB or vBulletin and host it yourself.

    You can either buy a hosting package with a license through Invision or buy them separately. The choice is yours. Personally I go for having them separate, because if Invisions servers go down, you can still use the software, and I prefer to use a host that is dedicated to doing a single task and that is hosting.
    Yes you can have special section/s on your forum just for paid members.

    The reason why I like IPB so much more, is because there are so many more skins and modifications freely available to use to customize your size than with vB.
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  • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
    I'm going to go ahead and recommend Xenforo.

    XenForo - Compelling Community Forum Software

    If your looking for a simple, sleek solution, this is it.


    Caleb

    {This is why I left vB... }
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    Canadian Expat Living in Medellin, Colombia

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  • Profile picture of the author johninmn
    Which of the 3, VB, IP Board, or Xenforo is the easiest to learn when you have absolutely no coding skills? I am a noob but I'd like to try a niche forum. Thanks.
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    mobile mobile mobile mobile etc....

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    • Profile picture of the author Resale Rights Ninja
      vbulletin isn't bad. I have used phpbb because it is free but it is a pain to use. I have also used a free plugin with wordpress to create a forum and it actually worked really well - except they layout was small. It just didn't look like a proper forum.
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      PM Me Now!

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    • Profile picture of the author Mike Baker
      Originally Posted by johninmn View Post

      Which of the 3, VB, IP Board, or Xenforo is the easiest to learn when you have absolutely no coding skills? I am a noob but I'd like to try a niche forum. Thanks.
      I can't speak about Xenforo, but out of vB and IPB I personally feel that the Admin Control Panel for IPB is so much easier to navigate and everything is laid out where you think it should be, whereas vB has things in weird spots and can take a little longer the find things. Plus adding modifications is a fairly easy task to do without having any coding background.
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  • Profile picture of the author Giftys
    We've had a good experience with Vbulletin so we stay with it. It's a clean interface, support is good and b/c of it's popularity, there are always a lot of good skins and add-ons for it. We run a chat forum for drummers at DrumChat.com and just built a new one for musicians at AddYourBand.com.
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  • Profile picture of the author marissa1246
    I currently use powervps (defender hosting), they respond very promptly to my support ticket questions, but I've heard that they're better for static sites as opposed to a vbulletin forum.

    I'd appreciate any feedback on this. Thanks!
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    • Profile picture of the author BeechHill
      Originally Posted by marissa1246 View Post

      I currently use powervps (defender hosting), they respond very promptly to my support ticket questions, but I've heard that they're better for static sites as opposed to a vbulletin forum.

      I'd appreciate any feedback on this. Thanks!

      If you're using a VPS service then you shouldn't have a problem hosting just about any forum you choose. I was a PowerVPS customer, but dumped them since they were slow to advance updates to their server software and hardware. You want to make sure that your VPS is a managed service.

      I've used vBulletin for several years and in my view there is none better. I've tried many others. If you're looking for an industrial strength forum with quick support and updates to security issues then VB is the choice, stay away from the freebies.

      I often gage the quality of the seller by the forum they use. If the scrimp there you have to wonder where else they made shortcuts. It's like checking out the restroom at the restaurants you eat at. The level should be commensurate with the product they sell.
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  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    I like Website Toolbox - Forums, Guestbooks, Polls, Chat Rooms, and more. They host and it costs about the same as a hosting account. Don't want to pay? Let them stick a couple of ads on your forum and it's free. Their BB is almost as nice as vb.

    George Wright
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    "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
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  • Profile picture of the author Cassandra Antoine
    Thanks for asking the question about which forum to use. I was asking myself the same question. The feedback has been extrememly useful. I have just checked out both vbulletin and Xenforo. I am going to purchase vbulletin :0)
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