Twilio and VBX or Twilio and Custom Code, Which Way to Go?

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I been reading searching this forum and the google monster to find the best answer and so far it has lead to a lot of reading and many tiger chases. I know there are many providers of SMS services and other telophony services but I have decided to use Twilio. That's a done deal for the time being.

My main question is what to use to implement it. I have been working with OpenVBX and it looks very powerful but the learning curve is kicking me in the behind. I've read a lot of their docs but really even if you can hack WP, PHP, MySQL and javascript it's painful. If you don't understand the underlying system-Twilio, it is hard to figure out. I've asked their support team questions and I get back answers such as; the link to the document I just read or "what are you talking about, what are keywords?" Their documentation didn't do me any good, it just got me rattled. I am sure this has happened to other Warrior's as well.

For those that are actually selling SMS services to clients:
1)what did you use to build out a Twilio service - the user interface(clients and yours), delivery(any special coding needed), and the backend(database management and backend office)?

2)Would you build it that way again?

3)Did you even bother with any of the mentioned items?

I have contacted a fellow Warrior as a resource and he indicated help was forthcoming. Is anyone else out there in this tribe a resource as well.
Thanks and I look forward to reading your responses
#offline marketing #code #custom #twilio #vbx
  • I have the same prob, Sent PM to several Warriors, asking how much would they charge to have it done, yet I have no reply back?
    I am looking toward another white label being offer, crunched some numbers and not looking too bad. Will continue to look...
  • We're Twilio and custom code all the way, but for many OpenVBX can do a lot of what they're interested in doing.
    • [1] reply
    • with you on that 110% - openvbx is great but limited for reselling to multiple clients and limiting sending of sms messages and recurring payments etc you need to go with a custom setup
      • [1] reply
  • I have been using Twilio and openVBX for lead generation and tracking side-projects, and I'm just now getting into selling mobile services.

    What I can contribute to this conversation is that I believe MOST people looking to sell this service will have trouble with them as far as customization goes. As mentioned above, you really need to play around with the code and get pretty deep into the "logistics" of stuff to get things working EXACTLY the way you want them to.

    As much I love the power/potential of Twilio and openVBX, I don't think most here are really interested in messing with them STRICTLY for setting up SMS campaigns...as it appears there are a TON of "all in one" providers out there. Although, I guess Twilio hacked in that manner gives more freedom,numbers, less costly than some of the "all in one" guys?

    - Jim
    • [1] reply
    • Thanks and you stated what I have discovered.
      I know Twilio does many different things and has many services but for me and a lot of others getting started with SMS messaging services is the entry thru the clients door and really an easy sale, therefor I am choosing my entry point with SMS txt messaging.

      I know I started the thread but I am going to spend the day and night pounding my head with the OpenVBX. I hope I can get something going with it.
      Thanks to everyone for all the input so far.
  • Well, the people at Twilio wouldn't really know anything about keywords, because what they offer really has noting to do with keywords. They offer voice and sms services. When and SMS is sent to a Twilio number, it POSTS all information from that sms to the specified file on your site. You then need to program the script and direct it on how to handle the incoming information.
    • [1] reply
    • ...which is exactly why I believe most people on here would prefer to work with a platform where they don't have to code and/or figure this stuff out for themselves.
      • [2] replies
  • I would also like to know this.
  • OpenVBX is not as complicated as people are making it out to be. I break out in a cold sweat when I have to deal with PHP code, so when I saw how easy OpenVBX is to use and to put together apps that I could sell clients on, it was a breath of fresh air.

    The most valuable asset it offers to me is that it incorporates phone and voice into the SMS area. So apps built with it can blow away the usual "text this keyword to XXXXX" applications. The fact is that most business need and want more than that. With OpenVBX I can build a fairly complicated application, get it up and running, test it, and have it ready to sell to a local business within about an hour.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • I'm with Steven Carl Kelly on this. OpenVBX doesn't do everything I want to do. The plugins that bring it close to what I want are too far away. So I coded my own app.

    My goal though is not as much to use the app myself, but to sell it or sell memberships to use it.

    It's premise is to provide clients with a social viral mobile marketing engine.

    My app integrates Facebook fan page hosting with a SMS autoresponder. That is, when a Fb user Likes a page, they are presented with a squeeze [form] on the reveal page - where they can optin to receive the owner's messages. I also wrote a Wordpress plugin to put the same capture form in a widget on the client's web site.

    It manages the lists, messages and subscribers (Fans) as you would expect an autoresponder to do. It is not dependent on the Facebook part. Subscribers can opt in by texting a keyword to your client's twilio number. I added a 'text "Birthday mm/dd/yyyy" to 2125551212' so client's can run birthday campaigns, too.

    OpenVBX plugins could be written to do all that, of course. With time and money.

    The app is in beta. I'm thinking about asking, here in the WF, for beta testers. Do y'all and the O.P. think there'd be any interest?
    • [2] replies
    • I would be interested in beta testing it.
    • Hey Tim,
      Was trying to PM you but I'm a newbie here and gues that means I would be an annoyance if I PM'd you... short version - are you still looking for beta testers for your app? I am using OpenVBX for an SMS-based marketing service here...

      Thanks,

      Jake
  • If you need a visual designer to build your text apps, let me know you are interested - it's by far the easiest way to build your SMS apps- responders, two-way interactive, list-wise..

    It can be built on top of Tropo or Twilio both.
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    Twilio and VBX or Twilio and Custom Code, Which Way to Go?

    I been reading searching this forum and the google monster to find the best answer and so far it has lead to a lot of reading and many tiger chases. I know there are many providers of SMS services and other telophony services but I have decided to use Twilio. That's a done deal for the time being. My main question is what to use to implement it. I have been working with OpenVBX and it looks very powerful but the learning curve is kicking me in the behind. I've read a lot of their docs but really even if you can hack WP, PHP, MySQL and javascript it's painful. If you don't understand the underlying system-Twilio, it is hard to figure out. I've asked their support team questions and I get back answers such as; the link to the document I just read or "what are you talking about, what are keywords?" Their documentation didn't do me any good, it just got me rattled. I am sure this has happened to other Warrior's as well.