SMF to VBulletin?

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by Noddegamra, Jun 20, 2007.

  1. #1
    I *think* this topic goes in this forum category. If not, I apologise.

    I have an SMF forum with a couple of MODS (arcade, youtube button/integration, and a few other little bits. Nothing major).

    At the time I didn't have the budget for a VBulletin board, but now I do. But rather than take drastic action and just change EVERYTHING, for the first time ever I'm having a go at thinking things through first.

    1. Is it possible to transfer all topics, categories, posts, members (with their profile data etc) to a new VBulletin board eventhough I had a couple of mods installed?

    2. If so, is this done easily? Or will it be painful?

    3. This is obvioulsy going to hurt my search engine rankings. Ouch! Any tips on how to make the fall less painful?

    4. I REALLY don't want to lose any members. I've made a few forum (platform) changes in the past where everyone has had to re-register and start again. From this I have lost a lot of people. How can I keep their confidence up, and not make them feel like ginuea pigs?


    This is very important. I can see the positives of moving accross to VB, but at the same time there is a high risk of losing members (I care about this more than rankings).

    Should I try the move? Or should I stick with SMF?

    The forum is doing probably the best it's ever done at the moment, and I;d hate to break that momentum.

    Tough call eh?
     
    Noddegamra, Jun 20, 2007 IP
  2. cuni18

    cuni18 Well-Known Member

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    #2
    i think that smf is far better
     
    cuni18, Jun 20, 2007 IP
  3. chopsticks

    chopsticks Active Member

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    #3
    It is possible. Use a converter, usually provided by the creator of the forum software you with to convert too. In your case: (towards the bottom)

    http://www.simplemachines.org/download/?converters

    You could always backup a copy of the database and run a test conversion to see how your forum fairs after a conversion. The mods which you have mentioned as not major may not have that significant effect on the conversion, but they still might cause some problems.

    If the test works well then convert it all over to the new board...
     
    chopsticks, Jun 20, 2007 IP
  4. Noddegamra

    Noddegamra Peon

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    #4
    Thanks but I'm looking for SMF to VBulletin. Not the other way around.

    + an £80 test is an expensive one. :/
     
    Noddegamra, Jun 20, 2007 IP
  5. chopsticks

    chopsticks Active Member

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    #5
    Eeek -

    I read it twice, but interpreted it wrong, or something alike. Not sure how I got it that way...

    But if thats the case then i'd think that it'd be best to leave it as is. If you've got your community to where it is now then why not just leave it as it is, because it may just not be worth losing some of the members just to improve the software. Besides that you can even test to see (freely) whether it'll definitely work or not with minimal problems.

    Thats just how I see it though... SMF is a good enough solution so why change? (although vBulletin is *apparently* excellent, but who cares)
     
    chopsticks, Jun 20, 2007 IP