Simple Machines SMF to vBulletin database

[Harty]

I have a forum currently using SMF and I am considering changing it to vBulletin.

I have a few reasons the main one being I want to incresae traffic and I believe vB is more SEO friendly.


But I have over 1200 posts on my forum a 1.9MB database which I have downloaoed as a GZ file.

What I would like to do is simply install VB and still have all the existing posts etc.
Is it possible to transfer a SMF database to vB?
I am also on a windows server, would it be better to be on Linux for using vB?

I am not able to write code and have no knowledge with php.

[BirdOPrey5]

We have an Import tool, Impex, you can use if you purchase a license.

Instructions here- https://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/impex

I'm not gong to lie, it requires some patience and following direction to get an import working right, but it is well documented. SMF 2.0 is a Tier1 / supported system so most data except passwords should transfer to vBulletin.

Note- This would import into VB 4.2.0 our latest stable version, not VB5 Beta. You could upgrade to VB5 Beta after the import if you choose.

[Harty]

Thanks, That's re assuring.
It is the data (the content) I want to transfer across to vbulletin, members can re register.
Is Linux the better server to use. I am currently on windows.
I see a lot mentioning .htaccess which I can only get on Linux.

[Trevor Hannant]

Members will be transferred over also - we provide, in the Impex manual, a sample email that you can send to your users to reset their passwords post import so there is no need to get them to re-register.

Linux/Windows - each person has their own preference on what to use. .htaccess does have Windows equivalents however personally, I'd always choose Linux over Windows hosting.

You can post in our Hosting forum here for more on which host to choose etc.

[Harty]

One last thing. I am using SMF 1.1.17 not SMF 2 I hope that is still OK!

[Trevor Hannant]

There's 2 SMF options within Impex - SMF and SMF2. Choosing the former will give you the importer for 1.x

[PeoriaXK]

Since this is an old post I want to ask...

I also have a forum on SMF Software, I want to move it to VBulletin but in post 2 it suggested NOT to use 5.0, has that changed?

I would like to purchase the 5.0 if it will work.

[BirdOPrey5]

There is still no way to import into VB5. You would need to Import into VB 4.x and then upgrade to 5.x if you want to. There are still features available on 4.x that aren't on 5.x (and some on 5.x not on 4.x) so would strongly urge you to try the full demo of each before deciding. You can demo either version by going to www.vbulletin.com and clicking the "Try it Now" link.

[PeoriaXK]

Can I install it on VB4 and then upgrade it to the VB 5 I purchased?

[TLMD]

Can I install it on VB4 and then upgrade it to the VB 5 I purchased?

See Joe D.'s post above.

Also: You can always upgrade from vB4 to vB5, however, keep in mind that vB5 currently doesn't support all the features of vB4, so there might be missing something after an upgrade to vB5. If vB4 is the perfect solution for you at the moment, better wait with your upgrade to vB5 until vB5 has all the features you need.