vb4 to vb5 Connect - Convince Me

[fmckinnon]

Hey Gang,

We've been running vb4 for a long time. Recently we switched over to bbPress and tried running the forums there - we liked the stripped down, clean look but ultimately, the features just weren't there. The heart and soul of our community is the forums, so we want to revert back to vBulletin.

I'm considering paying the upgrade to vBulletin 5. We don't really need Social Groups nor do we really need individual user blogs. So other than that, please chime in and tell me what the big differences are. Give me your best sales pitch -- what new features and enhancements in VB5 make it worth me to spend a few hundred bucks on the upgrade?

Also: it seems that vb5 has been out a while already, but hasn't been developed. Specifically, the promised, awaited "CMS" hasn't materialized. Is vb5 development dead in the water?

I need to make a decision ASAP - so please respond.

[LockedOnLaw]

vB5 is a CMS. The entire platform is based upon the ability to create individual modules and place them anywhere you choose. At this point the biggest difference is in the number of add-ons and template modifications as well as the number of themes and styles. Most of the ones available for vB4.x are no longer supported so that probably shouldn't be a deciding factor. I have licenses for both and each has its advantages and disadvantages. If the forums are the primary consideration either platform will work. If you have any current or future designs on doing more with your site than just being a forum then vB5 offers far more possibilities. The best feature of vB5 is the ability to customize every element of every page. If that is of no interest or use to you then vB4 should serve your purposes perfectly well.

[fmckinnon]

ProSportsForums: thanks for the quick reply. I just signed up for the vb5 demo, and saw the "Articles" feature, and thought to myself "yes, this is a CMS". However, I'm confused by the way the sticky/threaded Q&A on vb5 is here in this forum - specifically, this:

Q. What if i use the vBulletin 4 CMS?

A. We recommend that you don't upgrade to vBulletin 5 until the CMS is added into the package. The CMS will be added as soon as possible after vBulletin 5 is declared Gold.


Q. What happens to the CMS data if I do upgrade?

A. Nothing will happen to the data, it will be retained in your database 'as-is'. When the vBulletin 5 CMS is added to the package, the data will then be upgraded to the vBulletin 5 format and displayed on the upgraded site.


Q. Will I need to pay more when the VB5 CMS comes out?

A. No, your purchase of a vBulletin 5 license will give you access to all future releases of the vBulletin 5 product. There are no annual renewals or 'top-ups' to gain access to functionality or fixes added in future releases. The price you pay for the license at purchase is all you'll need to pay.

So, here's my main question: is the "Articles" section what we're calling the CMS? Is publishing Articles limited only to author/admin type user groups?
And as a followup -- we have all of articles in WordPress ... has anyone actually successfully imported WordPress articles into the VB articles and thus, used VB5 as a stand-alone magazine/community/forum?

From everything I read, you could import your WordPress articles into VB4 and then do the upgrade, but there's no way to import them directly.

And yet another question: If by chance this could be done, how easy is to make the "Articles" your landing page, and the forums in a new directory.
Ex: www.theworshipcommunity.com (currently, Wordpress - would want the Articles to be there) - www.theworshipcommunity.com/forums/ that's where forums would be.

[webmastersun]

Hey Gang,

We've been running vb4 for a long time. Recently we switched over to bbPress and tried running the forums there - we liked the stripped down, clean look but ultimately, the features just weren't there. The heart and soul of our community is the forums, so we want to revert back to vBulletin.

I am surprised why vB4 is good but you still moved to bbpress, even it's better than vB5, just IMO.

[LockedOnLaw]

ProSportsForums: thanks for the quick reply. I just signed up for the vb5 demo, and saw the "Articles" feature, and thought to myself "yes, this is a CMS". However, I'm confused by the way the sticky/threaded Q&A on vb5 is here in this forum - specifically, this:



So, here's my main question: is the "Articles" section what we're calling the CMS? Is publishing Articles limited only to author/admin type user groups?
And as a followup -- we have all of articles in WordPress ... has anyone actually successfully imported WordPress articles into the VB articles and thus, used VB5 as a stand-alone magazine/community/forum?

From everything I read, you could import your WordPress articles into VB4 and then do the upgrade, but there's no way to import them directly.

And yet another question: If by chance this could be done, how easy is to make the "Articles" your landing page, and the forums in a new directory.
Ex: www.theworshipcommunity.com (currently, Wordpress - would want the Articles to be there) - www.theworshipcommunity.com/forums/ that's where forums would be.

It follows that what you are referring to as the CMS is the Articles page by default in vB5.x Because of the way the permissions work in vB5 you can individually assign custom permissions to each usergroup in the Articles channel. I can't answer your questions regarding WordPress as I have never attempted an import of WordPress to vB. I've always posted in each separately. It's extremely easy to change your landing page in vB5 and there are detailed instructions on how to do so on this site by MarkB should you need them.

If anyone can answer the WordPress question ...

[fmckinnon]

Thanks In Omnibus ... what is your site? Sounds like maybe we do same thing, if you are running WordPress and vBulletin. Do you build an email list? I'd hoped to be able to find a integration plugin to sync my vBulletin with MailChimp, but not seeing anything like that - there was an old plugin that worked in v3 and v4.

[Brad Padgett]

ProSportsForums: thanks for the quick reply. I just signed up for the vb5 demo, and saw the "Articles" feature, and thought to myself "yes, this is a CMS". However, I'm confused by the way the sticky/threaded Q&A on vb5 is here in this forum - specifically, this:



So, here's my main question: is the "Articles" section what we're calling the CMS? Is publishing Articles limited only to author/admin type user groups?
And as a followup -- we have all of articles in WordPress ... has anyone actually successfully imported WordPress articles into the VB articles and thus, used VB5 as a stand-alone magazine/community/forum?

From everything I read, you could import your WordPress articles into VB4 and then do the upgrade, but there's no way to import them directly.

And yet another question: If by chance this could be done, how easy is to make the "Articles" your landing page, and the forums in a new directory.
Ex: www.theworshipcommunity.com (currently, Wordpress - would want the Articles to be there) - www.theworshipcommunity.com/forums/ that's where forums would be.

Not sure what that was about but vbulletin 5 is very much a cms platform. Usergroups of all kinds given the permission can post articles.

There is actually a feature I have found that according to vbulletin developers was never supposed to be there. If you remember vb4 promote to article function, in order to move an article from the forum to the homepage in vb5, all you have to do is copy the article and it will allow you to send it to the homepage article section with the author in tact.

I use this function every day. It's basically the same thing.

Not sure about wordpress though. You'll have to take that up with the developers.

[feldon23]

Having an extensive integration between your CMS and your Forum is a ton of effort for very little result. Less than 1% of 1% of forum posters are willing, able, and reliable enough to consistently post high-quality content. In your situation, I'd get it just good enough to allow people to post comments on the blog using their forum account.

[Joshua Gonzales]

Just to clear this bit up: the sticky/threaded Q&A on vb5 you are referring to, fmckinnon, is an old FAQ that was released when vB 5 first came out. The CMS feature was not included in the software at that time, but has since been added as many have mentioned. Thanks for bringing attention to this as we should either make changes to the post or make it clear of its release date.

[fmckinnon]

Thanks Joshua Gonzales

[Mark.B]

I've just updated the Q&A post.
Very sorry for the confusion.