Presale Questions

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  • ChadsMach1
    New Member
    • Oct 2007
    • 25
    • 3.6.x

    Presale Questions

    I am currently running a forum on SMF. There are some things it will nto do, and I have been told it will take time and money to have customer packages made for me. I figured I would check into vB to see what all it can do out of the box and see if it is a better fit for my needs.

    I see no mention of SEO in the features. Does vBulletin have friendly URL’s?


    Is there a module or plug-in for advertising? I am interesting in banner advertisements and selling text links.


    Can everything be backed up from the admin control panel? I am very concerned with back ups and having a good disaster recovery plan on hand. Is there any good documentation available on this?

    How secure is vB out of box?

    What control measures are in place to prevent spam? Is CAPTCHA/email verificationused for new registration? Are there any other tools in place to assist with spam?

    I have played around with the demo with the paid subscriptions. When you create a paid subscription, how does a user then know to upgrade their membership? I assumed that there would be a link to something like “memberships” in the nav bar, but in the demo it is not (or either I did not configure it correctly to test it out). Exactly how does this work and how can I demonstrate it in the demo version to see it in action? I want to be able to make sure that members will clearly know that they have a membership upgrade available, and a place where they can compare membership options.

    If I purchase now, what happens when V4 comes out? Will I be able to download it and upgrade easily? Will it be a no charge upgrade since I would hold a year upgrade membership?



    Thanks in advance.
  • Wayne Luke
    vBulletin Technical Support Lead
    • Aug 2000
    • 73981

    #2
    Originally posted by ChadsMach1
    I see no mention of SEO in the features. Does vBulletin have friendly URL’s?
    Included in vBulletin 4.0
    Is there a module or plug-in for advertising? I am interesting in banner advertisements and selling text links.
    vBulletin includes ad location templates to place ads in key places throughout the design. vBulletin 4 includes an advertising manager that takes advantage of these templates. There are addons to manage sponsorships, rotating ads, etc... at www.vbulletin.org. Or you can use tools like Google Ad Manager or OPENX to do this.

    Can everything be backed up from the admin control panel? I am very concerned with back ups and having a good disaster recovery plan on hand. Is there any good documentation available on this?
    Backing up databases via PHP is unreliable at best. Disastrous in its own rights at worst. We recommend using backup tools provided by your hosting provider or the server's command line utilities.

    How secure is vB out of box?
    As secure as an interpreted application can be. You can augment this with the appropriate server technologies.

    What control measures are in place to prevent spam? Is CAPTCHA/email verificationused for new registration? Are there any other tools in place to assist with spam?
    Captcha methods include image captcha, question/answer captcha and recaptcha. You can integrate your site into either Akisment or Typepad Anti-spam tools as well. On vBulletin.org there are keyword spam detectors, time measurement detectors as well as tools to integrate with botscout.com and stopforumspam.com
    I have played around with the demo with the paid subscriptions. When you create a paid subscription, how does a user then know to upgrade their membership? I assumed that there would be a link to something like “memberships” in the nav bar, but in the demo it is not (or either I did not configure it correctly to test it out). Exactly how does this work and how can I demonstrate it in the demo version to see it in action? I want to be able to make sure that members will clearly know that they have a membership upgrade available, and a place where they can compare membership options.
    The link is located in their user control panel. You can add a link in the navbar to have them subscribe or create notices to remind them to do so.
    If I purchase now, what happens when V4 comes out? Will I be able to download it and upgrade easily? Will it be a no charge upgrade since I would hold a year upgrade membership?
    All active licenses will be able to upgrade to vBulletin 4 Forums when the package is released. You will be able to receive discounts on upgrading to the suite.
    Translations provided by Google.

    Wayne Luke
    The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
    vBulletin 5 API

    Comment

    • ChadsMach1
      New Member
      • Oct 2007
      • 25
      • 3.6.x

      #3
      Thank you for the info. I have a few more questions for you.

      What exactly is the suite? I did a search and I am not really coming up with any info. Do you have a link to more details?

      I am still having trouble with the paid subscriptions. I created a one in the demo called “Charter Member”. I applied it to a forum I created. I created a user with my name, logged in as him, went to CP, and I see nothing there about upgrading membership. Is there more to it that that? I need to see this in action so I can gauge if this is for me or not. It is one of the key thing that is drawing me to the vB software. Do you have any websites that you can direct me that employs this that I can sign up on, and view this in action?

      On this post you have the title “vBulletin Team” under your name. One of the beefs I have with SMF is this. I want users to be able to select a title such as this when they sign up. Let me give you an example of what I am trying to accomplish and see if this is something vB can help me with. When a user signs up, I want them to be able to select a title like this that will be under their name. I need to be able to set choices such as “Honda Rider” “Yamaha Rider” “CanAm Rider” “Polaris Rider” etc (the type of ATV they ride). I do not want this to be in any way related to forum permissions or post counts. Just a title that has to be selected when they register and can be changed later by them as needed. Can this be done in vB or with a hack on the market?

      Thanks for your time.

      Comment

      • Wayne Luke
        vBulletin Technical Support Lead
        • Aug 2000
        • 73981

        #4
        The suite is a new package that will include Forums, a CMS, Member Blogs and other products that we develop. It will be a complete website in a box package.

        You can read about paid subscriptions and setting them up here:


        You can control who has access to custom user titles via usergroup permissions. They can change it at any time. You can also assign ranks and allow custom user titles or use custom profile fields for this purpose. There are infinite possibilities here when you use everything offered.
        Translations provided by Google.

        Wayne Luke
        The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
        vBulletin 5 API

        Comment

        • ChadsMach1
          New Member
          • Oct 2007
          • 25
          • 3.6.x

          #5
          Originally posted by Wayne Luke
          The suite is a new package that will include Forums, a CMS, Member Blogs and other products that we develop. It will be a complete website in a box package.

          You can read about paid subscriptions and setting them up here:


          You can control who has access to custom user titles via usergroup permissions. They can change it at any time. You can also assign ranks and allow custom user titles or use custom profile fields for this purpose. There are infinite possibilities here when you use everything offered.
          The paid subscription link was very helpful, thank you for that.

          Is there a current suite that I can demo, or is this only new to ver 4? A CMS and blogs definately has my attention and interest up. Is there a link to any details on this as well?

          So you are saying that what I am trying to accomplish can be done with the base vB software in repsect to customer "user Titles"? I can give them choices to pick from when they register, but still allow them to change it after the fact? I do not want them to be able to just make their own, but rather choose from a selection of titles that I have hard coded. When they register they need to be able to select one of the titles to proceed, but in the future if they sell their a ATV and get another brand, they can easily change it in their account as well. As long as I can do that, you very well may have me sold. I just want to make sure this is definately something that I can do in the script before I decide to purchase.

          Also, I assume when I purchase I will need to provide you with the domain it will be used for. What if that domain changes in the future? Is this a easy change within the script or just a easy change on your end? I wasn't sure if the domain is coded into the script for security or not.

          Thank you for all of your help.

          Comment

          • Wayne Luke
            vBulletin Technical Support Lead
            • Aug 2000
            • 73981

            #6
            You can use Custom User Profile fields to handle the custom titles you want and have them select from a list.

            You can change the domain associated with your license if you need to.
            Translations provided by Google.

            Wayne Luke
            The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
            vBulletin 5 API

            Comment

            • ChadsMach1
              New Member
              • Oct 2007
              • 25
              • 3.6.x

              #7
              Originally posted by Wayne Luke
              Included in vBulletin 4.0

              vBulletin includes ad location templates to place ads in key places throughout the design. vBulletin 4 includes an advertising manager that takes advantage of these templates. There are addons to manage sponsorships, rotating ads, etc... at www.vbulletin.org. Or you can use tools like Google Ad Manager or OPENX to do this.


              Backing up databases via PHP is unreliable at best. Disastrous in its own rights at worst. We recommend using backup tools provided by your hosting provider or the server's command line utilities.


              As secure as an interpreted application can be. You can augment this with the appropriate server technologies.


              Captcha methods include image captcha, question/answer captcha and recaptcha. You can integrate your site into either Akisment or Typepad Anti-spam tools as well. On vBulletin.org there are keyword spam detectors, time measurement detectors as well as tools to integrate with botscout.com and stopforumspam.com

              The link is located in their user control panel. You can add a link in the navbar to have them subscribe or create notices to remind them to do so.


              All active licenses will be able to upgrade to vBulletin 4 Forums when the package is released. You will be able to receive discounts on upgrading to the suite.
              I just want to make sure that I am in full understanding of the rules to buying and upgrading licenses. I am interested in switching to vB, but it looks like vB 4 has what I need moreso than 3.8.4. I need to make sure that if I purchase 3.8.4 today, I will be able to upgrade to vB 4 at no charge when it is released.

              I read your response and take it that a upgrade from a newly purchased 3.8.4 will be a no charge (free) upgrade to 4 when it is released. I take the next part as I would be eligible to get a discount on upgrading from the forum to the suite, which is also something that interest me to get the CMS.

              Thank you for your time to answer my questions. Have a good day.

              Comment

              • dodgeboard.com
                Senior Member
                • Nov 2005
                • 941
                • 4.0.x

                #8
                Yes, and Yes.

                Comment

                • ChadsMach1
                  New Member
                  • Oct 2007
                  • 25
                  • 3.6.x

                  #9
                  Originally posted by dodgeboard.com
                  Yes, and Yes.

                  I have been searching the forums, and forums from other sites and was wondering if pricing and software updating time frames have been publicly released for the v4 product yet?

                  From my previous posts, I have been told that if I purchase v3.8.4 now, I will get a free upgrade to v4, and a years worth of upgrades from the time I buy. I have read that v4 will have unlimited upgrades while the software is still v4.X. I take this to mean that until a v5 is released, you will have free upgrades of the v4 product to the various releases.

                  What I am most concerned about is do I want to lock myself into only a years worth of free upgrades now, or do I wait to get a better upgrade deal? Since I could not find my answer on this site, I figured it best to ask here.

                  Thanks for your help.

                  Comment

                  • Baba Wawa
                    Senior Member
                    • Feb 2009
                    • 495
                    • 3.8.x

                    #10
                    Originally posted by ChadsMach1
                    * * *
                    From my previous posts, I have been told that if I purchase v3.8.4 now, I will get a free upgrade to v4, and a years worth of upgrades from the time I buy. I have read that v4 will have unlimited upgrades while the software is still v4.X. I take this to mean that until a v5 is released, you will have free upgrades of the v4 product to the various releases.

                    * * *
                    I'm not sure if this is true. Mind, I'm not saying it isn't -- just that I am not sure.

                    Could someone verify whether the OP's above statement(s) are correct or not?

                    Comment

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