Welcome!

[Henry Osadzinski]

Hello all!

I'm happy to welcome you to the new & improved UK Business Forums

We've spent the last few days acting on feedback and bug reports from members who kindly took the time to look at our test build. A fair bit has been fixed and we're still working on some parts as well - if anything seems to not be working as it should be, feel free to let us know in the Upgrade Feedback area or by emailing [email protected].

As you look around the site, you may notice some things that work a bit differently. We've put together a Frequently Asked Questions page that should hopefully answer the most pressing questions about making posts and using the site.

Just because we've launched the new site doesn't mean that work is going to slow down. Our first priority is to make sure that everything made it across in one piece and to roll out a few items that need some more polish. Over the next week or so you'll see a couple of smaller updates, covering:

• Tapatalk support - while from our end it's simply a case of installing the add-on to hook into Tapatalk, there's a verification process that also needs to happen at their end. As soon as this process is completed, we'll let you know.
• The Business Directory - while it currently isn't visible, all of the data is intact. The new directory is top priority as we want to get it up and running and make sure the whole thing is cleaned up at the same time. In response to requests and comments, we're also implementing an add-on that extends the functionality to allow for better categories / organisation of entries, feedback on businesses, detailed entries with more links (for specific parts of your site etc.), and information such as brick-and-mortar locations.
• Member Search - while we have the members list, we want to make it more useful and are looking into potential add-ons to provide a more powerful and user-friendly search. If you're a XenForo veteran and have come across one that you love, let us know - it could be perfect for us!
• Hover-over bug - the hover-over menus don't currently close without clicking away from them. On some browsers, we've noticed that this can cause them to stack up and get in the way a bit. We're working on fixing this ASAP so that menus disappear after you move your mouse pointer away from them. Until then, a quick page refresh will clear any open menus. Sorry for the inconvenience with this one.

Now that we've completed the migration, you should notice the benefits that the updated platform provides:

• Greater security - our old platform was buggy and prone to attacks. We managed to keep most things out but there are far fewer risks with an up-to-date platform like XenForo. We're also much better protected against spam and it's easier for mods to quickly bulk-remove identified spam sources.
• Greater flexibility - XenForo benefits from a massive open development community. The platform is used by a lot of huge organisations (such as Linux.org) and can be tailored to suit most needs. This means we're able to explore many more options than before when it comes add-ons to augment the core site features. If you have an idea or have seen a feature that you love, make sure you let us know.
• Faster speeds and greater stability - the old UKBF was known to slow to a crawl from time to time. We're now able to handle a lot more traffic and posts at once so you shouldn't notice any issues with page loading speed etc.
• Responsive design for mobiles & tablets - it's now much easier to read the site on smaller screens without having to resort to zooming in on different parts of the page. It also means that iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile users will all be able to enjoy the same experience across their devices.

Finally, here's a quick roundup of what our plans are for the future - both near and further along the line.