Forum software suggestions

[wevet]

I am looking to add a forum to a website under construction the market leader seems to be bulletin but my developer has suggested MyBB.

Any views on which is "best" would be welcome. (I am concerned about useablity, ease of use and future proofing rather than cost)

 

[IGM_Computers]

MyBB or vBulletin are pretty much future proof. There's another I know of called phpBB which is supposed to be really good

 

[Stationery-Direct]

vBulletin all the way.

 

[Faevilangel]

Vbulletin (which this forum is built on) or IP Board for paid software... Mybb, phpbb, smf etc for free software.

With the paid software comes support and reliability, the open source has less support and are prone to being hacked if you don't keep upto date versions (smf has been hacked a few times). This is due to the source code being available...

If you're going to make money from your forum or use it for clients support, then go for the paid software

 

[Websitehandyman]

Vbulletin (which this forum is built on) or IP Board for paid software... Mybb, phpbb, smf etc for free software.

With the paid software comes support and reliability, the open source has less support and are prone to being hacked if you don't keep upto date versions (smf has been hacked a few times). This is due to the source code being available...

If you're going to make money from your forum or use it for clients support, then go for the paid software

Everyone seems to push vB, like Magneto for carts, but my experience is they have both a lot less efficient then other products. I've yet to see vB even put a decent spam filter together.

But you can't knock either if people are recommending them on real life experience - thats experience of running and maintaining.

I would go for Mybb myself but it really depends on what plans you have for the forum.

 

[ITsoldUK]

For my two cents....

Paid for: IPB is head and shoulders over anything else I have tried. Bit of a steep learning curve but VERY effective with dealing with spammers etc. Easy to modify the look and feel and tons of hooks and mods to customise functions.

Free: PHPBB3. Love this, can make it look real cool for free too and IF you stay on top of the updates and take some simple steps from day one, spammers can be kept out.

HTH

Enjoy.

 

[Uwe (Invoiceberry)]

I used phpBB (free/open source) and vBulletin (paid) in the past. Both are pretty reliable in my opinion.

You will need to pay for updates and upgrade if you opt for vBulletin, but it isn't too expensive for the quality you get.

 

[123Simples]

It depends on whether you have linux or windows hosting. Myself personally I like a paid for option with backup, and something that I can play with and know that the developer is in the UK

<affiliate link removed>

 

[Rudi]

Like most other people, if you're looking for a commercially supported solution - go for vBulletin. It by far has the best featureset, community, and perhaps most importantly developer community. I say most importantly because to have a good developer community means that not only is the software great (as approved by software developers!) but there is lots and I mean lots(!) of addons and plugins available.

If you're looking for free, I stand by MyBB. It started life as an actual clone of vBulletin (then got sued, so had to change) but now has actually changed for the better IMO. I'm using it for a couple of forums and it has never really let me down. phpBB on the other hand, has, as has SMF.

I'm talking purely from experience and have no affiliation with either.

123Simples - Linux or Windows hosting is completely irrelevant these days. Hell even if you wanted an ASP.NET system running on *nix, it's more than possible!

 

[webhostuk]

SMF is also good one if you are looking for free forum software or else vBulletin is best.

 

[giffgore]

SMF is terrible.

If you can afford VBulletin, get it. If you want a free package, use MyBB.

 

[Clinton]

I too would recommend vBulletin. I use it on multiple sites.

Everyone seems to push vB, like Magneto for carts, but my experience is they have both a lot less efficient then other products. I've yet to see vB even put a decent spam filter together.

There are various tools and controls that vB gives you. You can block new users from creating links, remove their access to signature and profile, block signups by IP and by email (with wildcard options)... and lots more.

But it's not the forum software's main job to block spam, it's the forum owner's.

He can sign up for an API from Akismet or he can simply take some sensible steps in configuring his forum to reduce 99% of the spam. I do.

 

[Paul Norman]

If you are looking for paid for solutions, the market opens up wide and you can get some quite sophisticated products. We have one, at OrangeTree (my own company, declaring the interest!!), or Kontrolit do one too.

 

[UrbanRetail]

XenForo is a good one to take a look at. It is the brain child of an ex VBulletin developer and is well on it's way to dominating the market for forum software.