Forums are always been loved because an active forum allows you to interact with a large number of people and get help quicker than commenting on a post or even doing a Google search (sometimes). I actually have experience being an administrator and a user of both forum types. Here are some of the Advantages & disadvantages of both
PHPBB Forums
PHPBB Advantage
• Open source &FREE.
• Easy to setup.
• Easy for just about anyone to use.
• User friendly.
• Takes little time to get modding done
PHPBB Disadvantages
• Options are limited.
• Not very SEO friendly (as of version 3.0).
• MODS are very limited, mods released are very less.
VBulletin Forums
VBulletin Advantages
• . Installation is easy. Just one click away to install it.
• Generally better looking.
• More features.
• Plugins/Add-ons available.
• More SEO friendly than PHPBB.
• Social networking is good.
VBulletin Disadvantages
• Takes lots of time to install custom MODS.
• Costs $100-$180.00 per license.
• Constant Maintenance/Updates required.
• Targeted by Spammers.
• Not very Fluid.
Both forum types have skins available for free and for sale, so I didn’t mention that above. It is also important to mention that you can easily convert your PHPBB forum into a VBulletin forum (I’ve read this, haven’t personally tried it).
In summary, as a user, I’ve always felt that to be considered a serious forum; you need to be using VBulletin. It just looks more professional, has more options, etc. From an administrator’s standpoint, however, I’ve enjoyed running PHPBB forums more. VBulletin forums seem to attract a ton of spammy posts and sometimes moderating posts and banning users can be overwhelming (in my experience) and I feel like I have to update the software every few weeks. It also seems to almost have to many options!
So that is my experience with both PHPBB and VBulletin. I would love to hear about your experiences and preferences between the two. Have any pros or cons to add to the list? You can write from the perspective of running either type of forum or from the user perspective (reading/posting) on either type of forum. If you haven’t used either, you are welcome to share your experiences with BBPress.
PHPBB Forums
PHPBB Advantage
• Open source &FREE.
• Easy to setup.
• Easy for just about anyone to use.
• User friendly.
• Takes little time to get modding done
PHPBB Disadvantages
• Options are limited.
• Not very SEO friendly (as of version 3.0).
• MODS are very limited, mods released are very less.
VBulletin Forums
VBulletin Advantages
• . Installation is easy. Just one click away to install it.
• Generally better looking.
• More features.
• Plugins/Add-ons available.
• More SEO friendly than PHPBB.
• Social networking is good.
VBulletin Disadvantages
• Takes lots of time to install custom MODS.
• Costs $100-$180.00 per license.
• Constant Maintenance/Updates required.
• Targeted by Spammers.
• Not very Fluid.
Both forum types have skins available for free and for sale, so I didn’t mention that above. It is also important to mention that you can easily convert your PHPBB forum into a VBulletin forum (I’ve read this, haven’t personally tried it).
In summary, as a user, I’ve always felt that to be considered a serious forum; you need to be using VBulletin. It just looks more professional, has more options, etc. From an administrator’s standpoint, however, I’ve enjoyed running PHPBB forums more. VBulletin forums seem to attract a ton of spammy posts and sometimes moderating posts and banning users can be overwhelming (in my experience) and I feel like I have to update the software every few weeks. It also seems to almost have to many options!
So that is my experience with both PHPBB and VBulletin. I would love to hear about your experiences and preferences between the two. Have any pros or cons to add to the list? You can write from the perspective of running either type of forum or from the user perspective (reading/posting) on either type of forum. If you haven’t used either, you are welcome to share your experiences with BBPress.
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