Thread: Why did you opt for phpbb?

Why did you opt for phpbb?

I wanted to incorporate a forum for my site which will also have classipress. My options were bbpress, simplepress plugiun and bbpress. Bbpress somehow runs short although its simple. I was almost decided on simplepress plugin as phpbb was reported to have issues. But my brother who is actively involved suggested that phpbb is the better forum software. And then I see that you are using phpbb too. Any reasons for your decision? Also I found onepress pretty good although I havent used it. Its a theme integration of phpbb and wordpress. Would be happy to know your views in this regard.

Re: Why did you opt for phpbb?

I spent more time than I'd like to admit evaluating many different types of forum solutions and I narrowed it down to phpbb and vbulletin. Vbulletin costs $180 but is probably the best solution out there for the money. The reason I decided against it was because it was too powerful and feature-rich for what I needed. Those are not bad features...I just didn't want to spend days trying to configure every little option. You also have to buy an aftermarket SEO plugin which costs close to $200 if you want clean urls and page titles. Phpbb was my 2nd choice and was easy to modify (all for free I might add) so I went with it and have been very happy. The only thing I don't like is the lack of plugins (mods) and doc on how to install them. It also didn't come with an rss feed nor was it SEO'ed correctly so I installed two mods.

I really wanted to use BBPress but in my opinion, it's just not mature enough yet. I liked the integration with WP but the feature set just wasn't strong enough. I bet in a year or two BBPress will be more of a contender but it's just not there yet.

I used Simplepress about a year ago and thought it was a great plugin. The only downfall at the time (and maybe it's been corrected) is the slow speed. It's nice because it fits right into your existing WordPress site though.

I recommend checking out Forum Matrix which will let you compare dozens of different forum solutions side-by-side.

Good luck with your selection!

Re: Why did you opt for phpbb?

Just to add to David's reply, vBulletin sells two types of licenses. The one David mentioned is the "owned license," which costs a one-time payment of $180. vBulletin also sells a cheaper license called "leased license" which costs $100, but you have to renew it every year.