vBulletin vs Xenforo Overview

vBulletin 5 Connect Forum software has a number of exciting features that make forums

interesting for site visitors. It also comes equipped with some components that will make

it an attractive choice for site owners, as well.

Features

• Built-in Applications

Site owners who choose vBulletin get access to discussion groups and forums, as well

as polls. There is also a blog format built right in.

• vBulletin Messenger

This AJAX-based chat function allows users to post messages with ease. It has the

capability to have multiple chat participants at once, as well as multiple chat windows

open simultaneously.

• Forum Features

Member profile pages can be viewed by other members from the member list with

details including a custom title, URL home page, date of birth, biography, interests and

instant messaging medium. You can add custom user fields of your choice, as well.

Other member features available include a friends list, an indicator of who’s online,

private messaging and a signature editor.

Users can upload a custom avatar from their own computer. They also have the option

of specifying a URL to capture an image.

Administrators have a number of tools available to them. They can edit, move, lock and

delete threads as they deem appropriate. Admins can also make a thread “sticky” so

that all users will see it at the top of the discussion forum.

Users can subscribe to a forum and specific threads within the forum. They can choose

to receive updates by email and email a page to a friend.

• Multiple Control Panels

Separate control panels are available for various roles: Administrators, Moderators and

Users. There is a unified permission system for your convenience.

• Easy User Management

Managing users who wish to sign up and use forums is an easy, convenient process.

This system supports multiple users with unlimited roles and permissions. It notifies you

if there is a problem in the system.

New members are required to verify that they signed up for the forum or group by

confirming their email address. For security purposes, the system is equipped with a

login “strike” system. After a certain number of attempts to sign in, the system will

automatically shut down for a time before it will allow a user to try to sign in again.

If a current user wishes to change their email address and/or password, they will need

to provide their current password. No requests to make these changes will be

processed without this required information.

vBulletin is complaint with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of

1998.

• Support

Customers have more than one option when they have questions or concerns. They

can submit a support ticket. They can also visit a forum to find answers to questions.

Pricing for vBulletin- vBulletin vs XenForo pricing

New licenses for vBulletin cost $249.00; upgrades to existing licenses cost $209.00.

XenForo Overview

XenForo is a software option designed to give website owners a high level of flexibility

in setting up discussion forums. They can choose from multiple themes, including ones

specially designed to correspond to seasons and holidays. They customize them with

add-ons to give the forum the precise features that will provide the desired user

experience.

Features

• Social Engagement

This software keeps users engaged and interested in the discussion forums by allowing

them to earn trophies for reaching milestones. They can engage with other users by

“liking” posts and sharing them on Facebook.

• Recent Activity Stream

This feature allows users to see everything that has taken place recently on the forum. It

goes beyond simply indicating the messages posted. Members have the option of

following other users to have a personalized news feed that will give them access to the

type of content they are most interested in on the forum.

• Updates

Users have the capability of staying up to date with personalized alerts. They will be

notified when someone responds to a status update. Quotes from one of their posts or

when they receive a new trophy.

• Change Styles without Code Changes

Use the color changer to change the look to coordinate with your website’s theme.

Making further changes is done with the sizable style property editor. You can also edit

the CSS and HTML in your preferred editor.

• Built-in SEO and how each vBulletin vs XenForo compare

When you choose XenForo, you don’t need to budget more money for search engine

optimization (SEO) for your website. The system is equipped with built-in features, such

as semantic HTML with embedded micro data and user-readable URLs, along with

several other SEO features.

Add-Ons

XenForo was developed with flexibility in mind. Depending on your preferences and the

type of forum you are running, you may want to consider providing your users with a

daily or weekly digest listing the most popular topics or adding a premium page.

Other add-ons will allow you to include advertising banners scrolling on your forum,

allow users to include eBay links in their posts, and include a search function for same

in messages. You can include an add-on sends an email to an admin when a member

makes their first post so that the admin can welcome them, or one that sends an email

when a user has been tagged in a post.

Pricing for XenForo

The cost of the XenForo license is $140.00 for 12 months, including ticket support and

upgrades. The fee to have it installed in your server is another $50.00. This figure

doesn’t include PHP or MySQL installation or configuration. You will also have to pay

another $250.00 for branding removal. This amount removes the visible XenForo

copyright notice from all pages, for a total of $440.00, plus any applicable taxes.

The XenForo Media Manager costs an additional $60.00. This add-on allows you, as

well as your users, to create galleries of videos and images in a forum.

The XenForo Resource Manager is also available, for a cost of $60.00. It allows you to

manage downloads and files, along with article-like content in the forum.

vBulletin vs XenForo: Making a Choice

For site owners who are looking for a budget-conscious choice, vBulletin will come out

the winner. This option will also appeal to site owners who want a built-in blog feature,

as well as those who want a basic forum format.

XenForo is the choice for site owners who are interested in a more sophisticated forum

software. It has more features and options than vBulletin, but site owners who wish to

use it will also pay more for the privilege. vBulletin vs XenForo , What is your favorite?

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