6 replies to this topic

[Mr Col]

Hi Guys,

We've been running IPB since about 2002 using version 2.0.3

http://www.icrtouch....dex.php?act=idx

We've been very very very happy with it, and have often wanted to upgrade but have been a bit loathed to because we've kinda hacked the code about a bit in a few places and have been a little scared about being able to put our changes back in

But, It's becoming increasingly apparent that it's not doing as good a job with Google as it used to so we really need to make a change.

Before we take the jump I have a few questions;

• I see part of the purchase price is that you install it, I assume that includes migration of our existing data? Are there any foreseable problems with this?
  
• When we originally installed it we did it ourselves through the use of a few .php scripts, we're a software development company ourselves so are ok with stuff like this - is this still an option? Some of the nature of my question is that we keep a 'backup webserver' here on site, I'm considering trying the install on this first ourselves to make sure we're happy before we go proper live.
  
• I understand you now do an amazing job with SEO and google; will it also rework our existing content? we have around 10,000 topics i believe.
  
• The existing v2 is supplied as .php code which means it's easy for us to make changes. Is it still supplied in this way, ie not compiled .php ?

I think we're probably going to purchase the full product suite rather than just the board, many of them we can make instant use of such as the 'downloads' - other parts look like they would be good to have but we're more likely to make use of them if we've actually bought them

[ΑndyF]

Although not exactly an immediate answer, there's no issue with an upgrade from this version.

I've personally tested the upgrader to the latest stable release with various previous versions including all the way back to 1.3 without any real issue. Its also QA tested before each new release too.

Your custom skin and any custom modifications (if you have any) are highly unlikely to function on 323 however there is a lot more functionality built into 323 compared to 2.0.x so you may not actually require said modifications with the newer version.

Edited by ΑndyF, 10 February 2012 - 05:20 AM.
Added a bit more information

[Mr Col]

ΑndyF, on 10 February 2012 - 05:17 AM, said:

Your custom skin and any custom modifications (if you have any) are highly unlikely to function on 323 however there is a lot more functionality built into 323 compared to 2.0.x so you may not actually require said modifications with the newer version.

Interestingly one of our modifications is that we 'Monster Proofed' the registration page, we've not had a single spam bot sign up in over 5 years compared to about 5 a day prior to that lol

[ΑndyF]

32x has the spam service built in which will help substantially plus you can enable a built in Question / Answer Challenge if more is needed.

[bfarber]

The source code is still viewable (unless you host with us and do not own a separate license).  You can still modify it if necessary, however we encourage the user of our hooks and plugins systems which allow you to adjust the execution of the code without actually modifying the source files.  These customizations are generally retained during upgrades easier (as they are not overwritten - you need only update them as appropriate, if necessary).

Any SEO "features" will be applied to your existing content, yes.  Your topics are loaded in the new interface which has things like microdata and better-formed HTML, and your old dynamic topic links will be automatically redirected to the new friendly URLs (if enabled).

[ICRTouch]

All bought, all installed - we did it ourselves lol Everything seems to be working though we've had our first spam bot sign up already trying to sell us knob pills! But we'll iron stuff like that out as we go along

It's such a massive change from the older version though! So is going to take some getting used to, the post editor is very very nice

[ΑndyF]

Excellent to hear you've purchased.

The live search in the ACP (top right) will help you quickly find settings you require too. It is a large upgrade so its worth spending a few minutes checking the group permissions and other settings, adjusting as required. The spam service will help keep spammers at bay too.

If you have any issues or questions just start a topic in the Board Support forum or submit a ticket in the Client Area and someone will be able to assist you.