Drupal - phpBB ... Just asking for an advise
Hi,
I hope that I am posting in the correct and the right forum .
There is something I can not make up my mind for it and I thought to post here asking for an advise from people around here as I do believe that we have many experienced and talented guy around webmaster-forums.
I have a website that I need to include many thing within and therefor I need a good CMS plus a forum and a blog and maybe a gallery ([i]this is for the time being[/i]).
I've goggled a lot for the best or suitable CMS I can depend on and after a lot of reading I've found that Drupal is better (while some and they are too many goes towards Joomla, but Drupal is far better especially for the long run) and this is why I've picked Drupal at the end and dropped Joomla ([i]as I've choose Joomla at the 1st place[/i]).
This was a brief background about what I want to have. Now regarding the thing I want to make up my mind for, it is that I am a fan of phpBB and really want to use it for the website but the problem I have is the integration with the CMS Drupal as the existing bridges are not good at all and keep broking all the times when any updates take place for Drupal or phpBB.
[u]So I am a bit confused about what shall I do, shall I:[/u]
[list][*] Using phpBB in a separate database and drop the integration with the CMS so this way users will have two log ins, one for the CMS and another one for the forum
[*] Using the core forum module for Drupal with some other modules to add more features for the forum as it is just simple, clean forum.[/list]
So please advise for what shall I do, I understand that some may say that it is my problem and should not post something like this, but it is just I am newbie with websites world and may not realize something and other experienced guys know about it.
One last thing I've realized that there is a stable bridge for Joomla and phpBB, so while I know that Drupal is better then Joomla but I am still thinking about using Joomla instead to be able to use phpBB.
Also does users or visitors for any website([i]s[/i]) care about which tools you are using or it is all about contents and looking or appearance of the website?
Thanks for your time reading my post and I hope to know what do you think?
IT Overdose
Knowledge Has No Limits!
Megan posted this at 14:43 — 24th June 2009.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
So how many other forums did you post this on? Might want to check your BB code before posting. We use HTML here, not BB code.
As you can see with this site we are having good success with Drupal forums. We migrated from vBulletin a few years ago for a variety of reasons. What is it about phpBB that you like compared to Drupal forums?
Usually they don't care about tools as long as the site works well. It can depend a bit on your topic. Sometimes people get used to using forums in a certain configuration and have trouble when they work differently. Or they have it set in their mind that forums should look and function a certain way. We don't really feel that we've suffered from that since we moved to Drupal though.
I'd say that it's more about usability than appearance, although appearance can have an effect on usability.
Megan
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MGadAllah posted this at 15:42 — 24th June 2009.
He has: 65 posts
Joined: May 2009
So how many other forums did you post this on? Might want to check your BB code before posting. We use HTML here, not BB code.
hehehehe ... what a big dumbo I was, honestly I've posted the same topic in the phpBB forum support, here
http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1664125#p10019785
What is it about phpBB that you like compared to Drupal forums?
1st of all I am not a professional or experienced guy when it comes to websites related issues.
It is just I've got the feelings that it is a professional forum software and have a lot of features ... just as simple as that. and because I do trust your opinion and other people around here I did posted about it as I think an experienced guy is always telling an opinion that is saving a lot of time and effort and money too as well.
Usually they don't care about tools as long as the site works well. It can depend a bit on your topic. Sometimes people get used to using forums in a certain configuration and have trouble when they work differently. Or they have it set in their mind that forums should look and function a certain way. We don't really feel that we've suffered from that since we moved to Drupal though.
I'd say that it's more about usability than appearance, although appearance can have an effect on usability.
So your final advise is to stick to Drupal and use its features, right?
Thanks for your time reading and replying
IT Overdose
Knowledge Has No Limits!
Megan posted this at 18:10 — 24th June 2009.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
It depends on what features you need. phpBB might have more features but do you need them? Can you replicate the functionality you need in Drupal?
MGadAllah posted this at 18:47 — 24th June 2009.
He has: 65 posts
Joined: May 2009
I think Drupal will fit and do the job but I will need to study it and know how to make the best use of it.
So far I've printed out some good ebooks and keep reading them to know more about Drupal and how to use it efficiently.
So wish me good luck and please allow me to disturb you from time to time when it comes to such decisions to take regarding my website.
IT Overdose
Knowledge Has No Limits!
JeevesBond posted this at 00:40 — 26th June 2009.
He has: 3,956 posts
Joined: Jun 2002
Well, if it were my choice, I'd just use Drupal!
However, if there is a Drupal module that allows phpBB users to login to Drupal and vice-versa then phpBB is a viable alternative. Having to login twice is a no-no though. I haven't checked what phpBB/Drupal integration modules exist, but if there aren't any you will have to go with just Drupal (or don't allow users to login to your CMS).
If you force us to we can each tell you exactly which option we think you should take, but two people might come back with completely different answers.
If you really need to know what I think you should do: use Drupal. Although the learning curve will be steeper.
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MGadAllah posted this at 10:43 — 26th June 2009.
He has: 65 posts
Joined: May 2009
It seems that nothing will be integrated as the same way Drupal's modules will be.
I've got about 8 or 10 ebooks for Drupal and printed them out and will watch some video tutorials soon.
I am studying it right now by reading these books, and trying to apply what they are saying, but I am a little bit afraid to screw things and run out of control due to not being a programmer or a coder at all.
Regarding the forum issue, I was looking for phpBB because it has a lot of features any admin will want, so does Drupal's forum module (after adding several modules) will be the same? I do not mean to make it a copy of phpBB, but I mean the features.
For example:::> board statistics, number of views per topic, jump directly to the 1st unread or the last reply, who is watching what at this moment and so on.
This is the idea I have in my mind now.
I am trying to have a social networks in the IT filed and I know that you may laugh at me now because I know very very poor knowledge and want to achieve a big thing, but it is just a hope or a dream and I do looking forward and keep trying.
I do find something special about your website here which makes me keep coming back and share all I want to do and ask for your opinions about it.
Thanks
IT Overdose
Knowledge Has No Limits!
Megan posted this at 19:22 — 26th June 2009.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
For example:::> board statistics, number of views per topic, jump directly to the 1st unread or the last reply, who is watching what at this moment and so on.
Honestly, it sounds to me like you're losing sight of the big picture here. These are just small things that don't make a big difference overall.
You have a couple of big factors that may make it worth some small sacrifices to stay with Drupal. One is the login systems. The other is theming (do you really want to create separate versions of your theme for both systems?)
You may find our article on moving from vBulletin to Drupal useful. It outlines some of our reasons for moving to Drupal from vB, which is quite similar to phpBB.
It sounds to me like maybe you should focus a little more on what you really want to do with this site. It would be a good idea to hold off on the forum until you build up a decent amount of traffic to the main site. It's very difficult to build a successful forum out of nowhere. Start generating content, get your site into search engines and social bookmarking sites, build community through comments and other tools. Then add the forum later when you feel enough people would want to participate.
Megan
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Megan posted this at 19:23 — 26th June 2009.
She has: 11,421 posts
Joined: Jun 1999
Forgot to metion - the other thing you might want to think about is your competition. How many other IT forums are there? How many are running on phpBB or vBulletin or similar? Using drupal and integrating with your main site could help you distinguish your site from competitors.
Megan
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MGadAllah posted this at 19:59 — 26th June 2009.
He has: 65 posts
Joined: May 2009
The other is theming (do you really want to create separate versions of your theme for both systems?
What do you mean?
Using drupal and integrating with your main site could help you distinguish your site from competitors.
What a well done and a brilliant idea to have in mind and take into consideration.
IT Overdose
Knowledge Has No Limits!
MGadAllah posted this at 10:55 — 26th June 2009.
He has: 65 posts
Joined: May 2009
- later edit-
Also the ability to have a php smilies is something I am strongly need
I've attached some in the post.
Also ability to include flash or video files from other websites will be needed as well.
Thanks
IT Overdose
Knowledge Has No Limits!
halwa posted this at 06:33 — 20th July 2009.
They have: 1 posts
Joined: Jul 2009
Please Look at drapl.com
I have integrated drupal and phpbb.
I can help you do it.
MGadAllah posted this at 22:37 — 23rd July 2009.
He has: 65 posts
Joined: May 2009
I have integrated drupal and phpbb.
I can help you do it.
Really
Please I'd love to do so as I think this way I can have a very good website.
I did explored the 2 existing projects by Arkeeb and the vb russian guy. Which one you used?
Arkeep's one is no longer updated, and the russian guy's one is not working for me at all.
Is it possible that you may tell here or in a new post for what you did and how you let work correctly?
Thanks a lot and I do hope to let it work correctly
IT Overdose
Knowledge Has No Limits!
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