Just migrated to XF: what do I need to know?

[RisingSun]

Hello everyone,

A couple of months ago, I posted a thread in the vB section about migrating our forum from vB 3.8.11 to XF. Now, thanks to mysiteguy, our forum is now working on XF!

What do I need to do to make the forum work optimally?
Are there short tutorials that I can post for our members?
What's the deal with themes? Do we need one?

 

[we_are_borg]

Themes is hard to answer it can give a site a nice look but its not really needed. But why not look at https://pixelexit.com/ they have nice themes. I do not know any tutorials out of my head that you can use but XF is easy to understand.

 

[Lala]

We recently migrated from vB4 to XF2.
For me the most important thing was meticulously combing through all the settings/permissions, just going through admin CP top to bottom, and making sure that everything is how we want it, not relying on defaults blindly.

In terms of themes - I slapped on our logo and and background image, tweaked colors to match ours, changed font face/size, and that was it. Planning to upgrade our styling eventually, but the site is recognizable as is, so it's no rush.

In terms of tutorials for members - I edited FAQ of course, and posted a list of features that were actively used and that have changed, that are now different. Old members get disoriented/frustrated when something isn't where it used to be. That list would vary from site to site though, it depends on which features are/were important to your users. Also highlighted some positives and negatives of the new software - negatives so that they know that I know, and positives so that they notice and appreciate them - and invited overall feedback/suggestions. I don't think tutorials are needed, but it's a matter of basic courtesy, to keep members in the loop.

Once the above was done, I'm just keeping a todo list, as usual. I'm sure that list would be different from site to site.

 

[R0binHood]

Nice one, could definitely do with a theme upgrades to match your colours. Maybe something with deep reds, orange, yellow and blacks to match your logo, something to give it a bit of character. I'd get a quote from pixelexit to see if they could do something custom.

You'll want to look into getting an SSL certificate too, otherwise you members may get insecure login warnings on certain browsers.

 

[RisingSun]

We recently migrated from vB4 to XF2.
For me the most important thing was meticulously combing through all the settings/permissions, just going through admin CP top to bottom, and making sure that everything is how we want it, not relying on defaults blindly.

Thanks for this. You've reinforced a gut feeling that I had on this. I've started but will continue down this path.

In terms of tutorials for members - I edited FAQ of course, and posted a list of features that were actively used and that have changed, that are now different. Old members get disoriented/frustrated when something isn't where it used to be. That list would vary from site to site though, it depends on which features are/were important to your users. Also highlighted some positives and negatives of the new software - negatives so that they know that I know, and positives so that they notice and appreciate them - and invited overall feedback/suggestions. I don't think tutorials are needed, but it's a matter of basic courtesy, to keep members in the loop.

Anything you would be OK sharing? Your highlights of the positive and negatives of the new software sound really useful. Thanks!

 

[RisingSun]

What is the deal with profile posts? It's like a public conversation with a single member? Why is this useful? I've already turned off the display of "New profile posts" in the nav until I understand them. I know these existed in vB 3.x, but hardly anyone ever used them.

 

[R0binHood]

Yes. You visit their profile and write a public message or post media on their wall/profile (or your own wall/profile)

This will show up in the what's new feed, so other members can then also chime in.

It can be a good way for members to spark more personal/off topic/casual conversations with each other in a public setting where they don't mind others chiming in. Conversations and threads that might not be suitable dedicated to specific threads or topic aimed at the forum as a whole in any given sub forum, but don't need to really be hidden private conversations.

It's usually ends up as more casual shooting the breeze chat as opposed to content that might end up in a structured thread.

It's very similar to walls on Facebook if you've ever used that. So many members will understand that concept if they've used it.

 

[Lala]

You've reinforced a gut feeling that I had on this.

I wasn't implying that there's something wrong with XF's default settings; was just saying that every community has different needs. For example, we don't use tags, so I disabled them.

Anything you would be OK sharing?

No problem sharing, but these things are specific to each community. For example, vB has a clumsy user page for joinable usergroups that I couldn't do much with, and XF doesn't have joinable usergroups at all. I imagine it's not a very popular/important feature for most sites. For us it's of crucial importance, it replaces ranks, trophies, badges, and account upgrades, using that page is the highlight of everyone's membership - so we need a page that's customized to our needs, clear, and appealing. Creating this page is on my todo list, and the current/temporary lack of it is on the list of negatives (along with instructions on how they can manage their usergroups in the meantime).

 

[Threadloom]

I would create a set of users guide thread in the your announcement area.
Then I would setup a private message to be sent to all users welcoming them, along with the how to guide thread to encourage use such as avatar. Be sure to remove yourself from the conversation otherwise your PM box will blow up.

When I was responsible for a number of forums I created these tutorials (feel free to borrow any parts of it)
https://www.thegoatspot.net/threads/welcome-to-thegoatspot-net-a-users-guide-to-the-site.193002/

I find the personal welcome helps with community growth.

Hope this helps, and good luck!