What is MyBB like for mobile?

[DigNap15]

I am an old school desktop user.
I am looking at startig a new forum with a polling based niche.
What is MyBB like on mobile - look on screen, touch etc, as I think that most users nowadays are on mobile

 

[Kyrie]

I am an old school desktop user.
I am looking at startig a new forum with a polling based niche.
What is MyBB like on mobile - look on screen, touch etc, as I think that most users nowadays are on mobile

There's two ways to look at it: You can either get A) A mobile site that also works on desktop or B) a desktop site that also works on mobile.

MyBB would definitely be the second option. It's never going to be as good as, say Discourse would be. That being said, it is your forum and you should do what you want. I ultimately decided to go with PHPBB with responsive theme (check my signature on a mobile device) and that being said, it formats well... is it like a native app? no.. but it works.

 

[LeadCrow]

Not very good. Upcoming 1.9 version plans to improve that (here's a demo site running the wip 1.9 code).

 

[zappaDPJ]

Upcoming 1.9 version plans to improve that (here's a demo site running the wip 1.9 code).

Although that looks a bit sparse, I think it has potential.

 

[deslocotoco]

Since i was a very heavy user of MyBB, i can share some experiences about it:

- They don't have a full and official responsible/mobile support. Don't even think about. You must relay on premium themes (around 25 U$) to accomplish that.

- The 1.9 version is almost a legend and i can't blame than: their are very short on staff, but the support in the community is incredible.

My recommendation?

Save money and go for a paid forum system. For real, is not worth all the work you have to deal with open source things.

 

[Jason5]

My current forum is powered by MyBB, i have a custom theme made which is responsive and mobile compatibility. Most of the free themes are not responsive and mobile compatible. You need to spend some money to achieve it

 

[Dopply]

I love how MyBB looks, but wow, the admin CP isn't very good... not to mention, the dwindling staff doesn't inspire confidence. I will say that it has probably one the most robust merge systems out there, making it pretty easy to switch to it.

If it was fully responsive out of the box and received more updates, I'd say it'd give phpbb3 a serious run for its money as best free forum script.

 

[Kyrie]

I love how MyBB looks, but wow, the admin CP isn't very good... not to mention, the dwindling staff doesn't inspire confidence. I will say that it has probably one the most robust merge systems out there, making it pretty easy to switch to it.

If it was fully responsive out of the box and received more updates, I'd say it'd give phpbb3 a serious run for its money as best free forum script.

It's not that awful if you find a theme.

 

[Jason5]

Few good responsive themes are there and the Emerald theme is a very cool theme for desktop and mobile.

 

[Dopply]

It's not that awful if you find a theme.

View attachment 53899

That does look good. I think 1.9 will be a big step forward, but progress is so very slow, it doesn't instill confidence. One major thing I wish all forum scripts had were WYSIWYG and auto draft. I find both to be essential to using the modern internet. At least MyBB has the excellent Rin editor, I suppose.

 

[Kyrie]

That does look good. I think 1.9 will be a big step forward, but progress is so very slow, it doesn't instill confidence. One major thing I wish all forum scripts had were WYSIWYG and auto draft. I find both to be essential to using the modern internet. At least MyBB has the excellent Rin editor, I suppose.

https://community.mybb.com/mods.php?action=view&pid=73 : WYSIWYG
https://community.mybb.com/thread-156223.html : AutoDraft


As you can see, everything can be added but it's definitely not out-of-the-box like some software... But also, when 1.9 comes out it'll all be obsolete. IF AND WHEN that happens too I noticed development slowing down for MyBB too on a dev level

 

[Dopply]

https://community.mybb.com/mods.php?action=view&pid=73 : WYSIWYG
https://community.mybb.com/thread-156223.html : AutoDraft


As you can see, everything can be added but it's definitely not out-of-the-box like some software... But also, when 1.9 comes out it'll all be obsolete. IF AND WHEN that happens too I noticed development slowing down for MyBB too on a dev level

It is a shame that it's slowed down. I commend all volunteers that work on free forum scripts like this, and release their work for free. Even still, I have noticed MyBB be on top of recommended lists consistently, despite the slowdown of development.

 

[Jason5]

As paid software includes all the basic functionalities (Like, Notifications, SEO, Responsive theme...) and support many have switched from MyBB to paid. For MyBB everything is an addon, this makes one think to use the software or not

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I feel like all the forum software developers these days should really focus on responsive designs that work with smartphones. I just feel like that is an expected feature these days unless you just wish to cater to a very dying old school crowd. I guess if your software is free and you're not making any money from people using it, it isn't that big of a deal but if you don't provide these features, don't expect the software to be the best pick..

 

[macfanpl]

There have been many users requesting (in more or less polite way) responsive theme o-o-t-b, but team seems to be deaf.....so let them bear with consequences now.....

 

[Ryan Ashbrook]

I feel like all the forum software developers these days should really focus on responsive designs that work with smartphones. I just feel like that is an expected feature these days unless you just wish to cater to a very dying old school crowd. I guess if your software is free and you're not making any money from people using it, it isn't that big of a deal but if you don't provide these features, don't expect the software to be the best pick..

Some will now design for mobile first then upscale for desktop, which can result in a better mobile experience rather than trying to condense an already desktop-focused design down to mobile.

 

[zappaDPJ]

Some will now design for mobile first then upscale for desktop, which can result in a better mobile experience rather than trying to condense an already desktop-focused design down to mobile.

That kind of thinking deserves an entire truckload of 'win'!

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Some will now design for mobile first then upscale for desktop, which can result in a better mobile experience rather than trying to condense an already desktop-focused design down to mobile.

I like that idea! Good to see you again, Ryan!

 

[Finnigan]

The Simplicity theme looks good in mobile.

 

[Deleted member 62835]

Depends on theme, I love how HackForums MyBB forum looks on mobile. I use mobile 95% of the time.