The Pros and Cons of Simple Machines (SMF) Forum Software

jpyy Level 1

February 11, 2018, 7:10 pm

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The Pros and Cons of Simple Machines (SMF) Forum Software

On the bright side, it has uploaders for themes and mods - and this can be a huge help to newbie developers. However, though, on the negative side, you have to be careful your theme matches your forum version. Otherwise, there could be time-out errors for certain login boxes. Nonetheless, that situation is actually easy to fix. You simply do a little code work, but then again, newbies would have a tough time or have to pay.

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Judas2018

I've never experimented with SMF forum software. I prefer vbulletin, or Invision Power Board (IPB). Xenforo and MyBB have piqued my interest at times also.

7 years ago

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Everett

SMF forum software is not the best, I would probably suggest MyBB or PHPBB.. I use to back in the day create themes for MyBB because it was so easy to do. MyBB is also easy to edit (via code) too, so if you have that experience you can make your own edits and basically create your own product out of it... so probably with that being said, and my experience I would probably prefer MyBB over any free product. However, in terms of paid or premium products, IPB or Xenforo would be a great decision.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Yeah I forgot PHPBB, another good one. I am very familiar with the code for vbulletin and MyBB, as well as IPB. I've found vbulletin to be the hardest to code, especially vb version 4. IPB the easiest. MYBB somewhere in between.

7 years ago

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DarthHazard

vBulletin is a huge no no for me. I just don't think that it is a good forum software anymore. It was great a few years back when most forums tended to be powered by vBulletin but nowadays you very rarely see such a forum. Most are powered by either myBB, XenForo or IPB which are now the leading software for forums.

7 years ago

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Martinsx1

The same thing goes with me, I have never tried or considered using using SMF forum software for anything at all. My preference happens to fall within MyBB, WordPress, and Xenforo. There 3 softwares gives me more than enough that I need for forum design and set up.

7 years ago

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jpyy

Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention the one-click updaters. Anyway, despite the hoopla, I have to say that bbPress (WordPress) offers the same options. Does anyone prefer it? Well, at least it integrates better with WordPress blogs.

7 years ago

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Everett

I have tried to use bbPress many times in the past, and found there to be a lot of bugs. I could never ever get any version of bbPress to work on my Wordpress sites so I would have to use another software all together (such as myBB). While it is great to have a product made for another product, it is also pain when it doesn't function well.

bbPress would be better if it did not have many bugs. For instance, even if you install a theme that is capable with both your wordpress and bbpress version there always seems to be a bug.

7 years ago

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overcast

I think simple machine forum can save your money during initial time. For example lot of people can't afford the forum software which is on yearly subscription. And so for that reason SMF is lot better. And it has plenty of good add-ons. So there is money to be made. I'd surely consider the SMF for the earning.

7 years ago

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centurion

In case of new forum if you are not a good forum developer- than it will be better to choice an important keyword based forum with minimum facilities. In this way you will get huge traffic on your forum and popularity also.

Thanks
Centurion

7 years ago

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DarthHazard

I'm sure there are some great reasons why people should use Simple Machines Forum Software. But for me, it will never be an option that I consider. It's just not as good as the other forum software that is available both for free and as a paid software. I just think that it looks quite outdated and isn't modern enough.

7 years ago

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SiamSEO

Looks are a matter of just finding (or creating) a fitting theme, so while I do agree that compared to many the default SMF theme does look a bit outdated, even stating that as a reason tells me that you never looked at what was under the hood. You know, the stuff that actually matters.

7 years ago

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Martinsx1

This is exactly how I see it. Based on individual differences and preferences, some people would definitely prefer to use Simple Machine Forum Software but when you are actually looking to have a better experience with your forum, it's better to drift further into choosing either WordPress or MyBB, Xenforo or PhpBB. These software offers more than what SMF could ever bring to the table.

7 years ago

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Everett

However, though, on the negative side, you have to be careful your theme matches your forum version.

Usually with many free or opensource platforms you generally have to make sure themes and add ons match the version of the script you are using. This is not really a con because there is multiple versions and many plugins and themes specified for certain versions. However, what could be a con is, is if the developer disappeared and has many users of their product and the product stops working for an updated version - this happens a lot to open source platforms and could really be seen as a con. I have had a lot of experience with this in regards to opensource platforms such as Wordpress, or one called Easy Digital Downloads. So many developers create amazing plugins and add ons but later just disappear and stop the work on their products..

7 years ago

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Judas2018

The hardest themes for websites are mobile themes. Since so many sites are angling to increase mobile connectivity and interactivity these days, everyone is constantly searching for the best mobile theme.

7 years ago

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kgord

I personally never heard of simple machine software so it is interesting to find out something about it. Obviously, automation is here to stay and can give people the kind of options they need when they are looking for various types of ways to automate their site.

7 years ago

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vinaya

I don't have a foum, however, I once tried to launch forums. I tried various open source forum scripts like MyBB, PhBB as well as Simple Machine Forums. Since my forum was never launched publically, I do not have much experience as an admin of SMF, however, as a forum poster, I have posted on forums powered by SMF and I think this is a light weight easy to use forum script.

7 years ago

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MendasDigital

Simple Machine Forums has always been my go-to, not that I do much forum hosting. I've also used phpBB, but SMF is better in my opinion, because the permissions are easier to work with.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Vbulletin and IPB have all kinds of cool mods, add-ons and scripts though. Which can be used to greatly enhance and improve the value and overall user experience of a community forum.

7 years ago

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katesmith

Thanks for an interesting article! And what about design? Actually you can see more info about it here and be sure that you'll like.

7 years ago

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bandongitz

Two of my favorites are the PhpBB and Simple Machine Forums. But I prefer more PhpBB as for me It's easier to customize. Maybe I'm wrong I'm just new to Simple Machines Forums.
can you make a comparison between PhpBB and Simple Machines Forums?

7 years ago

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Martinsx1

When forum softwares like WordPress, MyBB, Xenforo and PhpBB are very much available and really effective and efficient to use for any kind of forum or blog set up, why would I be giving my stress of trying to joke around with Simple Machine Forum (SMF) Software? It's definitely not worth the stress because other better forum software are out there for the taking.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Sometimes it's about your affinity for the company and its software. Some SMF users have other options sure, but they prefer or really like the SMF interface.

7 years ago

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Martinsx1

Then if it's that way, it says it well that the person have more loyalty to such particular software and if it's SMF interface then there is absolutely nothing anyone can go to change their choice or preference unless they have a major disappointment with that software.

7 years ago

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Judas2018

Agreed. If the software works for you, and your community members - why switch? Now if it has all kinds of vulnerabilities or glitches that no one is bothering to try and fix. Even in the next edition or version, that's probably a good reason to jump to a new forum software company.

7 years ago

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Corzhens

I am not really well versed with forum software but I know that SMF was very popular more than a decade ago. It was the forum software that my husband had installed for the website of their office. He said that it was really simple because it was up and running in a day and maintenance is not that difficult. That’s where I learned about the blocking of a user’s IP address so he cannot register again.

6 years ago

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f9devil

this is so easy for fix i was using smf forum smf dev look like slime

just delete on your theme day and clock or put some where after first comment

soo easy

4 years ago

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SEOClerks

The Pros and Cons of Simple Machines (SMF) Forum Software

The Pros and Cons of Simple Machines (SMF) Forum Software

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