Why use a paid forum software?

[xpl0iter]

IMO paid or free, the forum software is a personal choice. It doesn't get you real members. Its the look & feel and the content that give you members and activity.

There are lots of examples of a better mybb form compared to some of those Vbullettin forums out there. The themes play a crucial role in the look and feel of a forum.

I use paid forum software in here ie xenforo, because I like it. I find it very easy to administer the xenforo installation compared to all the other forum softwares I have tried. Some people may like mybb/smf/phpbb etc because of the ease of handling. As I said its just personal preference. But I could be wrong.

So what do you think?

 

[Sam1]

Xenforo has the awesomeness factor and it makes this site look a lot more professional- which is key in getting new members. However, I think you can spend $60 and do something that looks great and has the same functionality on Mybb..... So paid isn't everything...

 

[Sylar]

Sam makes a good point. People will see that you buy paid stuff for your forum and will know that you do indeed actually care enough to make the investment, which shows dedication. This, in turn, draws in members; oh, and you also get those oddball members who just join due to the software
I personally feel it's a great idea to have a paid forum software(if you can afford it), however you are right xpl0iter, it's more of a personal preference than anything

 

[Martee]

Xenforo has the awesomeness factor and it makes this site look a lot more professional- which is key in getting new members. However, I think you can spend $60 and do something that looks great and has the same functionality on Mybb..... So paid isn't everything...

I'd have to agree, I click on a forum the other day and thought this is an IBP forum but my heck was I surprised when I found it was on MyBB. MyBB is an awesome software in its own right though and one I would gladly pay for should it become a paid software but keep it free for the cheapos like me. On to the topic though, it is for sure down to personal preference but I find that there are other factors as well.

Whilst you can for sure, point out some really big forums that run on free softwares I feel that when you're a forum like us (Webguru) which is essentially, still a new forum, people like to know that you're committed, that you're in it for the long run because who would join knowing you are just going to up sticks in 2 weeks if you don't get a million members? Thats why I am sure Xploiter bought Xenforo for here, along with the other options he stated. For a new forum like us, showing our members that we are committed is the key to retaining them and giving us somebody to talk to!

For me though, I would always run with a paid software (Especially Xenforo) due to the same reasons that Xploiter has said. XF is for me THE premium software of choice just because it appeals to my inner lazyness and allows me to kick out the bad boys with ease, make template edits or even see our statistics to see whats going wrong. I dislike phpBB because of its horrible Moderation/Admin system which just..terrifies me. But again, all of this is personal preference!

 

[Marc]

Generally speaking (and I'm not referring to any one free or paid forum software), software with a price-tag are expected to offer support such as a support tickets system. Therefore if I like a certain software that requires you to purchase a license, support will be a breeze. This saying goes hand-in-hand with people that also develop add-ons.

Before I purchased xenForo, I read reviews and were impressed and curious at the same time by all of those positive reviews so I had to get myself a license. When I did, boy, I was not disappointed. Learning their system is easy once you get the hang of things and pages loads pretty quickly once you're on a decent web host.

 

[shadowslight]

IMO paid or free, the forum software is a personal choice. It doesn't get you real members. Its the look & feel and the content that give you members and activity.

There are lots of examples of a better mybb form compared to some of those Vbullettin forums out there. The themes play a crucial role in the look and feel of a forum.

I use paid forum software in here ie xenforo, because I like it. I find it very easy to administer the xenforo installation compared to all the other forum softwares I have tried. Some people may like mybb/smf/phpbb etc because of the ease of handling. As I said its just personal preference. But I could be wrong.

So what do you think?

I generally would use a free forum software, like phpBB, as you said its a preference. If the licenses were not so expensive, I would work with vBulletin but the cost, at this point seems too much an undertaking

 

[bauss]

Xenforo is great, and it's coded very well. The coders and designers really knew what they were doing when they designed this forum software. If you get a paid forum software, Xenforo should be your ONLY choice for a new forum.

 

[Southern Comfort]

I'm cheap, I usually stick to free forums when I make one as I am terrible creating revenue with a forum. Spending hundreds of dollars on a forum blasts a giant hole in my wallet. Now if I were to get a nice sum of money up dedicated to a forum (which I may or may not be doing right now) then I would be down for it. I get nervous about paying for a domain each month and hosting though, so it gets a bit stressful for me. That and me installing stuff on a host is a bit of an ordeal for me. So if I were to raise enough money to buy a forum license, a host, a domain and had someone to help me install stuff I would definitely down to make a paid forum like Xenforo.