Hello. I'm interested in switching my board from Invision Free to Invision Power Board. I was wondering if it was worth it overall and mainly what changes there will be to the main IF system. I've fallen in love with it and if IPB is too much of a change I might have a panic attack. :P

Does anyone here have an IPB that they can take a screenshot of the Admin CP and another screeny of the IF Admin CP for comparisons? Thank you in advance.

Well, with IPB you have much more functions to make a very pretty board. Some people think if you get an IPB board you'll have instant success, but you should remind that is not how it goes. IPB is simply better then IF because you have much more features.

I don't have an IPB board, but I want one, but simply don't have the money for it yet, or the ability to pay for it online.

There is a way to test out IPB and that's on the IPB site itself. Maybe you can get a better idea about IPB that way!

Just read up on IPB very carefully and think by yourself if it's really worth you money and time to buy an IPB. You need a good forum idea to set up a good board, or else it's a waste of money.

Good luck ;)

I already have a good Invision Free forum. I wouldn't risk money like that. B)

Thanks for the information, ShinLi~ ^_^

If you want to check out how an IPB works, you should really try making your own out on clicdev.com and I'm not saying that to advertise. I'm just saying that because they host IPB for free and thats where mine is hosted.

I had a look around on that board. But they only offer IPB version 1.3. That is almost the same as Invisionfree I think, seeing IF is also powered by IPB v1.3.

*goes to inspect further*

The admins on my forum (and me, since I'm one of them) were offered a chance to switch to an IPB board. We didn't have to pay for it, but overall I'd say it wasn't worth it for the following reasons:

1) You lose all your members, posts, etc. While your members may join your new board, it's hard to recapture a well-established older community. Some members are also reluctant to switch I've found.
2) If you're concerned about appearance, go the cheap route and go ad-free on IF. I personally think that ads are the most annoying feature of IF, and it's cheaper to remove them on your existing board than get a new IPB one (I think this is true... it seems that way).
3) If you buy an IPB, you need a domain (this isn't necessarily true if you go with a free host like ipbfree.com).
4) The IFSZ has amazing skins. Free skins for IPB are mostly boring. Of course, its easier to skin an IPB board yourself if that's what you like.
5) IPB is of course easier to use, but I don't think that IF hard. It's just not as easy.

Hope that helps!

I'm three days late in posting, but, yeah, that helps loads. Can't believe that everything gets lost after the switch. That would've been...heartbreaking if I had went along and transfered. X_X That's the main thing that's holding me back with the decision.

Ad free on IF, that's a good idea~. If only I could get a working search feature and the ability to view member's posts aswell as topics along with that order. XP

Thanks for the information, bunnysocks. ^_^

EDIT:
And, Kat, too. I've seen clicdev boards before, never quite noticed the whole IPB thing. I'll do my research later on clicdev and do comparisons when I get the time. B:

I am pretty sure you don't have to loose all of your members because you can get the backup from IF and put it on the IPB..

IF is just the wise choice.. Trust me on that, plus ZB is coming out soon. ;)

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