Joomla, bbpixel bridge and VBSEO.

I know this is likely a stupid question so I'll apologize in advance. I've just migrated my existing database from bbtonuke -> phpbb -> vBulletin and despite a few hiccups, the move went pretty well. I've heard of both Zoints and VBSEO and virtually everything I read says Zoints sux and VBSEO is the way to go. This means I've made up my mind and will be purchasing VBSEO in the near future.

Since my site is very much in transition, I'm looking for some definitive feedback on how to structure my site using VBSEO. Allow me to explain further:

My current website: Lifesupporters.com (some of you may not be able to access it as there is a db corruption issue with Nuke Sentinal blocking area specific IP addresses, no idea why).

My newly installed vB Forum: Lifesupporters.com Forums

Possible phpnuke CMS Replacements:
1. Joomla: Lifesupporters.com - Home
2. Drupal: Lifesupporters.com | Your online family support forum
3. e107: http://www.lifesupporters.com/e107

I firmly believe phpnuke is a decent CMS for any new webmaster but I've since outgrown its usefulness in both forum, news structure, SEO, Weblinks, etc., and require a replacement CMS. I've also made up my mind that there will be no vB Forum Structure Clones that attempt to help make vB a CMS such as vBAdvanced and vBCMS.

Now on to my questions:

1. Does anyone know how VBSEO works with bbpixels Joomla bridge? If not, I'd rather hear that it's a big pain in the rumproast rather than start a make work project that’s doomed to fail.

2. Of the three possible CMS's listed above, which would you choose or, would you recommend something else? Please keep in mind I've already decided against vBA, and any type of blogware.

I really require a robust forum solution (vBulletin/VBSEO) married to a robust and SEO Friendly CMS. Essentially, I'm looking to take 2 or 3 leaps forward from phpnuke instead of a transitional move that may last a year or two.

Lifesupporters.com Requirements:

- Web Links/Family Friendly Directory: I will only be linking to sites that are safe for every member of the family. Since I get inundated with reciprocal link requests, I'll be creating a directory on the sites CMS via either a content module or a well organized Web Links Module.
- SEO: I'm on page one for 4 of my 10 targeted keyword phrases with phpnuke and need to get there with my forums.
- CMS/Forum Theme Integration: I do not require theme integration as I can likely skin what I need to fake site integration well enough.
- Content Pages: Search Engine Friendly Content Pages. I fully intend to create a resource addressing issues covering everything from alcoholism, abuse, relationships, parenting, divorce, etc., and everything in between. All content pages must be SEO Optimized and will eventually link to forum discussions as well.

Current Site Stats: I'm sure my site is not nearly as large as some of the 00ber sites here but my stats continue to double with each passing year so I have to address this growth NOW!

- Site Creation Date: July 3, 2004
- Yearly Stats: 2004 (190454 hits), 2005 (737697 hits), 2006 (1464016 hits), 2007 (642503 hits to date).
- Threads: 5,269
- Posts: 66,709
- Members: 234
- Topics: Daily life stuff presented without the black cloud. Issues such as marriage/divorce, pregnancy, parenting, grand parenting, abuse, communication, health/wellness, religion, politics, etc.
- PR 5

PLEASE NOTE: I'm not here to pimp my site or try to shamelessly self promote myself. I've invested countless hours into this site and the research required to leap forward. I've already established the main building blocks to finally make use of all my forum content (vB, VBSEO). I'm merely posting all this to give you all a clear idea of where I am currently and where I need to go.

I'm asking for advice here as I've heard that VBSEO will not function with the bbpixel bridge which is my main reason for posting. I also figure that since you folks are the SEO Experts that maybe you can give me some much needed insight into my CMS upgrade issues.

By my way of thinking, I have a tremendous amount of content in my forums for such a small yet dedicated memberbase. All of this content is being wasted in it's current form.

Thank you for taking the time to read,

Ken

simply put, vbseo will not have any effect on joomla. neither will zoints or anything else that is available. vBSEO is applied to vBulletin-powered pages only.

HOWEVER,

since vbseo uses htaccess rules, all pages are directed through the SEO processor (this has limitations too, expecially for pages outside of the forum directory)

Using the CRR (Custom Re-write Rules), you can apply vbseo to render things such as
index.php?act=home&module=links into something like
/home/links/

The bad news is that you will have to do this manually, or at least semi-manually such as:
index.php?act=(\w)&module=(\w) into something like
/{1}/{2}/

(i believe that is the correct syntax... if not, you get the idea)


A staff member may correct me on this, but i believe it can be done with proper htaccess rules and directory layouts.. At the very least, the plugin will still work on your forum pages, but you won't be able to take advantage of the re-write engine on the non-vb pages.

Thanks for the reply.

Ya I figured that VBSEO would not apply to any part of Joomla so sorry if I wasn't clear enough in that regard.

I've heard that the bbpixel bridge alters some files which may render VBSEO useless but for the life of me I can't seem to find this post anywhere. My main concern is bridging vB and Joomla and having it screw up any chance of using VBSEO.

I'd much rather have VBSEO than a Joomla/vB integration.

IMO, if you are the sole person running the site, there is no reason to bridge it at all. So what if YOU have to make 2 accounts. none of your users will be logging in to create content, and i would image that any comment modules, you'd link to a forum topic instead anyway, no?

You can use it as a cms as you are the publisher. the only real use for the bridge is when you want your users to have publishing rights, or blogs, and what not.

Originally Posted by briansol

IMO, if you are the sole person running the site, there is no reason to bridge it at all. So what if YOU have to make 2 accounts. none of your users will be logging in to create content, and i would image that any comment modules, you'd link to a forum topic instead anyway, no?

You can use it as a cms as you are the publisher. the only real use for the bridge is when you want your users to have publishing rights, or blogs, and what not.

This is pretty much my thought process as well as of late. Initially I wanted existing vB members to be able to post comments on news articles but the thought is silly now that I realize it only takes comments from my forums.

As for posting news on the CMS, its likely I'll have a nice, SEO Optimized, lead-in article between 3 - 4 sentences long with the "Read More" link going directly to the forum post.

BTW, do you have any thoughts on a good CMS?

Thanks.

I'm a huge fan of word press. While its not much of a CMS, and more of a blog, its easily customized into one.

i find drupal and joomla way too heavy for my needs, and their lack of SEO and use of tables is a huge turn off for me.

these 2 sites (in beta) run off word press that i hacked up.
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