hello to you all,

i was just wondering what your opinion was on the subject - do you think that using programs like XMB forums (or any other forums for that matter, phpbb etc etc.) and cutenews or mambo is a bad thing when creating a site that someone is paying for.

i ask because i am moving from making purely html and flash pages into dynamic stuff, and my php skills are next to none existent... to give people the power and control they want, right now this is my only option.

thanks for any advice

-hazza

Hello,

Do you mean; Using an open source software for business scopes?

I guess, there is no problems, of course, depends on your business , by the ways, I think mambo is more appropriate for this kind of stuffs.

Ina

I'm often split when thinking about 3rd Party Scripts for Pro Sites, especially if it is a business site, using such open source scripts as PHPbb can often seem unprofessional.

However, you'll have to consider that your PHP skills, as you said, are not too good. In which case, making a good working BB like this will cause huuuuuge problems, because of the huge code involved, plus knowledge of mySQL as well (and i believe this board uses a lot of JS).

So, choose carefully, don't get scripts from dodgy places like Matts Script Archive! You may even want to look into purchasing scripts as this can often assure you you're getting a good product. Vbulletin for example is an excellent excellent BB, and is what you're using now. They are dedicated to producing high quality PHP scripts for every type of webdeveloper, give it a look, but it does cost!

There's nothing wrong with using pre-made scripts IMO. As long as your client knows that you didn't create it (so they can justify your pricing ), it should be fine. In the end, they are probably better off getting a third party application if it is as large as a bulletin board or content management system.

Unless they specifically want a custom made script, then no use in reinventing the wheel. It might be better to just hack the wheel

And there is more to making a clients site then simply installing an application. They'll pay you for your time, which will likely include other jobs like designing or hacking the software to suit their needs.

cool. thanks for the replys. that's pretty much what i thought.

cheers,
-hazza.