Think I have the right to speak on phpfox? I do... and my clients are practically outside knocking on my door because they know I'm the one guy they can count on to get their phpFoX website up and running how they've dreamed of.
My first phpfox script was created for an 18 and over community which skyrocketed to over 5,800 members in it's first month. Unfortunately our database crashed because our server was not properly setup by our host. We lost approximately 1,500 members but got 90% back within the first week. We eventually closed down the site due to inner "management" problems... yes, me and my partner were not seeing eye to eye. He wanted to create the next myspace - I, for one, knew that was NOT the right way to go and my ideas were what created such a huge rush of new memberships.
phpFoX was, at one time, an almost flawless company. They were constantly helping their customers out in record times. They went above and beyond the call of duty and never missed a single detail... they would actually find and fix problems that their customers didn't even realize! I should know... they did the same for me - and I later returned the favor to many other clients while I was working for them.
But... with success comes failure. phpFoX had slowly destroyed their own company by bringing in unqualified management, terrible customer support representatives, a problem script with version 1.5 and slow response times in creating fixes.
I had also helped running their Customer Forums which were amazing in the first year I was there... but, again, with success comes failure. One of the best help forums online had slowly destroyed itself due to lack of management by the company, itself. I had tried so hard to help keep the forums clear of destructive members - but, instead of listen, they insisted in hiring spammers and selfish TEENAGERS who would later create so much chaos that the forums are nearly dead.
The script was, at one point, GOOD... hey, nothing is perfect. Nothing is great without having some kind of problem. It's only fact. But even with the little problems they had - there was EXCELLENT support within the company and even on the forums.
In December of 2006, phpFoX had released it's much anticipated update: version 1.5 beta... this was the end of an era for the script which would slowly become nothing less than a problem script. For months the forums were riddled with hundreds of new posts a week, if not more, discussing 1.5 problems. One of the largest phpFoX websites had hired me to upgrade their site from 1.06 to 1.5 ... this was the biggest mistake of my life, it seemed. I actually tried to get the owner of the site to skip the upgrade and wait - but he insisted on upgrading and I decided to take the chance... I spent 5 months fixing hundreds of problems created by phpFoX's terrible upgrade script that left the site a nightmare for it's members.
1.6 Beta is scheduled to be released in December 2007... they claim the stable version will be released on December 17th, 2007. I usually don't believe their schedule times because a year and a half ago they claimed that 2.0 would be release by the beginning of 2007... obviously they're "a little" behind.
Don't get me wrong... phpFoX is a decent script, still yet. But I don't believe it's worth the money they currently sell it for. Sure, there's plenty of rebuttals for that statement - but this is coming from someone who has customized the script, helped with customizations, etc...
What if you could get all of those customizations for twice the price, if not less? I know of a much better script.
The problem with phpFoX is:
- Customization is not cheap... finding someone to create custom plugins for the script is not easy. Sure, you can go to rent a coder and find some cheap programmer who will create the cheapest mod money can buy... but then comes the problems! Cheap is NOT good...
- By the time you pay a good programmer to make a good mod/plugin - you're probably going to run into this script: www.BuyAbleSpace.com and wonder why in the heck you didn't do some more research for a better Social Networking Script.
- Stability is a major issue with phpFoX. The script is pretty old now and has NEVER had a truly stable version released yet.
- Customer Support has become a horrible nightmare with phpFoX. Good luck in getting results and replies from the Technical Department
- Everybody is running this script and it's become too easy to see that this script is saturating the Social Networking world... getting a custom design is a problem for phpFoX because even a custom look still looks like phpfox
- User Forums are horrible. They're ran by kids who spam other members sites with their own links, kids who ripoff other people for junk products, etc.
- Good luck with this script... seriously. I warned you so please choose carefully! PHPFOX script is on sale every once in a while, keep your eyes peeled.
This one: www.BestSocialNetworkingScript.com is, as it says, the Best Social Networking Script that money can buy... for the price, that is! Sure, I'm guessing there may be a group of programmers who can put together another script that's slightly better for $50,000 or so... but why?
The best thing about the script is that you can buy MULTIPLE LICENSES, which enables you to create many Social Networking Websites and makes it MUCH cheaper than buying a script like buddyzone, handshakes or even phpFoX or Webscribbles.
Look... there's a ton of products to choose for these days but you need to think about your USERS... YOU are not the one who you need to be sold to in order to register to the site and invite your friends. YOUR USERS need to be sold.
What better than to have a site with products like 3-D City, VOIP plugins, a TON OF AJAX functions, etc?
You'll never fail if you do the research!
www.BuyAbleSpace.com -- it's, BY FAR, the best Social networking Script that you can buy without losing a ton of money.
Social Networking Scripts don't need to be cheap and of "the norm". If you're looking for a simple forum - grab vBulletin or get phpBB for free. But if you're looking to make a lot of money in ad revenue or even membership rates -- choose the top rated social networking script available.
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