Scott Berkun Forums (phpBB to bbPress)

url: http://www.scottberkun.com/forums

Scott Berkun Forums

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • phpBB to bbPress migration
  • bbPress theme
  • bbPress/WordPress integration

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, bbPress, phpBB, PHP, WordPress

front end:

I had created the WordPress theme and phpBB skin a few years ago. I created the bbPress theme based on the already in place WordPress theme and a custom bbPress theme that I use for all clients.

back end:

After some issues with phpBB, the client decided it was time to migrate to bbPress. I created an import script and then imported the data and users. I also suggested the client consider some spam plugins to block spam bots (which has yet to be installed).

lessons learned/random thoughts:

With thousands of spam user registrations and posts – migrating the data post cleanup would be highly recommended and much faster. This is something I am definitely going to recommend next time around.

Scott Berkun’s WordPress Theme/phpBB Theme

url: http://scottberkun.com/index.php

Scott Berkun

SDAC Inc. provided:

  • Web/Graphic Design
  • XHTML/CSS programming
  • Custom WordPress theme
  • Third Party Plugin integration
  • Custom PHP programming
  • Custom phpBB theme

technologies used:

XHTML, CSS, WordPress, PHP, SMARTY, phpBB

user interface:

This web site was designed by Scott Berkun (web site owner) and I took his Photoshop mockups and turned them into CSS and XHTML.

lessons learned:

I learned quite a bit about using standards compliant CSS code instead of browser specific hacks for layout and presentation. Scott Berkun was the Project Manager for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, so making sure everything looked good and worked properly in Internet Explorer as well as Safari and Firefox was of upmost importance. I spent a number of hours testing the web template in multiple versions of IE on multiple platforms. I now have a much better handle on how to stay clear of hacks that will most likely break CSS in the future. I also created a phpBB theme for Scott which was quite painless, thanks to Smarty. The more I use Smarty (or other template engines) the more I like them.

random thoughts:

I was giving the charge to pick up where another developer left off and had to work behind someone else’s code. Commenting and documentation are key.