Friendly URLs

[Prince]

Why is there no option in vB5 to change the URL's like in vB4, seems like a pretty important feature to leave out?

[Mark.B]

Friendly URLs are the only option in vB5. A decision was taken to standardise the approach.

[Prince]

Friendly URLs are the only option in vB5. A decision was taken to standardise the approach.

and this is a friendly URL?
http://www.anabolicmuscleforums.com/...-to-this-board

[Zachery]

Yes, notice the lack of .php and the keywords in the url

[Prince]

Yes, notice the lack of .php and the keywords in the url

what happens to vB4 boards that have been online for 5+ years that upgrade to vB5, they lose all of their SEO?

why does a product like this exist so quickly: http://www.vbrewrite.com/forums/

[Mark.B]

What happens to vB4 boards that have been online for 5+ years that upgrade to vB5, they lose all of their SEO?

No. Old vB3 and vB4 URLs will redirect in vB5 to the new versions.

why does a product like this exist so quickly: http://www.vbrewrite.com/forums/

Why does any third party modification exist?

[Prince]

Why does any third party modification exist?

to add back features from a previous version that is wanted.

[Zachery]

to add back features from a previous version that is wanted.

If you see it that way, all urls in 5 are the mod_rewrite url setting from 4. All of your old urls are 301'ed into the new urls, at least for the default featureset.

[Prince]

yes I realize I can use .htaccess to re-write the URL's but it would have been much easier to have just left the URL re-write feature in vB 5 like it was in vB4, and I am sure once forum owners start upgrading you will be getting a TON of complaints about this and several other things I am running into with vB5, I have been running vB since 2002.

[Mark.B]

yes I realize I can use .htaccess to re-write the URL's

That isn't what Zachery is saying.

but it would have been much easier to have just left the URL re-write feature in vB 5 like it was in vB4,

No it wouldn't. vB5 was a major rewrite. The URL formats and file structures are completely different.

and I am sure once forum owners start upgrading you will be getting a TON of complaints about this and several other things I am running into with vB5, I have been running vB since 2002.

I'm sure you're wrong. Many have already upgraded. The majority like the new URLs.

[BirdOPrey5]

More URL Options in the future are a possibility- if it is important to you please vote for the issue in JIRA - http://tracker.vbulletin.com/browse/VBV-4528

To be clear- Anyone upgrading from VB3 or VB4 who use any of the built in VB4 Friendly URL options or the VB3 style URLs will NOT lose/break their old links. Old URLs get redirected to their new VB5 URLs automatically.

If you used to use VBSEO fior VB3 or VB4 then you have a problem because the VBSEO URLs will NOT forward automatically to the VB5 versions, it is for this reason the 3rd party mod that was linked to earlier was made- for VBSEO users who want to upgrade to VB5 and not have their URLs break.

The vast majority of forums that did not use VBSEO do not need any such mod.

[Prince]

so if "friendly URL's" are not an important feature in the minds of "vBulletin development" why were they ever added to vB4?

[Mark.B]

so if "friendly URL's" are not an important feature in the minds of "vBulletin development" why were they ever added to vB4?

Who said they aren't important?

vB5 has friendly URLs by default. If they weren't important, they wouldn't have been put in.

[Prince]

Who said they aren't important?

vB5 has friendly URLs by default. If they weren't important, they wouldn't have been put in.

No, I said why did you include the option to change the URL structure (Friendly URLs) in vB4 but not in vB5, it was a feature worth including in vB4 but not in vB5?
There is a reason that the majority of boards on vB4 will remain on vB4 as long as possible, I have 4 other boards and they will stay on vB4 for at least another year, probably longer.

[Mark.B]

No, I said why did you include the option to change the URL structure (Friendly URLs) in vB4 but not in vB5, it was a feature worth including in vB4 but not in vB5?
There is a reason that the majority of boards on vB4 will remain on vB4 as long as possible, I have 4 other boards and they will stay on vB4 for at least another year, probably longer.

The reason the option was included was that "old style" vB3 URLs would not redirect to the new style ones in vB4. So the option was put in so that new sites could select a friendly URL, whilst older sites (like mine) could upgrade to vB4 but keep the old URL structure.

In vB5 those considerations don't apply...both vB3 and vB4 style URLs will redirect into the vB5 equivalents. So a clean break was made, with a new, simpler structure.

The original vB3-style URLs could not be used in vB5 anyhow, since the file structures don't match. There is no showthread.php, forumdisplay.php, etc. Everything is different.

Appreciate that you don't like the decision, but the thinking behind it was and is entirely valid.

[BirdOPrey5]

Actually the VB3 URLs did (and still do) work on any VB4 site, regardless the Friendly URL setting chosen. To be honest I really don't know why so many URL choices were included in VB4 but it really doesn't matter why.