Changing scripts in the future...

Footman posted 14th of November 2009 in Community Voice. 4 comments.

I've been a member of many other sites and over the years for whatever reason they found the need to change scripts for their sites and had to migrate all the members data over to the new script.

So, out of curiosity, how difficult would that process be to change from Dolphin to another script sometime in the future? I'm not saying it a forgone conclusion but having the option to do so without too much hardship would be nice.

Or put another way... If we're running a site with another script and want to switch over to Dolphin etc.

This is probably more of a discussion on the viability of preparing for such a future need than it is "HOW" to do this. As much as we like to think things are permanent or lifetime, in fact they're not. Life happens, things change, another script might come along and be a better fit etc. I think it's something to think about and have some idea of a plan of attack so to speak in case the need arises for whatever reason.

Once we have a fully running site with members, are we married to whatever script we choose?

just thinking out loud...

 
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Most of it boils down to your database, the way user passwords are hashed, etc. Little has to do with your script files.

For the most part, most companies will either provide you with a migration script (e.g., the forum-software market), or they will offer data-migration services at a fee (from a few bucks to several hundred, depending on the db's complexity). You can always hire a third-party, of course.

Anything can be done, and no, you are not to be forever "married" to a particular see more script; its just hard work and may get expensive.
Footman
That's actually fairly comforting. Like I said I've been a member of sites that have done it but wasn't sure if it was such an ordeal or not. Glad to hear that while it may cost a few bucks, it's not exactly an alien process.
Understand, however, that the more you customize your site, and the more sophisticated your database becomes, the harder (and costlier) a future migration will be.

Make sure that if you do decide to move onto another script, you stay with it. Script-switching is a torture, and you should only do it if you are 100% sure the move will generate the results you are not achieving with the current script.

More than often, a site's success or failure relies not on matters of scripts or pretty designs, see more but content.
CALTRADE
Isn't "Open Social" supposed to help with this?
 
 
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