<img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4328" style="border: 0; padding: 0;" alt="IPB vs XenForo Comparison Chart" src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ipb-vs-xenforo-comparison-chart.png" width="920" height="663" />
<h3>The Honest Battle Between IPB vs XenForo</h3>
After looking at the upside and the downside of both IPB and XenForo, there’s a clear winner. When looking at any battle between two software programs, such as IPB vs. XenForo, it’s necessary to look at what you’re trying to accomplish. We can give you the overall view, but one may fit with your project better than the other.
[one_half]<h3>A Closer Look at IPB</h3>
The major benefits of IPB include the capability to do more than many other systems. It provides many extras, such as IP.Nexus, which provides plenty of integration, ecommerce and more. Other benefits include:
<ul>
	<li>Mobile Skin</li>
	<li>Built-in iPhone App</li>
	<li>IP.Content Article System</li>
	<li>An excellent search system</li>
	<li>A Gallery with plenty of excellent upgrades</li>
</ul>
However, with any system, there are disadvantages. One of the main things holding IPB back is the thin developer community. Another issue comes with the rapidly changing core products. At one point, they were releasing updates just about every week, which is an issue for sure. Other disadvantages include:
<ul>
	<li>Outdated platform</li>
	<li>Inconsistencies between apps</li>
	<li>Hard to work with the CSS</li>
	<li>IP.Content doesn’t fulfill its promises</li>
	<li>A lack of documentation</li>
	<li>Hard to work with</li>
</ul>
[/one_half][one_half_last]<h3>A Closer Look at XenForo</h3>
The other part of the IPB vs. XenForo battle includes a look at XenForo. This program is fun and provides a user engagement experience, which is a big advantage. Plenty of energy is found within the developer community and the moderators provide excellent support. Other advantages include:
<ul>
	<li>Built from the ground up</li>
	<li>Excellent CSS style planning</li>
	<li>Powerful template system</li>
	<li>Plenty of upgrade options</li>
	<li>Excellent SEO</li>
	<li>CMS, Gallery and more!</li>
</ul>
XenForo comes with some disadvantages, as well. One of the biggest disadvantages is how new the system is. It’s only a few years old and many other systems, such as IPB have been around longer. Some of the legal disputes have overshadowed the program, as well. This could hurt the future of XenForo. Other disadvantages include:
<ul>
	<li>Lack of functionality</li>
	<li>Hard to use</li>
	<li>Hard to migrate from another community</li>
	<li>Under developed</li>
</ul>
Overall, XenForo is a great choice, but not up to par with some of the others out there. IPB takes this battle with XenForo and will give you more power. This is a great choice when you want to create a forum.[/one_half_last]
<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ipb-vs-xenforo.png" alt="IPB vs XenForo" width="893" height="97" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4329" style="border:0;padding:0" />
<h3>It Comes Down to Personal Choice</h3>
Many of the reviews in the forums break down the battle between IPB vs. XenForo to a personal choice. Sometimes IPB fits better with what your project requires, while other times XenForo is a better choice. XenForo seems to add new things every few months and it’s catching up to the rest of the forum choices, but it’s not there quite yet. IPB has many powerful features and gives the user plenty of customizable options and add ons.

Experts struggle to choose between the two because they love certain parts of both systems. Whether you’re looking to get started with your first forum or you have plenty of forum experience, either one will do the trick. Just make sure you choose the platform that works best for your specific needs.
<img src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/ipb-vs-xenforo-search-trends.png" alt="IPB vs XenForo Search Trends" width="922" height="222" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4330" />
<h3>Hosting after Choosing Between IPB vs. XenForo</h3>
Once you lock in your choice between IPB vs. XenForo, you need to choose the right hosting. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, if you don’t choose good hosting. Without the right foundation for your forum, users will experience slow load times, struggles posting and downtime. This will hurt the user experience and cause inactivity in your forum.

At ITX Design, we provide three levels of hosting that supports both forum choices. Whether you want to use IPB or XenForo, we can provide the foundation you need. Our support team is better than anybody in the business and we provide technical support 24/7.

Along with excellent support, ITX Design provides all the necessary options to allow you to do more than just start a forum. Whether you just need an easy to run forum or you plan to do far more, we can provide the right hosting package. From shared to dedicated options, you’ll find plenty of choices as your website and forum grow. If you want the best hosting in the business, ITX Design is the choice for you.

