Website Toolbox

Vorteile

I have a group of dedicated users who love forums. I searched for an attractive forum that could be embedded directly into my existing site. Even before the free trial was over, I knew that I would be purchasing from Website Toolbox. The options to make attractive forums really appealed to me, and setting up the forum was a snap.

One of my users requested a feature (to embed Spotify playlists). I passed that along to the Dev team. I was told it might take 2-3 months, but they would work on it. Surprisingly, they got the feature built that same day! I was stunned!

Nachteile

My moderators can't seem to delete posts.

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The customer service is amazing. They're always quick to respond and handle your issues.

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Functionality can, at times, be unstable if you embed into a Wordpress site. You cannot use your theme builder to change the page or the code will be damaged. All design of the page must be handled through Website Toolbox.
This may not be an issue for other site builders.

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It has the basic features you would want in a bbs system, easy to set up and get up and running.

Nachteile

Some limited options with customizing the look and feel. Newer software has more features.

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Website Toolbox is easy to setup, easy for users to interact with and is a very reliable tool for hosting our online forum.

Nachteile

Some of our users struggle with more advanced features like adding in photos but this is typical of all forums that I use.

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All the features and the control of them, all the integrations available, social/one log in for users, overall usability for users (like how it brings you back to where you left off in a thread), monetization opportunities.

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Not much - I guess admin panel is a bit clunky, could be a bit more aesthetically pleasing.

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I love how quick and easy it was to setup my private member site using Website Toolbox. I simply could not believe it after I wasted a lot of time trying various plugins for my WordPress site.

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I would love to see Website Toolbox integrate additional payment gateways and options for paid memberships.

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Ease of use and customer service - always get good responses to questions.

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Functionality limitations - would like to see more features.

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Has all of the features we need in a forum and the necessary controls to customize it as needed.

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Admin menu system is not easy to navigate. Not always intuitive. Features are typically there but difficult to find

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I like the ease of use But I have found the cuztomer service to be the best part of websits toolbox.

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The template (theme) I chose is limited. And I do t want to change it but it will not allow me to add links.

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Easy to start and no big deal to navigate

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No really big issues worth mentioning thx

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It was relatively easy to set up and works (mostly) seamlessly. Does very nice job of setting up PayPal subscription accounts for paid forum features. Also tracks when users respond to a post and e-mails me.

Nachteile

Occasional glitches. Was throwing users out of paid access for a while but customer service fixed that promptly. Sometimes a customer cannot sign in and the issue resolves itself in a day but i can never tell if it was a user error or temporary software glitch. It has a lot of action logging features that I don't have time to play with.

Many features are over my head (and available time) to install or implement. You can blame that on my head and lack of time, or on the software not being as user-friendly as it could be. I don't have anything else to compare it to.

Access issues for a visually disabled user. Maybe this is beyond anyone's capacity to fix but I have a visually disabled user who is unable to consistently access the forum. Has to do with her text reading software not able to pick up click boxes and the like. I think that a tech would need to sit down with her at her computer to adequately understand the access issue. I suspect this is commonplace.

Vorteile

Ease of use and set up. Setting it up and customizing it was easy.

Nachteile

A large number of people i forum do not reveive emails, and no fix is offered. Fixes are offered only on individual basis when tech support is contacted reg a certain user.

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Most of the customizations like theme etc. can be done by the user him/herself. No special skill is required. Permission is at a granular level.

Nachteile

The paid forum functionality is for the "whole forum". It cannot be activated for a selective category.

Vorteile

No coding knowledge is needed to be able to get set up and running.
The ability for users to access the forum via Facebook login has been well received from our test users and we believe it has reduced the amount of users who abandon us during the signup process.

Nachteile

Some features were tricky to set up. I found the difference between embedding or using an app wasn't very clear. Couldn't see the advantages from one over the other nor which one had actually been executed in the first instance.
Also some features no longer work, such as embedding the forum into a Facebook page state tab as Facebook have changed some of their features. The tutorials need to be updated to reflect this.

Vorteile

Website Toolbox's forum platform is robust and feature rich, and their support is outstanding! They have addressed our questions quickly and accurately, and gone above and beyond to set up SSO with our main site and to import six years of forum archives from our previous platform.

Nachteile

I wish the daily emailed digest could be resorted, but Website Toolbox says they're working on it.

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I like that it helps me to create a forum for my teams to share ideas and communicate what they are learning in trainings.

Nachteile

Can be wonky log in and stuff and the price jump from the first year I used it to now is a lot..
we only use it for a forum - for intercommunication - so the price we pay is high for what we are using. I understand that it can do much more than we use it for - but I wish there was tiered pricing that was more in line - or that we could have been grandfathered. The issue is that because I use with one team for 6 months and then close it out and then have to open another to use with the next training - it's frustrating for pricing and set up.

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Not much at all, other than the fact it’s a forum platform ... we inherited the forum and without the abiliry to migrate it - it’s totally useless

Nachteile

The software is very limited in scope for firther advancement of your forum... it’s like the shopify of forum software.. limited advancement, no ability to integrate skins/theams etc etc compared to great platforms like machine forums... and there simply isn’t any way to migrate the forum to a different platform

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Ease of use makes the site an attractive option.

Nachteile

Would like to see more social media interface.

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Is tool enables my students to connect with me and with each other in one location, cutting down the number of emails associated with online classes and making the classes a more enjoyable and rich experience.

Nachteile

It is difficult to customize the look and feel of the forum, the way the topics are organized and presented on the page. It is not possible to generate a share a link to just one reply or one topic, as far as I can tell.

Vorteile

It is fairly easy to setup and get going. The process to approve users and organize the forum are easy.

Nachteile

The customer support is slow sometimes. The SOE didn't work very well for a long time.

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Website Toolbox provides a long list of features for their forum software at a great price. Customer support is always quick to assist if we have any questions.

Nachteile

Would like more options for color/theme of forum.

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The software does everything needed and is a 10 out of 10. But where it really shines is when you have an issue or question and you need to contact support. They are always extremely courteous, helpful and do their best to assist you. That makes it an 11 out of 10! Highly recommended.

Nachteile

I am hoping that they change the format of the emails so that they have a summary/index at the top which makes it easier to use like competitors do.

Vorteile

Support, variety of features, very well documented API's

Nachteile

1/ Help system is located in a window that cannot be detached from the current working area

2/ Would recommend clearer inteface for uninitiated (I expect issues here for moderators).

Vorteile

Easy to use and understand.
Easy to set up
Good customization options

Nachteile

Once you have played around the menus become clearer to understand but can be confusing when first looking at them.
Reporting could be improved

Vorteile

Relatively easy to set up - with a few bits of technical language that I wasn't familiar with, but the? icons next to each field are immensely helpful.
The Customer Service was very responsive and helpful - a superb online Chat agent was very patient with my questions and effectively did the set up for me.

Nachteile

Nothing bad - I found it to be quite straightforward except when it came to the option to embed vs link to our website - I needed some help with that & the Chat Team were brilliant and solved the issue very quickly for me.

Vorteile

Easy to use. Easy to implement into my website. It simply works. When you want something changed, support is there instantly to chat and fixes are implemented within 60-90 minutes in my experience. Setting an unbelievable standard. I never leave reviews, so take this one seriously!

Nachteile

90% of features are as needed, with a large degree of customisability. I will be looking into custom development with the team for the remaining 10%!

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It's always a pleasure dealing with your team. I am a big fan of your platform.

Nachteile

Lack of built-in affiliate referral capabilities

Vorteile

Website toolbox it has a thousand and one utilities

Nachteile

So far I have nothing to say just thank you

Vorteile

We like the ease of setup and the fact that the forums can be embedded on your own website. We don't use the embed feature (we have in the past with great success). We love the technical support. They are always ready to answer questions. We really love the fact that this seems to be one of a few SaaS vendors that offers Premium Feature Request Estimates and build outs. I really wish other SaaS vendors had this. For this one reason alone - we are pleased with the customizations they've provided.

Nachteile

Can be a bit difficult to adjust the CSS and layout of the categories page to just the way we wanted it. We needed custom JavaScript to embed our Vimeo Help Videos (cutting down on our help-desk tickets). The advanced search could be improved just a bit, and they need a few more features around moderation.

Vorteile

The ability to set up Topics and Categories for various communication categories is key to us, for its use. The flexibility provided in setting up these various groups allows us to address all areas of communication within the agency, by department, division, topic, area or project. The easy 'chat format', is similar to email and thus a comfortable layout for all to communicate in

Nachteile

not being able to maintain contacts that have not been active for a longer time period; losing those contracts does not allow us to then communicate with all in the agency via an email blast/main message; also, it is hard to upkeep the database of 'active members' as there is not 'unsubscribe feature' for members.

Vorteile

This Discussion Forum can easily be organized according to 3 levels (and more if you want to get more complex). This makes it so easy for us to organize discussions that follow our course curriculum.

The website toolbox staff provide fantastic online support.

Nachteile

Although it is possible to create different user groups and run two or more separate discussion forums with the same account - this is cumbersome and stressful. So we have arranged at custom alternative with Website Toolbox.

Vorteile

Features, ease of use, simplicity of admin console, cost, customer support , ability to customize

Nachteile

Not applicable - it checks all the boxes in terms of what we need and then some, and far exceeds expectations on customer support.

Vorteile

The number one thing I love about Website Toolbox is the ease of integrating a forum into my website. The forum sits on their servers so there's no software or maintenance required on my end. In addition their team will work closely with you to ensure your forum looks exactly like your website. Plus the flat monthly fee includes unlimited image storage which is so important to us since we cater to woodworkers and almost every post includes images. Website Toolbox is continually improving and upgrading the software which I love.

Nachteile

I don't have any negatives. One feature I'd love to see in the future would be a built in translator for foreign language posts and for members from different countries to be able to view the forum in their native language.

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As a Life Coach, I occasionally run book groups for my clients, when I do I use this software. It has helped my clients be able to learn and grow and change their lives. I write assignments and then each client reads the book and posts their input on the board for the group to read and interact with. It helps the client to not feel that they are the only person dealing with a specific situation and helps them leave their issues behind them. Thanks for this very useful tool!

Nachteile

I currently have one client who has changed her name and unfortunately there is no way to change her name on her account. We have discovered that in order to begin using her new legal name she must close out her old account and begin a new one, but that would be abandoning all previous posts and content. I wish it was easier to edit personal info so that my client could edit her name and keep her contributions.

Vorteile

Allowed us to add a forum to our website which would not allow 3rd apps.

Nachteile

Management of admins and moderators are a bit confusing. Forum control is separate from the account control.

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It was easy enough to setup. I’m not familiar with other products.

Nachteile

Templates are outdated looking, fonts are outdated. Nearly impossible to filter into other social media sites, which is the main thing all of my users are looking for. It’s extremely difficult to organize topics, people post everywhere. People complain it’s hard to follow conversations. I also do not like not being able to customize the url.

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Able to have different topics and subjects.

Nachteile

Not easy to get a list of users so a mass email can be sent.

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It had all the functions I needed to support my clients well.

Nachteile

It was a little frustrating to begin and could be more intuitive. Need to really help walk your community through it and train them.

Vorteile

Las opciones de configuración y seguridad de acceso.

Nachteile

Deberían agregar más opciones, como cambio de color entre otras.

Vorteile

Website toolbox has been our provider for our Watch Club Forums (350 members) for 7 years and also hosts forums for a local activity club (65 members). Software is easy to setup and functions very well. Company is constantly updating with new features. Downtime has been zero and if you need support they are there quickly and solve issues promptly. Highly recommend this company if you are looking to add forums capabilities to your association or company,

Nachteile

Major Software changes should be advised before implementation to administrator.

Vorteile

The ease of use. I don't know much about coding at all, but the instructions and customer service are really helpful. The features were well worth the price after weighing everything; there are perhaps more complete solutions for companies out there, but not much for an individual who just wanted to make a forum.

Nachteile

There doesn't seem to be an easy way to add pages to a forum; I wish I could integrate it more fully with my website. Also, letting you only read the newest posts would be nice; not sure if there's a way to easily implement that.

Vorteile

Ease of setting up a forum.
Ease of maintaining a forum.

Nachteile

Speed. Loads too slow sometimes.
Some features will disappear for users occasionally.

Vorteile

Easy to set up, everything works as expected, easy to customise. Customer support was 24x7 via livechat, very helpful and always gave right answer; dev team also implemented an improvement I suggested (ability to upload .ico files as favicons) within days of me suggesting it.

Nachteile

Threaded replies would be invaluable, also proper @mentions, and proper Tags support.

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Ease of use, and flexibility, offering both Forums and Guestbooks. Very good customer support via online chat and email.

Nachteile

Limited range of design templates, some a bit dated now.

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Very easy to use and looks professional.

Nachteile

It’s been around for a long time and could stand an update.

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I appreciate that their customer service team is responsive and helpful - all it takes is an email and they jump on whatever the issue is and get it resolved. They definitely know what they are doing and, unlike other companies, they don't send you endless auto-emails with links to tutorials and unhelpful info -- they jump in and actually help fix the issue.

Nachteile

This tool meets our needs and I currently don't have any complaints.

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Inexpensive, yet had the basics we needed. Fairly easy to use out of the gate.

Nachteile

Interface seemed a little outdated, but this didn't affect how I used it.

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We like how it integrates into our website. Modern interface templates to choose from is a plus. It’s simplicity makes it easy to use from the members stand point. Being able to back up/archive the forum to our own servers was a great must have for us.

Nachteile

The primary moderators of our forum have noted several Interactive features lacking. We use the software to manage construction projects. Our needs have out grown the abilities of this software. We will have to use something different for the next project.

Vorteile

The ease of website integration and daily use.

Nachteile

Not enough options for user to express themselves with buttons.

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The ability to choose themes and ease of matching my website theme.

Nachteile

- Not being able to see metrics of emails sent from my forum, who's viewing them and who's not
- Little odd behaviors like not showing all posts in a category when sub-categories exist
- Bigger variety of custom themes