If you've ever logged into a site that started with an https prefix, you were on a site that was using SSL. On the flip side, if the site started with an http (no "s") then that means that data on the site is not secure—which means you won't see that little lock icon in the browser. When you see an https, it means that the data is encrypted and is something that can only be guaranteed with an SSL certificate. 

Vanilla Forums provides its customers with SSL—it's a must have in order to ensure that your community members feel safe being in your community.

That being said, this post is intended to address the most common questions that we get regarding https and SSL. 

Migrating from your current community forum software (for example, Higher Logic, Khoros, Salesforce, etc.) to Vanilla is an exciting time. And while a migration presents the opportunity to improve your community, build and customize features that your members want and create new programs to engage your members, it's often a stressful time for community managers and their teams.

Theming has always been important at Vanilla and has always been at the core of our product offerings. Creating adaptable and flexible software that can be easily customized to match our customers’ brand is something that we’ve done from the start. This is something that we will always work to improve and perfect so that our customers can continue to deliver their members the best experience possible. With that being said, I'd like to introduce you to the new theming system that we launched on April 13, 2020.

So, you’re here because you want to get a snapshot of what your community implementation process would look like with Vanilla Forums. Completely understandable, and you’ve come to the right place; this blog will provide you with an overview of what your journey with us would be like.

We get it—looking to procure any new system, program or tool is a big step to take for any organization. It requires commitment, dedication and resources. And it’s really difficult to take the first step without really knowing what you’re stepping into...and why should you?

Sometimes within a company you have these really great examples of how people are using your product, and somehow you only share it amongst yourselves. Sales people know the examples to share with prospects and our SuccessTeam™ who helped extend Vanilla certainly know them as well. However, somewhere along the line, we forget to show people publicly how our customers extend our platform. Well guess what?! Today we change that by sharing 5 customers extending the Vanilla platform. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but a nice way to get your own creativity going.