phpFox Blog: Social network and online community building insights

The wait is finally over! Today, we're beyond excited to announce the official release of our most anticipated product - MetaFox. This marks another big milestone in our journey to become the leading community platform. We believe this release will bring great value for both existing customers who have been using our products as well as new customers who might find what we have now even more attractive than before due to its enhanced features and functions! MetaFox allows you to create unique communities, customize them with settings, share content, and join conversations with other members on both web and mobile apps. It's an easy-to-use platform that offers a wide variety of features designed to make online discussions more engaging, interactive, and fun. Curious to find out more? Let’s get right into it!   MetaFox - A New Tech Stack MetaFox is not an “upgraded” code version of PHPFox V4. Instead, the codebase is rewritten to employ the latest web technology and API-centric approach. MetaFox is totally different from phpFox V4 in aspects of UI/UX design and technology stack. In MetaFox, we have redesigned the software architecture and rewritten both the Backend and Frontend. We focus on the Frontend with a new simplified UI design and employ React, the latest Frontend technology, to power the Frontend system. Meanwhile, the Backend of the software which is rewritten based on Laravel, the most popular framework, will expose API for the Frontend (and apps: mobile/tablet/desktop/other apps) to consume. Database engines MySQL and Postgres will be supported at the beginning. Moreover, there's also a new layout organization and live layout editor for admins. Mobile-first & Content-focus Layout As mobile and tablet usage gradually exceeds desktop usage, more and more apps are now focused on mobile users. To serve mobile-based users better, the MetaFox UI is now mobile and content focus so that your visitors can have a consistent experience across mobile & desktop devices. Let’s look at how the UI looks likes in the following capture. As we can see, the UI is now clean and focuses on content displaying rather than lots of distracted surrounding information. The new MetaFox layout also supports more modern features such as dark mode, and RTL by default. Administrators can also change the UI on the fly with the new Layout Editor feature in which they can easily change the look and feel of the whole site and a specific page without changing any line of code. So even without any knowledge of web design, community owners now can customize their sites to be unique easily. User-Friendly Interface – A clean interface designed for maximum usability means that members can intuitively find what they're looking for without any confusion or frustration - perfect for keeping people engaged on your site! MetaFox Highlights To have the best overview of what's inside MetaFox, you can take a quick tour of MetaFox's official website! Here are some of the key features that make MetaFox stand out: 1. Activity Feed The dynamic Activity Feed displays all recent activities taking place on your site. It provides your community members with a delightful experience to share, discover and engage. 2. Instant Messaging ChatPlus solution lets members communicate directly via advanced messaging, audio calls, and video calls. You can also create public or private group chats to discuss further topics within your separate communities. 3. Powerful Layout Editor Easy to customize the appearance and content of blocks on your site with live preview. Our Powerful Layout Editor is an interactive editor with live preview that enables users to create and edit layouts with ease. It makes editing content and layouts simpler than ever before. 4. Admin Control Panel The new MetaFox admin dashboard displays real-time information and in-depth analytics of your community site. It enables admins to easily manage user accounts, configure settings, monitor analytics, review content, etc. 5. High-performing Mobile Apps We offer powerful features for developing amazing mobile apps such as push notifications, user profiles, instant messaging, etc. A well-designed mobile app is a must for every business. Build your best quality mobile app with MetaFox that tailors to your business values. MetaFox Demo Site To help you have a live experience and see what’s changed, we come up with MetaFox demo site. This is the perfect way for you to get to know MetaFox web version and try out the amazing features of MetaFox! Have fun playing around! What's coming up next? 💎 As we officially roll out MetaFox, we’d like to take some time and thank our loyal customers. Without you, this transition would not be possible and we look forward to a more productive 2023 ahead. We are constantly improving user experience, developing new features to help you become more successful and profitable. Keep an eye out for our upcoming product releases and updates! 🙌New apps and themes will also be gradually introduced to make the community more feature-rich and unique. ⭐ If you wish to make wonders to your community, join thousands of communities out there to grow your community faster with us!

Martin Luther King, Jr., was awarded the 🏆 Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35, making him the youngest recipient of the award. While being congratulated on winning, he stated that all of the $54,123 prize money will be donated to the civil rights movement and became an inspiration for many people across the country.    In honor of his contribution, this Martin Luther King Day, phpFox is offering a limited-time sale    🎁👨🏾‍💼15% OFF👨🏾‍💼🎁 On all licenses 🗓️Duration: From Jan 16th to Jan 18th ⚡Promo Code: LUTHERKING2023 BUY NOW ✨Get a license now, gain free MetaFox upgrade later! As you may know, MetaFox will be officially released soon so this is literally your last chance to purchase a Lite/Pro/Ultimate license since we plan to make changes to MetaFox pricing! You'll get a free upgrade to MetaFox license on official release (within your product upgrade period)   For more information Contact us via email hello@phpfox.com

Happy New Year developers! Today, we're super excited to bring you the Developer Release of MetaFox Beta version, with more important updates! With the new simplified and impressive design, we employ React, the latest Frontend technology, to power the new MetaFox Frontend system. Meanwhile, the Backend of the software has been rewritten to apply most of the recent technologies to make the software much more robust.  This is just the starting for MetaFox, and we’ll have lots more to share with you as we move through its official release. Please stay tuned! For phpFox Experts If you are a phpFox developer and interested in experiencing MetaFox, please feel free to reach out to us in the Client Area to get the package. Moreover, in order to study our product conveniently, you may like to refer to the MetaFox Developer Document. As always, we love to get your feedback early, to help us improve the product in the general availability release (ETA Q1/2023). We can't wait to hear what you think, your finding, and suggestions about MetaFox.  Thank you for your continued support!

THE FESTIVE SEASON IS HERE! It's the most wonderful time of the year! So we're giving you wonderful gifts at the most attractive price this Christmas! Buy phpFox v4 now, get free* upgrade to v5 later! As you may know, we’re rolling out MetaFox in the upcoming days, so this is truly the last time you can have phpFox v4 at the lowest price! Upon v5 official release, you can request a free upgrade to MetaFox. Note: Free upgrades are available within the first 12 months of license purchase.   From 23rd to 26th, get a 20% DISCOUNT on license & solution purchases & upgrades as listed below: phpFox license Solutions: ChatPlus, Live Streaming License upgrade Annual license renewal   🎅Use Promo Code FOXMAS22 at checkout to claim your discount! SHOP NOW Act quickly to take advantage of this deal!   🤝In addtion, you can enjoy other offers from phpFox expert YouNetCo: 🎁 20% off on all plugins Promo Code: YNCXMAS2022 | Dec 23rd to Dec 26th >>Shop on store now 🔑Any questions? Contact us via Client Area or email us at hello@phpfox.com

Today we’re eager to bring you MetaFox Beta, an update for you to test and develop. Now is the time to install and try the MetaFox Beta version and explore all the exciting new features before the official release!   Why Should You Try MetaFox Beta? The earlier you try MetaFox Beta, the better you'll get the best out of new features for your production site in the future. Also, you will get an understanding of our all-new framework and the technology we applied in order to start your preparations before the official release. Ready to try MetaFox Beta? Follow the instructions below!   Installing the Beta version of MetaFox To install MetaFox Beta, kindly contact our Support team via Client Area to request for a Beta Installation on your test site. Note: Installation for the Beta is still free once A free cloud server until the official release Beta is still not the official version, so it is suggested NOT to use it for the production site ✨Also, we will have a public demo site for public testing. All you need to do is register an account and you're good to go! You can click here to try it now!   What’s next? Firstly, a big thank you for all your great feedback about MetaFox! We’re excited to make MetaFox, even more, resourceful in the official release. So please stay tuned and visit our blogs for the latest MetaFox updates from us! Try MetaFox Beta for yourself now and let us know what you think!   🔑 Have any questions? Contact us via Client Area or email us at hello[AT]phpfox.com  

It’s that time of year again — time to score some excellent Black Friday deals! 👀 From November 23 to 28, we're offering MetaFox deals at a real bargain so take your time to get MetaFox alpha before the official release!  When you get the best Black Friday deals, there’s no point in waiting. Snag these awesome deals for MetaFox before they’re gone! Get Promo Code below: SHOP METAFOX NOW 🎁Special Combo Offer 25% OFF Pro License + ChatPlus Ultimate License + ChatPLus Promo Code: BFCM25 | Nov 23rd to Nov 28th 🎁Standard Offer 20% OFF Pro License Ultimate License Promo Code: BFCM20 | Nov 23rd to Nov 28th ⭐Bonus: Free Installation for all purchased orders!   Additionally, 3rd-party experts also offer special discounts for all their plugins YouNetCo: 25% Off for all Purchases | Promo Code: YNCBFCM22 | Nov 23rd to Nov 28th Shop on store Cespiritual: 60% Off for all Apps, Themes, and Packages | Promo Code: cesblackfriday | Nov 23rd to Nov 30th Shop on store 🔑For more information, Contact us via Client Area or email hello@phpfox.com  

It's been a while and we're back to announce the official release of phpFox web version 4.8.11. This version not only resolves minor issues but also adds some significant updates that you can't miss out on. Let's find out what they are and upgrade your phpFox version to experience them!   New Features & Improvements In this version, we have developed a few features and updates that will totally improve your overall experience. Support multi-language for Page Title One of the most significant of this update: Now you can add many other languages for the Page Title. Increase quality when uploading large photos This is also a big improvement in this version since your large-size photos will be of higher quality than before when uploaded to the activity feed.   Other improvements A few other improvements in the 4.8.11 web version include: Send notifications to users when getting promoted to a new user group Update the language of users to the default language when their current language is deleted Improve API response handling from phpFox Store in AdminCP In the Recently Active page: Allow the admin can set the number of people who will be displayed on this block Support showing the friend suggestions when users use the mention feature (@) on the feed or comment In the Photo Album listing page: Support “Feature album” action in the mass actions   Bugs Fixed Fail to connect to the phpFox Store in AdminCP > Apps > Installed Users cannot view others' Profile & Info tab unless having permission to view that user's activities The text "Recently Active" appears on the Browse Users page after searching for members When adding a new phrase, the max length of text input is limited When clicking on the Gender field on a user Profile Info page, it redirects to the page where the filter search on Gender is "Any" The tagged users don't get notifications when someone likes the post The deleted sticker is still showing on the home page And more in our Release Notes here   Upgrade to phpFox 4.8.11 The package of phpFox 4.8.11 is available for you to download in our Client Area. To upgrade your phpFox site to version 4.8.11, you have to run the full upgrade routine following our Upgrade Instructions. We highly recommend you back up your site and database before proceeding with the upgrade. And, don’t forget to check with 3rd-party experts about the compatibility of all the apps/templates you are using. ❗ Note: If your phpFox site is using 3rd-party apps or has customizations, please see our recommendations. 🔑For the new phpFox installation, the following articles will be helpful to you: Download Installation Guide 👉Find more details in phpFox web version 4.8.11 Release Notes and the Changelog. Don’t hesitate to submit tickets or report immediately to our GitHub Tracker or Client Area for any issue. We appreciate any feedback and idea to make phpFox better!    

Welcome back! We know many of you have been waiting for the next sneak peek of MetaFox, so here it is! This time, we're introducing to you the upgraded Photos App and Videos App that will create an interactive and smooth user experience for your community. Get a tour of all the exciting new features in Photos and Videos now! See more on the last MetaFox sneak peeks: MetaFox Sneak Peek: Take a First Look! MetaFox Sneak Peek #2: Feeds, Friends and Profile! Photos App In the Photos app, you can view popular photos and all photos posted by your friends and community members. Our update for photos app will arrange your photos in a more eye-catching layout. This means more spotlight for your photos!    Create Album of Photos and Videos We made it easy for you to upload a mixed album of photos and videos altogether. Needless to say, our clients who are using MetaFox are loving these amazing improvements! Watch the demo below to see how quick and easy it is to create a new album!   Furthermore, you can also modify album details: Name your album Add album description Edit album privacy Select album categories Add more photos/videos to the album   Tagging friends Another notable update! You can also tag your friends in photos to better interact and involve people in your activities! Tagging other users is an essential feature that increases engagement and can help build connections. Tagging notifies your friends about a post, which helps increase the interactions inside your community.   Videos app  As for the Videos app, MetaFox also made updates to enhance the video experience on your community site. You can upload new videos, and share video URLs in just a few clicks! Upload new videos MetaFox's capabilities can go even further with the quick uploading of videos! The process is quite similar to uploading photos. You can also edit a few settings such as video title, video thumbnail, categories, and privacy. Then just upload and it's done!     Share video URLs Share your favorite videos with the world with just a link! Easily add a video URL (e.g. Youtube link), and modify the video description to share on your feed right away. Your video link will also appear in the Videos app like other videos.   Order MetaFox Now MetaFox is now available to order with the latest technology stack, modern UI, and tons of ground-breaking new features. MetaFox has received countless positive feedback from other community owners who have got to try it. So get on board with MetaFox now to take your online community to the next level! Why you should order MetaFox now? Early access to the MetaFox alpha version with new features and UX/UI updates Your license renewal & upgrading period will only be counted when the official version is released   ORDER METAFOX NOW   🙌That's the end of Photos and Videos sneak peeks. We can’t wait to bring you more wonderful things on MetaFox. Stay tuned until our next sneak peeks for new MetaFox updates. See you next time! 🔑 Any questions? Contact us via Client Area or email us at hello[AT]phpfox.com

MetaFox Early Bird Pre-Order is about to end! And today, we're excited to show you Sneak Peek #2 for MetaFox: A new style for Feeds, Friends, and Profile. Get ready to dive in and explore shiny new features with superb UX! ⚡Quick reminder: MetaFox Early Bird will end on October 27, 2022 (PDT) so there's not much time left to get it at the best price. Pre-Order here to experience MetaFox and scale up your community! PRE-ORDER NOW Interactive Activity Feeds In MetaFox, we put our focus on the redesigned interface so you can expect tons of new features to brighten up your activity feed! Create a post with photos, and videos, tag friends, and check-in Do your community members enjoy sharing photos and videos on their activity feeds? Amazing! MetaFox will posts look more eye-catching by enabling uploading various photos and videos simultaneously! Even better, you can also tag friends in posts, check-in, and add emojis to express your feelings better. Here is how the feed works! Choose background When composing a status, you can also select a background to input your caption. This is another fantastic update to communicate with your audience and boost engagement in your online community! Reactions and Comments Friends in the community can freely interact with posts on feeds by using reactions or commenting. Especially, users can easily chat with each other through nested comments and stickers/photos. Intuitive All Friends Page As the name suggests, the Friends page will display all of your friends. Furthermore, it'll have a new look with some incredible updates to better manage and keep track of your community. Friend Requests This new tab will allow you to see all friend requests and their profiles quickly in one place. This is the awesome update that makes it super easy to view profiles before accepting requests! When users click on the Friend Requests tab, they can preview people’s profiles instantly without having to leave the current page.     Custom Friend List Many people have hundreds of friends with various hobbies, interests, and similarities. Use custom friend lists to post and share feeds to specific lists (close friends, family, coworkers, etc.) It's easy and quick to add a new friend list. Name the list and begin typing the names of friends you want to add to the list. You can add friends to more than one list or remove friends from a list.   Inspiring Profile Page Simple yet classy Profile Page design. A user profile page has a great impact on your community. It creates a more personalized space for self-expression and may boost your engagement effectively. MetaFox makes it easy to be creative in styling and building one's own profile page! A profile page is where freedom takes off. We want you and your community members to rock your own space by adding a personal touch!    Last Call: Join MetaFox Pre-Order! Only a few days left to pre-order MetaFox Pre-Order with special pricing from only $499 (😍Full-featured web version & ChatPlus for free). Even better, you'll receive Free Installation, 1-on-1 support, and a free cloud server until the official release! You can head over to Our Store to pre-order MetaFox. After Oct. 27th, 2022 (PDT), you won’t be able to purchase the MetaFox license anymore until the official release (Dec. 2022). So please hurry up! PRE-ORDER NOW 🙌Thanks again to everyone who has continued engaging with us on this journey. Stay tuned for more as we get closer to the official launch! 🔑 Any questions? Contact us via Client Area or email us at hello[AT]phpfox.com RELATED: MetaFox Sneak Peek: Take a First Look!

A community manager is a key role in any social media team and is responsible for building the relationship between the brand and its audience. Learn everything you need to know about the role of a community manager.   RELATED: 12 Proven Community Engagement Tactics You Can Steal   Who is a Community Manager? It has been discovered that 76% of internet users participate in an online community. Data cannot lie. People love being part of a community where everyone shares similar passions. (And that community could be yours too!). But managing communities is not child’s play. That’s where a community manager comes in. Community managers are the middle person who is responsible for building strong relationships between a brand and its customers, both online and offline. They are the voice of the brand and moderate and grow the community by supporting, and engaging with customers. Eventually, their goal is to turn customers into loyal fans by offering them immense value, and an inclusive space to foster relationships.   What Does a Community Manager Do? The role of a community manager is to act as the bridge between a brand and the community it is aiming to create (i.e. a group of core consumers or audience with the same interests). They should be the brand’s ambassadors, engaging with potential customers and building relationships with existing ones. They are also focused on gauging sentiment around the brand, using social listening tools in order to monitor feedback and engagement.   Key Responsibilities of a Community Manager While there could be a bit of variance in the roles and responsibilities of a community manager depending on the industry—here’s what it generally covers: Ideate, and implement community-focused campaigns and strategies Create snackable and engaging content like daily/weekly product updates, short videos, group discussion topics, or other types of content as required Respond to customers and be valuable, all in friendly and a timely manner Monitor and track metrics and report them on feedback and online reviews Boost brand awareness by organizing and managing events and webinars Liaise and coordinate with other departments like marketing teams, communications teams, customer support teams, sales teams, development teams, and content teams Build relationships with industry experts and invite them to collaborate Stay up-to-date with digital technology trends and explore innovative ways to engage the community Lays down strict community guidelines to promote an inclusive and safe space Plans and executes community-engaging like giveaways or contests   Community Manager vs. Social Media Manager You might be wondering: Isn’t it exactly the same as what a social media manager does? Well, of course not. While there are some similarities, there is a clear difference. Indeed, several duties overlap between a “Social Media Manager” and a “Community Manager”. But the role of a community manager doesn’t revolve around acting as the brand and promoting its products on social media. It is much broader because their specialty lies in understanding the community as a whole. A social media manager is the person who creates a social media strategy for all channels. They post directly from the brand’s account and are responsible for organizing and managing budgets, plans, and the brand’s voice and tone for replying and engaging with the audience. The community manager is the person who actually implements those plans. They take the directions set by the social manager and then manage the communications and interactions afterward. Community managers often post from their own accounts, not the brand’s, which allows them some more freedom to choose how they interact with followers and gives some leeway on the type of content they create. It means that community managers are often seen as advocates rather than just strategists for the brand’s social media content.   Qualities of a Good Community Manager  Building strong relationships lies at the helm of community building. In order to successfully take on this role, one needs to focus on various skills and qualities. These are a few of those skills that a qualified community manager should be capable of:   Passionate and dedicated. First, community managers need to have an inherent passion for communities. Their role is to create a lively space where the members can foster genuine relationships, and interact in a hassle-free manner. Passion for people is requisite because only then you can make sure that each person involved has a positive experience with your brand. Be the go-to person for the community members. Gone are the days when 1:1 communication between brands and their customers was a rarity. Today that happens every day. A community manager needs to establish a rapport of being the go-to person for queries, or any help in general. That can be built by offering value. Great communication skills. Community managers are a brand’s ambassadors. Anything they say directly affects the brand's reputation. So strong communication skill is required. More importantly, they should be able to empathize with the audience. They must be good at delivering information, creating engaging content, and having the know-how to deal with any conflict or crisis that may occur. Data-driven decision-making. Undoubtedly, a community-center brand still needs to boost revenue, and a community manager needs to possess make decisive actions. Adaptability. There's an obvious fact about social media: It changes almost every day. Thus, businesses have to catch up with the latest news and trends quickly. Anyone working in a role in social media needs to be able to adapt to changes both with the brand directly and with general cultural and societal changes.   🙌Pro Tip: Being a community manager is more than just being the face of the brand. You need to spend time interacting and posting thoughtful replies to proper topics. You should also try to share informative articles or useful tools with your community when you come across them.   A community manager is essential to growing communities! A community manager is a key role in building long-lasting relationships between the community and the brand. Also, a community manager needs to be highly skilled in communication, necessary tools, and relationship building. When a community manager excels in their job, your brand will have a better online reputation, more brand mentions, and more engagement. That will lead to more chances for sales, for sure!   💎Looking to build a social network site to engage with your audience? Build one with phpFox! Currently, we're opening Pre-Order for MetaFox - our most anticipated release of 2022. If you're interested in phpFox social network software, you can pre-order our next version MetaFox to get exclusive pricing for Early Birds. The program will end after Oct 27, 2022, so don't sleep on this chance!  Need advice on how to start with phpFox? Contact us now and we will be happy to assist you!