LG

Lou G.

Team Member

Computer Software

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3/24/2015

"The Vanilla platform makes us look good!"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Love the support, API and ability to make it look like our brand. Our forum looks like an extension of our website. The API is strong and allows you to build reputation with your own achievements that match your business not some cookie cutter list. The integration with Zendesk also makes this a great platform for gleaning from your customers to know what they want and get that data into your tracking system for feedback one on one. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

There are some limits to the hosting since you are not allowed to use the addons but their services are full featured and can make the platform do what you want. I would like to see them switch from jsConnect to jwt for their Single Sign On solution but it is functional. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Higher Logic Vanilla:

Talk with their support group to understand what it can do and what is required to meet your requirements. We opted to have their services team theme the forum to match our website and make it look streamlined. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Higher Logic Vanilla solving and how is that benefiting you?

We are building a tight knit community and get wonderful feedback, engagement and believe we really know what customers want through this platform. Our community is not just a way to get users to talk to other like minded users but it is allowing our company (marketing, sales, support, development and management ) to know what our customer are asking about and helps prioritize product improvement requests. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

ZJ

Zach J.

Web/Graphic Designer

Information Technology and Services

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3/24/2015

"Vanilla Forums Review"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

The installation and setup was very smooth as promised. The support has been great, I was given everything I need to fully understand the forums. My favorite feature of Vanilla forums is the customizability. I can make changes to the HTML and CSS from anywhere, just by logging in. It's very important that our client support forums follow the design guidelines in our brand standards. As a web-designer, this makes my job much easier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

We would love to have the ability to organize a category’s posts by number of ‘likes’. Right now we are using the 'like' feature as a voting system. It’d be nice to have a voting system that let's the popular posts rise to the top organically. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AD

Anthony D.

Lecturer

Computer & Network Security

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

12/11/2015

"Good experience so far"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Features, ease of use, easy to setup and maintain. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Nothing comes to mind. Really, nothing comes to mind. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AJ

Aimee J.

Operations Manager

Internet

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3/19/2015

"Vanilla sets the bar for my community platform expectations"

5/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

The quiet moderating tools are better than any I've used. I can stay transparent, help guide conversations, and address user concerns/conflict without making a scene. With the API we are able to integrate with our growing account and support systems. The platform is extremely extensible and flexible towards my and my users' experience. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

My main point of grief is with pricing and hosted features. The open-source version is fantastic but missing many of the hosted features, not to mention no way to support Vanilla financially. The hosted version does not give as much flexibility at our price point, especially when we have an in-house development team. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Higher Logic Vanilla:

The Vanilla team is very knowledgeable about their product and able to give solid recommendations for its best use. This is true whether you're considering hosted service or the open-source version. I'd recommend becoming part of their open-source community to learn from their users' experiences and talk directly with the developers. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Higher Logic Vanilla solving and how is that benefiting you?

From a community manager standpoint, Vanilla lets me solve user and team problems without creating more. It's flexible so I can tailor the user experience to my communities' preferences, and allows for subtle moderating as a solid system instead of extended effort. With this platform, it's simple to efficiently coordinate a community team. After multiple implementations of Vanilla and multiple experiences establishing user communities on other forum software, I consider Vanilla my go-to for a holistic community platform. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AF

Verified User in Fund-Raising

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

12/14/2015

"Amazingly Easy and friendly support system to set up Vanilla Forums"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

I enjoyed the interface and the easy set up Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

I have no dislikes of this product at the moment Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

UA

Verified User in Airlines/Aviation

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

12/10/2015

"Stable and very functional forum with no fluff"

5/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Formatting. Easy to read and visually un-cluttered. Ability to un-clutter further through disabling features like signatures are very useful. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Search. Tough to see desired results which often get lost under quoted dialogue. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

LH

Lynne H.

Director

E-Learning

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3/25/2015

"Engaging"

4/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

I like the engagement with our audience that Vanilla forums helps us to develop. I particularly like the feedback and the badges. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

I don't like the way members can't search for other members. I also dislike the cost. It's pretty expensive for a not for profit. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Recommendations to others considering Higher Logic Vanilla:

Take the plunge. If you can't afford it now, save up. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What problems is Higher Logic Vanilla solving and how is that benefiting you?

Our previous forum was paid for, but really slow. Hosting on Vanilla has seen an end to that.

We needed a way for people to contact us to join our sessions, but wanted them to engage with the material, and to contribute in some way, rather than just turn up and then forget about what they had learnt.

Our members are enjoying the badges, and the leader board. It's a real incentive for them to get involved. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AC

Verified User in Computer Games

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

12/10/2015

"Vanilla is delicious"

5/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Speed, feature-rich tech and terrific support. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Not wild about the name, but I get over it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

AC

Verified User in Computer Games

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

2/9/2016

"Great Product and Customer Service"

4/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Ease of use and friendly and attentive customer service staff Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Wish there was a more robust moderation plug-in Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

UC

Verified User in Computer Software

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

9/6/2015

"Great way to get ideas from customers"

4.5/5

What do you like best about Higher Logic Vanilla?

Great discussion formatting - it encourages dialogue and communication. Love the survey widget. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about Higher Logic Vanilla?

It would be great to offer a Marketo plug-in. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.