Advice on Approach for New/Converted Site

[indyaccess]

I am working on converting a mostly HTML website that also uses SMF 1.02  to Mambo 4.5.2.  I have been a VERY happy user of YaBBSE and now SMF for a few years, and while I really love Mambo, the migration has taken longer than I expected due to the number of pages and extensive use of audio/video/images in our site. I am totally thrilled to see the bridges for SMF and Mambo and all the interest!  Ordinarily I really enjoy the process of research, learning, planning,  and getting things to work.  But, I need to get this project done ASAP and would like some honest advice on what I should do with SMF.  I'm the volunteer webmaster for this organization...and President, if that gives you some perspective!

SMF is plain vanilla -- no mods --  and I am trying to get a copy of the standard Midland theme (not the bridge version).  The existing website and the new website are on two different servers, so I will have to move SMF and phpList.  Mambo and SMF are installed "by hand" (not Fantastico) on a VDS.  My new  Mambo template is a  modified version of ako-blue-portal, and I use SEF Advance,  HTMLArea3, MosMedia, Events, etc.

Here's what is important right now for SMF:

1. Consistent look for SMF (color scheme and logo)
2. Dynamic page titles in SMF (I think this means unwrapped for my purposes)
3. Ease, ease, ease!

These are things I'd like to have:

4. Latest discussion module on Mambo frontpage
5. Discuss this bot
6. Integrated search
7. Integrated log-in

We have very little reason for users to login to the Front-End of Mambo and will have another non-integrated program, so single login between Mambo and SMF  isn't worth any delay at this point.  A lot of sites are using the bridges between SMF and Mambo, so it's hard to judge how challenging it would be to get it running well -- and keep it running well with the ongoing maintenance of both SMF and Mambo. 

So, I am thinking that I should wait to install one of the bridges, and focus my short-term energy on getting a consistent look and feel. I have gotten the message that SMF is not as easy as YaBBSE to customize and this would be my first experience.   I could add a latest discussion module later, I think even before adding a bridge. 

Or could I try installing a bridge(s) and easily back it out if it doesn't work right away? 

Thanks for everyone's contributions, especially those who are writing the bridges! 

[Orstio]

I gather from your post that wrapping the forum is not important, and you would probably prefer to leave the forum stand-alone.

I also gather that it is not important to have an integrated login.

So, are you looking for sharing members between Mambo and SMF?

If not, there really is no point to any kind of bridge.

[indyaccess]

Thanks for your reply.  I think I was so excited about the bridge that I lost perspective of its importance to us at this time. 

[chadness]

Sounds like yours is similar to mine - modified ako-blue-portal Mambo template and modified Midland SMF theme.  They worked very well for me together:
http://aim.aiiresources.com
Mine was a little simpler in that I run mine wrapped, so I could just remove the headers from SMF and didn't have to worry about that part of how they look.

If I were you installing these by hand together on the same server, I'd have them use the same database to make things a little bit easier when you do decide to bridge them.  When you do bridge them, numbers 4, 5, and 7 should be pretty easy, and 6 is only a little harder.

[indyaccess]

Thanks for the tips!