Does the "Custon Blocks" Solve Website Integration

[NorfolkGreg]

Naive Newbie Here! Be gentle! :-)

I've been using embedded Nabble forums within my simple hand coded PHP driven web sites for some 10 years, but now would feel more comfortable if I wasn't using an external host to serve them, so am looking at moving to SMF.

Looking to find the simplest way to integrate my freshly installed SMF forum into my first site. I found this:
https://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Integrating_SMF_with_your_website
Then found this:
https://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=3703

Unless I'm misunderstanding things using the Custom Blocks mod would save me having to hack the code of main forum/database and all that's needed is little more than me copying across the header and footer PHP includes from my existing site to complete the integration and replace my old Nabble forum. (Sorting out a converter for the existing Nabble forum will be beyond me, but that's an issue I'll raise elsewhere!)

Am I missing something? Is manually using the "Cooler Layers" integration approach now a bit old hat?

[Illori]

that mod may work for you, or you may find one of the portal mods better to fit your needs.

https://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?action=search;type=17

[Antes]

If you are looking migration, you should also ditch your custom coded site -I know they are precious - You benefit greatly from using Portal+Forum modification.

- Reduced security risks
- Low upkeep since the mod(s) are well established
- Easier to upgrade
- More features (!) damn on fire...

if you have any other question let us know, glad to help.

[NorfolkGreg]

I'm not just migrating a forum. There's over 100 pages and 14 years of the rest of the site that need to be preserved.

The original forum is hosted by Nabble and after 10 years of being the most prolific voluntary helper there I have become concerned for the long term future of the platform, hence the desire to do a test move. If successful there's a dozen further sites with Nabble hosted forums embedded in them that I would migrate.

I should probably have done this first test installation on a smaller site! :-)

But thanks to te previous reply I have discovered and installed exPortal and am about to play with that rather than "Custom Blocks".