Old Forum Software and SEO
 

I am still using Old Forum Software like
vBulletin 2 & 3
phpBB 2
Burning Board 2
and the like.

I cant help but i still like the old Software better than the new ones.
So i keep updating the old ones to new PHP/MYSQL Versions and the like.

There is only one thing the new systems do better in my opinion:
They have responsive templates, i do not care personally but a lot of people seem to visit and posts through their phones today.

So i am thinking of making the Themes from some of my old Forums Responsive.
For vBulletin 3.8.x i do not even have to do it, its already available to buy:
https://www.sultantheme.com/forum/?styleid=52
https://www.sultantheme.com/product/st-vb3-responsive/

But there is one thing.
I know almost nothing about SEO.

So the Question that bothers me is, the templates are very old (just look at the source code) and therefore different than those of modern software. Today people are using divs a lot and back than there was extensive use of tables for layout. (which i like better by the looks but its dated today)

So the question is, does the dated Templates have negative effects for SEO or not?
Ofcourse their are alot of other things for SEO also, i just want to know if the templates would be a Problem, and if so how much of a Problem.

Thanks,
escape2k

PS:
Please no "you should really upgrade" posts, thanks.

Just keep in mind that responsive does not mean mobile friendly. The theme you linked is indeed responsive but not mobile friendly at all. You still have to tap very small hyperlinks to open threads and such.

When it comes to SEO, tables shouldn't have an impact on it. What matters is how the important data is displayed in template. (such as <p> for paragraphs, <h1>/<h2><h3> for headers, etc.) Sure vBulletin 5 might have better SEO but since you stick with older software there's not a whole lot you can do about it.

SEO is not some kind of mystery that requires technical knowledge.

SEO is building and designing a website for the least educated user.

If you build a site so a two year old can understand it that's good SEO.

You don't need "state of the art" software for good SEO although sometimes it does make the job easier.

Hello Dave!

What do you think of mobile links on this demo forum? The links are too small on your mobile? I bought and use this responsive theme on my vb 3.8.11.

https://www.sultantheme.com/forum/index.php?styleid=2

Not sure i agree with that as a specific statement. 10 years ago websites were often totally tables based and Google said they would penalise them from an SEO point of view as they load very slowly. The use of some tables were appropriate i.e. it is an actual table of data is fine

Totally agree with ecochris but surely no one builds web pages with tables these days, do they?

They may not build them now in tables, but how many are old and still tables based?

The theme has fastest loading and responsive then it will be good for SEO. Anyway, vB platform has more friendly with SEO then.

You're spot on the Matt, load speed is really key these days

Have you tried running your website through Google;s Page Speed Insights tool. Its well worth it