Matching vb5 URLs to vb4 URLs ?

[gtrcanada]

I am upgrading to vb5 and have a test forum right now.
I want to keep all the URLs the same as my vb4 forum (with vbSEO), but not sure how to go about it. Currently I am looking at this:

original vb4 URL (vbSEO)
myforumname.com/general-skyline-discussion/23243-hey-newbie-why-cant-you-post

new vb5 URL
myforumname.com/forum/all-things-skyline/general-skyline-discussion/23897-hey-newbie-why-can-t-you-post

1) how can I tailor vb5 URL to match ie. removing the /forum/ part, and removing the /all-things-skyline/ part (so the URL only shows the current sub forum that the link is in)
2) why are the post counts different? 23243 vs 23897

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Zachery]

The same urls are just not happening without an insane amount of work I wouldn't recommend.

If you're going to upgrade, I would suggest uninstalling vbseo first, and doing the redirect to your old urls. Give it some time, then upgrade to vB5.

Upgrading from vb3/4 to 5 changes EVERY forum/post/thread id in the entire system. vBulletin 5 handles the 301 redirects from the default url structures in vBulletin 4. But not from vBSEO.

[gtrcanada]

Zachary, thank you for the info, I didn't realize it was such a big job to do.
So it I uninstall vbSEO, I can have vb5 redirect from the original vb4 URLs?

[Zachery]

Assuming you're set on going to 5.

I would first make sure you have a upgrade plan, what you're replacing the addons you deem vital to your site and how you're going to get them working/compatible with 5.

Assuming you do get that out of the way, your next step should be removing vBSEO and redirecting all of the current rewritten urls to the defaults.

Once you're on the default urls for a bit 1-3 months, I would carry out the upgrade to vBulletin 5.

Test, test test test, test some more, test again, keep testing.

If this site is important to you, do as much prep work as you can, prepare your community for the change, explain why its going to be worth it to upgrade.

You'll still lose some people in the transition, but as long as you've done your best the site should be fine going forward.