Forum Moderators: rogerd
1/ What forum software do i choose?
I have read alot of topics on this site and others, but some of the thread was from last year and therefore perhaps outdated.
[webmasterworld.com...]
I know there is not a single answer - but:
"what is the best forum software if you know nothing about programming, but would like to run what should become a large site?"
Free software is always nice to get, but i dont mind paying either, if i get value for the money.
So far i have read about PHP (free), something call yab and alot of other different forum software. Finding the right thing is a nightmare, especially beacuse you dont want to buy the wrong thing!
vBulletin:
From what i have read the software called "vBulletin" seems to be solid and used on many big sites, though others say it runs slow.
Invision Board:
others talk about this one and say they have good experience with it......but it dosent seem very advanced?
- I was thinking about getting vBulletin, but in the demo i loaded i had to use coding in order to change some of the "Templates", which i cant do myself.
I therefore searched on google again and found another software - wowbb - but since no one mention it, i figured its either unknown or not good. I dont know if i can make a link to the site...their forum loads extreamly slow, but the admin said it was not the software, but my connection or the server( I have 1,5 megabit connection). They compare themself to the two above mentioned forum software, and suprise they win....Is it BS or is it any good.....please guide a newbie!
in short, is their benchmarking any good or just a bunch of lies?
Once you have guided me in the selection og software, also please guide me on what to do with servers...currently i have a 500 mb webhotel. I doubt its any good when/if people start to use the forum / post pictures / use aventars.
What the correct solution? Rent server room in start until/if forum grow, and then buy equitment - or is there some smart method?
How much space is required?
- Help is appreciated, since i would hate to buy the wrong software etc.
[edited by: rogerd at 12:47 am (utc) on June 7, 2006]
[edit reason] remove link [/edit]
Look at the installation list for each software vendor and visit plenty of sites. See how they load as a group, and how they look. If you visit enough sites, you should start to get an idea of which you prefer for your forum.
You can probably start off on shared hosting, but if you get busy you may have to switch to a dedicated server.
- So far i have only seen it in one forum, but their forumsoftware is not for sale and i doubt their backoffice is very userfriendly anyway.
Thanks in advance.
[edited by: rogerd at 1:09 am (utc) on June 8, 2006]
[edit reason] family-friendly language only, please [/edit]
I'm a vbulletin user on some forums, for example, because I find their admin panel, use of CSS, and plugin system desirable. Other forum admins find vbulletin to be bloated and slow, a condition that can be cured only by intense optimization and throwing expensive hardware at it. (You wouldn't want my hosting bills. :))
Here's a recent thread that also compares forum software: [webmasterworld.com...]
( the pictures next to headlines in main forum, whre they list all the different threads by name)
- i have already read that thread, but thanks anyway - i have seen the name of the software you mention several times, but before i buy somehting like that i want to make sure its the right software and that it can run large sites.
i found anouther software and i think its free, what do you know about "xoops.org"? is it stable, fast and secure?
and what kind of software are you using on this site?
big-boards.com lists forums with over a million posts, and the kind of software they use. Keep in mind that the really big forums tend to run with lots of mods.
[edited by: rogerd at 1:30 am (utc) on June 9, 2006]
[edit reason] no forum links, please [/edit]
If you are willing to pay then I suggest VBulletin. If I am not mistaken it is the most popular paid bulletin board software.
If you are not willing to pay like me i.e. being cheap like me then try phpBB forum. If I am not mistaken it is the most popular free bulletin board software.
I am not sure what you meant by webhotel but I guess it might be your web host. Whatever hosting company that you signed up with, make sure that you have the ability to backup your database. I once lost all of my blog posts, because I made use of the free blog provided by my hosting company.
You should check with your hosting company to see whether the usage of the database is part of your 500mb hosting package.
Buy equipment?
I don't think you need a dedicated high end server at the moment. Anyway, even after your site getting popular I think it is more economical to host your site with hoting companies out there than running your own "equipment."
Since your site is new, I don't think your forum will have many sign ups. So, at this moment a decent web hosting plan by a decent hosting company will do.
Personally, I will advise you to go for phpbb forum because it is free and you just started. You can upgrade to Vbulletin later when your forum getting popular. phpbb forum software is constantly updated. Last month it was version 2.20. Now 2.21. But you need not to worry as they have a very good support forum and many volunteers who will be able to help you if you are not tech savvy.
Buy wrong software?
I don't think thousand of popular sites using VBulletin out there bought wrong software. So, I don't think you will go wrong with VBulletin. Anyway, it all depends on your liking. That is why it is good to start with free software such as phpbb forum.
Good luck with your new site.
