Looking for a community template...

[Elite Master 1]

Hi, Im looking to put up a community site with forums, different levels of access, news, polls, maybe shopping cart functionality etc. I know enough HTML to make pages look the way I want them but I wouldn't know how build this functionality. I have been told to try PHP nuke, and I gave it a try, but I realize there would be steep learning curve and I think at this point I'd rather find (or buy) a template with the functiomnality I mentioned which I can immediately start editing. Can anyone point me int he right direction? Are there any FAQs on thsi process? Thanks.

[rogerd]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld, Elite_Master_1!

There are different ways of approaching this "total site" approach. The one you checked out is starting with a CMS and integrating features. Another approach might be to start with powerful forum software and use "portal" addons to round out site functionality.

VBulletin, for example, has a few popular portal hacks (vbindex is one) that let you create a separate home page with various content. Some of the features you describe, like user authentication, polls, etc., are built in already. You might still need some custom coding, but I'd guess this kind of solution would get you a lot of what you are looking for.

A lot depends on how important the forum will be - if its a minor feature, you may want to go the CMS route; if you expect it to be the focal point of the site, then starting with forum software and building out may make sense.

[vkaryl]

phpBB, while not having a "resident" portal (as yet - and I don't know if one is still in dev or not), DOES have a fair number of available add-ons (hacks, actually - provided by others, not the phpBB dev team) of the portal sort. While phpBB certainly isn't everyone's cuppa, it does meet many and varying qualifications as decent software, and has a ton of "hacks" available. And it's ALL FREE.