Need advice to build community for parents of special needs children

need an all-in-1 site builder with forums, chat, etc?

[specialneedschildren]

I would like to create a website that would include things like:
- articles
- news
- message board
- chat room
- calendar
- member directory

I have looked at products/services like www.moonfruit.com and www.bravenet.com but would like to know your opinion on these types of sitebuilders?

I need to be able to modify a template and have certain functions like chat, message board, calendar, etc.

Parents would be joining this website for free and would become "members" of this community.

I looked at CMS products (like Mambo) and even BB products (like www.wowbb.com).

It's confusing and I obviously need something simple, but need these features and a web based template I can edit.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

JH

[Frequent]

I have no idea how much web and web design knowledge you have but since you are looking at site builders I assume your knowledge is limited.

Some of the larger portal type scripts can do everything you need although setup and customization can be pretty daunting for a newcomer.

I would honestly recommend that you find some local talent (highschool/college student) to set it up and design it for you. Cost should be pretty low really since you aren't looking for anything that would require custom programming.

Freq---