Hi all, One of my friend is about to launch a technical forum related to Remote Sensing and GIS, currently we need some suggestions from the forum users or managers to make this forum most effective one 1) We are using IP forum software which is hosted with them, will this work out ( shared hosting) if the visitors are more than 200 concurrently. How many users a shared hosting will support ? 2) We are thinking of moving to some free forum software and thinking about PhPBB but worried about security issues, we have our own dedicated servers, but spamming, hacking are in high level. What will be the best option going with a paid software or moving to free one? 3) Which is best option to run the forum in the root folder or to create a site in the root folder and to run the forum in the /forum folder? Any suggestions from the users of various forums or managers of forums are welcome. Thanks
1) Shared hosting is not likely to be enough to support a well-visited/spidered (search engine load must be considered). 2) You should be worried about security issues wit PhPBBB - make sure you stay on top of new releases with security patches. 3) Both (root/folder) options have their pluses and minuses. A subdomain for the forum is another approach to consider. It give the forum "root" status, but lets you have your site in the root of the domain. Regardless, a moderated forum is the ONLY way to go if you're serious. Even delaying posts by human reviewing each one will provide a more valuable destination to your legitimate users, and an undesireable destination for spammers.
Yes, you should be. I highly recommend totally avoiding PhpBB http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-phpBB-Project-Website-Hacked-103772.shtml
I will suggest to start with VPS hosting and then if necessary move to dedicated server Ensure that movement procedure is clear because it can crash your business when it is up and running.
If security is an issue, why are you even considering PHPBB? That is like the worst forum software you can use. That is unless restoring your hacked site just turns you on. If having your site defaced just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, then you will LOVE phpbb. The words phpbb and dedicated server go together like oil and water. Hackers around the world will be eternally thankful if you put this combination together. The hackers grandkids will make songs in your honor. You might even get a holiday in your name after you pass away. If you want a professional grade website, go with professional software. I would start out with VBulletin, and Invision Power Board and go from there. If you still want free forum software, take a look at mybb.
1 - On a shared hosting, you can have: + ~50 members online at the same time + ~500 UV each day 2 - If you are serious in the business, go with a paid software and vBulletin is the best. 3 - You should put your forums in this type of URL: http://www.your-domain-name.com/your-forum-name/
Thanks for all the suggestions and he went currently with the IP Board software with the IP hosting ( from same company) it is working fine,my question is that IP board is a good forum software compared to V Bulletin? As of now the forum is just started and have limited to one man investment, he is working out to get good financing, once its done I am thinking of changing that forum to V Bulletin with good mods.