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Starting an online forum

Discussion in 'General Business' started by MattBOnline, Oct 22, 2014.

  1. #1
    Hi,

    I am looking into starting an online forum (like DigitalPoint but in a different topic area).

    Where can I get free or cheap software to help me? I have so far found
    http://www.MyBB.com
    https://www.webwiz.co.uk
    http://www.phorum.org
    http://www.instantasp.co.uk/products/instantforum/

    Any ideas?

    Matt.
     
    MattBOnline, Oct 22, 2014 IP
  2. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    #2
    qwikad.com, Oct 22, 2014 IP
  3. usemyteam

    usemyteam Member

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    #3
    usemyteam, Oct 22, 2014 IP
  4. usemyteam

    usemyteam Member

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    usemyteam, Oct 22, 2014 IP
  5. MattBOnline

    MattBOnline Member

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    #5
    Thanks qwikad.com,

    I like the idea... do you know how much MySQL work is required to install and operate the forum with https://xenforo.com/?

    I presume members accounts are managed automatically using a MySQL database but how much coding do I need to do to make it possible? Plus I presume peoples' posts are stored within a MySQL database. Is this easy to code up?

    I have briefly looked at the Xenforo website and it looks pretty good. $140 per annum for their licence sounds very reasonable too!

    I look forward to your reply,

    Matt.
     
    MattBOnline, Oct 22, 2014 IP
  6. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    qwikad.com, Oct 22, 2014 IP
  7. MattBOnline

    MattBOnline Member

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    #7
    Qwikad.com,

    Do you know (and if so, can you tell me?) where DigitalPoint is hosted?

    I have written in a the forum at xenforo.com and they tell me GoDaddy, which I currently use, may not be great for using their forum.

    Has DigitalPoint ever had a crash and lost posts in the forum? I am looking for a reliable host.

    Matt.
     
    MattBOnline, Oct 23, 2014 IP
  8. malky66

    malky66 Acclaimed Member

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    #8
    Digitalpoint own all of their own servers and hardware.
     
    malky66, Oct 23, 2014 IP
  9. MattBOnline

    MattBOnline Member

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    #9
    Do you know how much it would cost to have my own server and hardware??
     
    MattBOnline, Oct 23, 2014 IP
  10. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    #10
    The prices will range dramatically. You can search them on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...C1.A0.H0.Xweb+server&_nkw=web+server&_sacat=0

    Before you go that route, consider a good web hosting provider. Owning your own server can be time consuming. You will need to be able to do maintenance and tech support and have a decent understanding of the software you will be running. Of course all those things can be learned over time.
     
    qwikad.com, Oct 23, 2014 IP
  11. RichardGB

    RichardGB Greenhorn

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    #11
    Yep, xenforo is great to stert with. My first was forumotion.com. Maybe you'd like it too, depends on your tastes.
     
    RichardGB, Oct 23, 2014 IP
  12. MattBOnline

    MattBOnline Member

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    #12
    Do you have any experience with ranking a new forum? To begin with there will be no content in the forum so how should I go about promoting the new forum?
     
    MattBOnline, Oct 23, 2014 IP
  13. etc

    etc Well-Known Member

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    #13
    Mybb is easy to set up as well and its free. just so you know though, forums are the hardest to make it busy. maybe you will be interested to buy an existing one.
     
    etc, Oct 23, 2014 IP
  14. MattBOnline

    MattBOnline Member

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    #14
    if i used Mybb and the website forum did well, is it easy to then move to another forum? Or would I have to start the forum posts from scratch all over again?


    Matt.
     
    MattBOnline, Oct 23, 2014 IP
  15. Mr victor

    Mr victor Well-Known Member

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    #15
    I have used xenforo and I must tell you that vbulletin is still the best out there.
     
    Mr victor, Oct 25, 2014 IP
  16. etc

    etc Well-Known Member

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    #16
    Yes. There is a plugin they call merge. and you can shift to xenforo/vb later.
     
    etc, Oct 25, 2014 IP
  17. CobaltBlue87

    CobaltBlue87 Member

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    #17
    MyBB isn't bad. With a forum though, you're gonna have to take visitors and members from other similar forums. This is the difficult part of running a forum. You'll need to offer something unique and original :)
     
    CobaltBlue87, Oct 25, 2014 IP
  18. wakish

    wakish Active Member

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    #18
    I would use any of the following solid free ones:
    1) SMF: http://www.simplemachines.org/
    2) Vanilla: http://vanillaforums.org/
    3) PHPbb: https://www.phpbb.com/

    That's all you need! They have a large community with lots of plugins!
    All the best!
     
    wakish, Oct 25, 2014 IP
  19. giorgioarmani

    giorgioarmani Well-Known Member

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    #19
    Vanilla if you want to go for something free.

    vB or Xenforo if you want to invest in something substantial.
     
    giorgioarmani, Oct 25, 2014 IP
  20. Brandon Sheley

    Brandon Sheley Illustrious Member

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    #20
    I would love to hear your reasoning behind this claim.
    What is it that makes vbulletin better then xf or ipb, and what version of vbulletin?

    Thanks
     
    Brandon Sheley, Oct 26, 2014 IP