Hello, I would like to gather some information relating to a better forum location on the server. Is it better to have the forums on the base of the domain (first page is the forums)? or Is it better to have the forums on a sub directory of the domain (ex. www.google.com/forums). State your opinions. They are your opinions in terms of SEO, traffic, content, etc. Thank you
Putting the forum in a subfolder now, gives you more options for later. I installed my forum to the HTML root. There have been several times that I regretted it.
It is better to use Sub Directory (ex. www.google.com/forums) . But note it, you can set homepage redirect to your forum homepage . So the visitors will review your forum homepage at first . It is fleaxible setting , you can have site as homepage any time if you wish .
Directory or sub-domain does not make a big difference in my opinion. However, do not name your sub-domain or directory as "forum(s)". Instead, use a keyword and it might help better ranking in SERP.
Actually, you can solve your problem easily. Rename your index.php to index1.php and set youwebsite.com/forums/index1.php as your forum home (in vb settings). Then put your website content where ever you like.
It all depends on what you want to do. If you want to just have a forum, then put in the public_html but if you have plans of creating a website with it, then I'd recommend a subdirectory for the forums.
I named it 'forums', but you can name it 'forum', 'discussion', 'talk', 'community', etc. I think that by naming it 'forums', it can benefit you when somebody searches for "[your site niche] forums" because the word 'forums' is in the URL, making it highly relevant. E.g., if I am searching for "turtle care forums", I believe "www.turtlecare.com/forums" would appear before "www.turtlecare.com". Either way, it doesn't make that much of a difference; name it what you prefer.
I did my first one like forum.domain.com .. I wish I would have just left it easy with domain.com/forum
mine is on main page and I will stick for this as the nature of name is Discussion Hub www.discusshub.com
It all depends really. If you ever plan on adding a home page or portal, even if you aren't sure yet, its probably better to go with putting it in a subdirectory. Because later if you decide to change the location, Google will not be happy.
I don't like /forum anymore. If I do anything I'll rename my index.php to another name that includes keywords. -Raymond
Good point. I think forum.com is good because the content will keep being updated and unique. Unlike a regular old site with some good info on it. But, I can't leave it at that. I have to have MORE than a forum at the site for some reason. Spreading myself too thin, me thinks.