Sorry if this is the wrong section but I have a few questions about starting a forum. I want to start a forum about bipolar since my brother has it and I would like to know some problems starting up such a forum and please don't tell me bipolar people are crazy because I am in the field and that is not the case. Any advise such as what types of topics,design,legal problems and just overall advise in general would be greatly appreciated. I know this forum is filled with such intelligent people as the people reading this and I just need a thorough walk through. I have a passion to help others and I hope this can extend to the forum. Thank you for taking time out to read this and comment.
I'm not sure how new you are but here is a walk through as thorough as my knowledge can provide. Buy a domain (godaddy or I think names.com is another one). Get some webhosting... plenty of cheap webhosting out there - I use hostmonster. Now do you want to buy a forum script or use a free one? If you want to buy one, vbulletin is by far the best from what I hear. If you'd like to start off with a free one I believe phpbb is pretty good. I have no idea how to install or set up, but if u go vbulletin I hear they have great support. There is also a support forum for phpbb. As for topics, you may want to go a little broader than just bipolar. You could also have depression, schizophrenia and other mental disorders. Or you could just stick to bipolar. Just some ideas. Topics could include things such as: treatments, "share your story", support, general information and question section, advice, living with the disorder, etc. I'm also not sure on legal problems. You may want to make it clear that advice given may not be professional advice and that it is always best to consult a psychiatrist or a psychologist. After that, it's all about building traffic and a community. Hope this helps. If you get it started and underway, send me a pm. I'm a psych student at university, so I can swing by and give any help I can. I'm new to all this too, so I'm sure you'll get some far greater answers. Best of luck.
That is great advise and I will definitely keep you in mind. Thanks again for taking time out to help me with my question!
The niche is not too well popular so i doubt it worth it. Anyway,you can start it using free forum script if you don't have budget. Find a reliable host at web hosting section coz there are a lot of web host that is always down and it sure will affect your forum uptime thus indirectly decrease your visitor traffic. The most important thing is SEO,make sure you have lot of back link coz it will determine the successful of your forum.
You need to find a niche that is popular enough to make people want to participate in your forum. No one will join an empty forum.
This isn't too discourage you, but more to help you realize some of hte problems you will be facing when you first open your doors. Generally, forums have to have a kick start because generally people won't visit regualrly unless there is regular content. Why should people register on a forum that doesn't have any posts? Therefore, most people find that they need to invest into paid forum posting (Fillmyforum.com is good). You might look into that as far as a marketing investment at the very start.
Basic list for forums: 1. Web Hosting + Domain Name (I can help you through this part since that's my industry, just PM if your interested) 2. Research the topic and come up with good forum topics and categories 3. Open a marketing budget and pay people to do up to around 500-1000 posts. 4. Begin telling your friends, family, and internet associates to come on and join in. 5. Let the fun begin, the process finishes itself.
I disagree with the people who say your niche isn't worth it. It sounds like you have found a subject that you are passionate about, and you seem to want to make a postitive contribution to a specific group of people. IMHO, you are in a far better place than some bozo who creates a forum just to play the serps, so to speak. Forums are long-term projects. It is essential that you are passionate about your subject, lest your forum degenerate into one of the many forum graveyards that we have all seen haunting the internet.
Why don't you start with a blog, and see if you can engage enough daily readers to even support a forum ? You can use a forum plug in, and start small, maybe 5 or so categories, and if you get the readership and participation, take it big time, if not, then you still have the blog to service the few readers that you do have. It will give you time to learn, while building a community and it won't cost you a bunch of money, or all of your time. Also readers will give you suggestions on what you need to cover in the forum to be helpful to others. Just chose a domain wisely and you can use one domain for everything. (sub domains)