Creating a Message Board/Forum

[0dysseus]

*shines a bright spotlight into the night sky, partially occluded by sheetmetal in the form of a stylized bat.


I need to know how to set up a Forum.

What software do I need to know?

What costs are involved?

Do I need a server to host it?

Are there any good sites to go to for services/information?


My company is going to set up a forum to discuss business finance since the existing ones are inadequate. Among my other responsibilities I now have to look into this. I thought here would be a good place to find information, or at the least be a trusted source of referrals.

I appreciate your assistance in advance, Thank you.

[Avohir]

PHPBB is free, but can be... twitchy.  Invision Power Board is what TWC used to be, and we're running Simple Machines right now.  Vbulletin is the other one which I don't have a lot of experience with.  Most of them offer similar features.

If you want to do anything crazy with it you're going to want to know some scripting.

Yes you'll need a server to host it on.  The install process isn't terrible for the most part.  The costs for the software vary, you can check the designers websites.  There are a number of places on the web to look for info, mostly the companys that make the software have their own forums and community base that are pretty helpful.

[DigiMajik]

Avohir makes some good points and hits the nail on the head with everything he mentioned.

First thing you need to decide is whether or not you want to host this in house or rent a hosted server. If you're doing it in house, it's pretty simple. Just download and install the software as instructed.

If you're looking to pay for hosting, then you again need to look at a couple of things. First off, are you planning on running any other kinds of apps alongside it. If so, what kind of apps? Java? .NET? If you're going to have .NET apps running, you have to rent a microsoft box vs a linux one. They cost more money and you get less storage/bandwith for those.

We are on a shared server. That means there are several other sites that sit on this box with us. We pay a reduced amount because of this, but that also means we don't have rull reign to put any kind of software on the box that we would want to. I wouldn't suggest renting space on a shared server for a business unless it's a small business and you have very little money to put towards your site. The reason for this is that if, for some reason, one of the other sites has a problem, it's probably going to affect your site. That, or like our host, you get the 'account suspended' message anytime you use too many resources on the box. That could be anything from a script malfunctioning, to anything at all that sucks up cpu power.

What I would ultimately recommend for business is either purchase a server in host it in house (1st pick), or go with a dedicated server. There's also different kinds of dedicated servers. Keep in mind as this goes back to what other apps you want to run off you dedicated server respectively. You need to know beforehand to decide whether to get a Linux or Microsoft box.

If you want a recommended host that I know is good, but I doubt they'll be cheap, then peak10 does a great job. They're based out of Charlotte, NC, but that really shouldn't make a difference. Either way, I'd need to know what your business's scope for this entire project.

Oh, I almost forgot, if you're not going with an in house solution, you're going to have to purchase a domain name for your site.

Once you've got your domain name and picked out a host, you will then need to decide on what type of forum software you need. Again, the type of box you choose limits your choices. Some can come free with your hosting package.

Avohir listed the most common ones used. I'll post my opinions of each below:

Invision Power Board: You've all seen it. It was the old software we used. It started off great, but went downhill, at least for what we needed. It's like the Windows Vista of Message Boards, expensive and bloated as hell. Trying to do anything with it, whether it's install an update, or apply a skin is a major time sink and hassle. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

Vbulletin: I haven't used it, but from what I can remember of the handful of sites that I visited that did, it seems to run sluggish compared to other boards. Granted, we have no idea of what hosted solution they were using or anything about thier box. Also, I can't even remember the last time I was on a site that used it, so that's a very, very, old impression.

PHPBB: Free and has a nice community behind it, but has a reputation of being buggy and numerous accounts of being hacked in the past. That's the reason I didn't pick it when moving away form IPB.

Simple Machine Forums: Free and had a pretty decent community. Installation of the software and updates/mods couldn't be easier. It tells you there's an update, gives you the link, and all you have to do is click a few steps and it updates itself. Very easy to maintain and we've yet to be hacked. Not that there hasn't been any attempts, but so far so good. Again, I can't stress how easy it is to update or to apply mods.

Once you've got your domain name, host, and have your software installed, you can then log into the admin panel and set whatever options you think you'll need. For business purposes, you probably can just leave the default skin. If not, any forum you pick should have a ton to choose from. If you want to go further than that, pick a skin you like and change the css to the colors/images you want.

As for software you need to know, that depends. If you're setting up a forum and only a forum, then you'll only need to follow the directions provided by your software of choice. Helpful things include knowledge of html and css. If you're getting a microsoft box, then I would suggest looking into asp and asp.net. If it's a linux box, I would start looking at php and mysql. Knowledge of javascript will always be helpful in any option you choose.

Costs depend again on your choice. For an in-house option, you need a server. You can purchase them, or lease them. If you already have a web server, then you could just put the forum software on there and they'll be no cost for anything if you choose one of the free boards.

IPB was about $70 a year the last time I checked. PHPBB and SMF and free. No idea what Vbulletin charges.

If you're renting space on a shared host like us, it's about $100 per year. A dedicated server will cost a few hundred a month. Again, more expensive for a microsoft box and cheaper for linux.

Final thoughts:
Honestly, your business should have a server. You should be able to set it up on that and run it from there. That's your cheapest solution. If you're choosing a forum that is based on PHP, like most are, then you'll need to install PHP to run it. You may also need to install Apache server depending on your choices.

Another option you have is to hire a freelance coder to set it up and maintain it for you. The cost on those vary. Granted, your company would still have to pay for the software, hosting, and domain name, but it could be cheaper in the long run. They need to decide if it's cheaper to pay an in house developer to learn how to do this and have him dedicate the time to setting it up and maintaining it, or if it's cheaper to contract out the work. If you do decide to contract it, I would have to recommend me, because I'm more than likely going to charge much less than others, I know what I'm doing, and it will very little time to get up and running. Yes, I'm throwing a self plug in there.

Overall, depending on your skill level it can be very easy or very hard to set up. That and what choices you decide to make in terms of what software to use. Setting up SMF is a peice of cake and should be to any developer you guys have. Skinning a site using anything other than a default template or a downloadable one is always going to be a pain, especially if you don't know the software.

That's about all I have for general information. If you need anthing else let me know.