• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

How to host a forum?

ChiknNutz

New Member
NO, I have no plans to create Signs099 or anything of that nature, but I am considering creating a forum for my pricing software. I have absolutely no idea how to go about it. Do you pay for a server service, buy one and stick at in your shop, what? What about the forum software? Any pointers?
 

CS-SignSupply

New Member
Find a hosting company you are comfortable with and get a shared hosting plan with a control panel and access to free software. Aplus.net is one host that offers a variety of plans. Look at this link

Running a dedicated server takes a little knowhow and may open you up to some un-needed headaches. If the site really takes off, then maybe.
 
P

ProWraps™

Guest
get a hostgator account. $5/mo. download phpbb. run the installer. you are good to go.
 

ChiknNutz

New Member
I already have my site hosted, I just don't know how to go about adding a forum...if it is even possible with my plan. I've contacted my provider (1and1.com) to see what they say. Maybe I can already with what I have, just never have looked into it. I want something simple and easy to use. I found about InvisionFree...any comments on that?
 

cfbeagle

New Member
I have used PHPBB several times. It is easy to set up and I have hosted it on 1and1.com.

For simplicity check out groups.yahoo.com I used that for a while with some friends of mine and it worked great. Took all of 5 minutes to set up.
 

omgsideburns

New Member
If you're looking to setup a tech support forum, there are lots of opensource/freeware forums available that can handle mild traffic without bogging your server down.

Check your host to see if you can auto-install one through the control panel (very common now!) or check out something like phpbb, simplemachines, etc..
 

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
The main thing is to have access to a MySql database that you are allowed to create. Then just choose the forum you like the best, upload it and install it. I'm in the process now of setting up a new site and just licensed a second copy of vBulletin for $180. It is not only a forum application that I'm familiar with but also has a lot of features and security provisions you may not find in the free forum applications.

Ask Gary at 4EdgeTalk.com about how many times his forum has been knocked off line and months or years worth of posting lost.
 

jiarby

New Member
I use SMF for a BBQ forum.

Installing is easy... keeping up to date with patches and blocking spammers is the hard part.
 

ChiknNutz

New Member
I also wanted to point out that my current site is an ASP site due to requirements of the security feature of the software. I have found a forum software called Snitz Forums that may work, I don't know yet.
 

ChiknNutz

New Member
UPDATE

Well since the time I posted this and now, I have successfully created a user forum on my site using Snitz Forums 2000 (as previously referenced). Of course, it is still totally brand new and not ready for public consumption, but it is working and online. So far, pretty darn easy! My hosting service package includes a MS SQL server, so I'm using that for the database.
 

ChiknNutz

New Member
If anyone is interested in joining my new forum, which is intended for (but not limited to) user's of my sign pricing software, please visit it here I currently have it so you need to register prior to being able to view the topics.
 
Top