| A forum, or community section, is an easy way to | | | | link to their web site in their signature (I allow this on |
| add useful content to your web site with very little | | | | my forums as long as they are posting useful |
| effort. First of all, let's define what a forum is. A | | | | information). |
| forum is a place for users to hold discussions on | | | | The driving force for the people reading the forums |
| various topics. It is interactive, in other words users | | | | is the need for information. Computer forums are |
| can both read postings and post items themselves. | | | | extremely popular in this area. People need help |
| Let me give you a half fictional example of a forum | | | | finding drivers, installing software, diagnosing |
| in action. | | | | problems. People want reviews of products one on |
| Forum Thread, Subject UFC in Canada on a Mixed | | | | one, by other users who don't have a vested |
| Martial Arts site. | | | | interest in what they end up buying. Forums are an |
| [USER1] Has anyone heard that the UFC might be | | | | invaluable research tool for these people, and by the |
| holding an event in Canada? | | | | way, the ad links on these pages also turn into |
| [USER2] Yes, I heard that. In fact, I heard that | | | | information sources for the same people. |
| George St Pierre will be on the card and it will be at | | | | Adding a forum to your web site is also not |
| the Bell Center. | | | | expensive or difficult. You have several options in the |
| [USER1] Thank you USER2, I can't wait to get my | | | | forum software arena, some of the most popular |
| tickets. | | | | are vBulletin an excellent choice where licenses go for |
| [USER3] Actually, I heard that it's been canceled and | | | | $150US and my personal favorite phpBB which is a |
| George St Pierre is out with a knee injury. | | | | free open source product. |
| So, you can see that the web master has gotten | | | | When making the decision of paid vs free software, |
| some valuable content with no work on his/her part. | | | | it's always important to figure out what kind of user |
| The users are able to ask questions and respond to | | | | you are (experienced vs novice), how much hand |
| them. Once the forum is set up initially and you've | | | | holding you require and of course if the paid version |
| found a way to get traffic to your forum, it | | | | really any better than the open source alternative. |
| becomes a perpetual content machine, generating | | | | Support can also be an issue to be considered, with |
| useful content for your web site and hopefully in the | | | | some smaller open source projects it can be difficult |
| process some revenue based on some sort of ad or | | | | to find help and/or expertise. I haven't personally |
| affiliate program, like Google Adsense or ClickBank. | | | | used vBulletin, but I have read several reviews and |
| Lets try out one more example Thread, this time | | | | looked through their support offerings they offer 1 |
| from a software forum | | | | month, 6 months and 12 months of phone support |
| [USER1] I'm trying to find a link to the phpBB web | | | | for $60, $180 and $300 respectively. vBulletin also |
| site and can't find it anywhere, does anyone here | | | | offers professional installation at $135 per license. |
| know what the URL is? | | | | Most forum software, including phpBB and vBulletin, |
| [USER2] You could try doing a Google search on | | | | require you to have PHP and MySQL available on |
| phpBB. It should be near the top of the search | | | | your host. This isn't an issue with most web hosts |
| results. | | | | such as godaddy, or hostgator. |
| [USER1] Thanks, USER2, how about a guide on how | | | | If you have a little experience in installations and |
| to install phpBB? | | | | setup, I would recommend at least giving phpBB a |
| [USER2] Do a search on "Installing PhpBB On | | | | try. Set up a sub directory on your web site, install it |
| GoDaddy", or there is also a guide included in the | | | | and see how it goes. The installation instructions are |
| package. | | | | excellent and if you find yourself installing on |
| [USER1] Thanks again for the help! Once I get my | | | | GoDaddy, do a search on "Installing PhpBB On |
| forum up and running, I'll post the URL here for you | | | | GoDaddy", don't forget the quotes. If you're installing |
| to take a look at. | | | | on hostgator, or most others the install instructions |
| You can see how the interaction works. It's not | | | | included with phpBB will do just fine. If you still find |
| always question and answer, a lot of the time, | | | | yourself having problems, the folks at the phpBB |
| somebody will post some new information they | | | | web site (on their forum) are quite helpful. |
| discovered, or expereinces they've had (like on a | | | | There are currently two version of phpBB, 2.0.x |
| travel forum). | | | | which is a stable, production ready release, and |
| There are two driving factors which make forums | | | | phpBB 3.0 which is still in the beta stage and is looking |
| popular. The first is what drives the posters/question | | | | good. For now, I would recommend installing 2.x and |
| answerers, this is either fame or promotion. They | | | | look to 3.0 in the near future. |
| either like seeing their name in lights, or they have a | | | | |