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