12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
12 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Best Forum platform

by CircleofDocs
8 replies
What is the best to use for online forums?

I hear Vbulletin is great.. Is Vbulletin a free software??

I used IPBoard with not so great results...
#forum #platform
  • Profile picture of the author failideas
    i vote for vbulletin, its not free but in my opinion is the best
    and has a big community and lots of addons
    Signature
    Dental WordPress Theme - Dentist WP Theme - Lawyer WordPress Theme

    ++ Theme Release News and Promotions > submit here
    Affiliates - wanna make good money. Subscribe here Affiliates List
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5690575].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author George Wright
    IMHO

    When it comes to self hosted boards you are not going to be happy unless you spring for dedicated servers, that is of course if you expect big traffic.

    To answer your question vBulletin is not free.

    One solution is to do business with a third party forum service.

    Here is the best solution I've found. Website Toolbox - Forum Hosting, Guestbooks, Polls, Chat Rooms, and more.

    It runs about $5 a month for 10,000 hits and is very reasonable for more hits, I forget but its about 2 cents for each thousand hits after that.

    If you don't pay they leave your board up and stick on a couple of ads. The ad supported board works just as well as the paid board. After you pay the ads come off.

    You never have to worry about your "site" going down for lack of payment. They also have an ad free, free trial so there is really no harm at all in giving them a spin.

    George Wright
    Signature
    "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5690591].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kelly Macwood
      Banned
      Originally Posted by George Wright View Post

      IMHO

      When it comes to self hosted boards you are not going to be happy unless you spring for dedicated servers, that is of course if you expect big traffic.

      To answer your question vBulletin is not free.

      One solution is to do business with a third party forum service.

      Here is the best solution I've found. Website Toolbox - Forum Hosting, Guestbooks, Polls, Chat Rooms, and more.

      It runs about $5 a month for 10,000 hits and is very reasonable for more hits, I forget but its about 2 cents for each thousand hits after that.

      If you don't pay they leave your board up and stick on a couple of ads. The ad supported board works just as well as the paid board. After you pay the ads come off.

      You never have to worry about your "site" going down for lack of payment. They also have an ad free, free trial so there is really no harm at all in giving them a spin.

      George Wright
      This is amazing.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5691343].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Centurian
      Originally Posted by George Wright View Post

      IMHO

      When it comes to self hosted boards you are not going to be happy unless you spring for dedicated servers, that is of course if you expect big traffic.

      To answer your question vBulletin is not free.

      One solution is to do business with a third party forum service.

      Here is the best solution I've found. Website Toolbox - Forum Hosting, Guestbooks, Polls, Chat Rooms, and more.

      It runs about $5 a month for 10,000 hits and is very reasonable for more hits, I forget but its about 2 cents for each thousand hits after that.

      If you don't pay they leave your board up and stick on a couple of ads. The ad supported board works just as well as the paid board. After you pay the ads come off.

      You never have to worry about your "site" going down for lack of payment. They also have an ad free, free trial so there is really no harm at all in giving them a spin.

      George Wright
      Hey George. I looked over your suggestion. I really like it. It will work great for a client's project I'm working on.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5691436].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
        VBulletin really can't be beaten.

        It costs, but you are paying for quality.

        I wish I had built my earlier forums with it rather than opting for phpbb.


        Daniel
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5691477].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author AuthorityRush
    XenForo - Compelling Community Forum Software They are actually the developement team from vBulletin. When the company was sold, they didn't mesh with the new owners and walked away. The good part is they knew exactly what didn't work with he old forum and started their own project from scratch with what they knew would work. Much cheaper too.

    vBulletin is sueing them, and it is still in the courts. And Although I haven't used them yet, I did a ton of research as I want to start a forum as well and found xenforo to be the best of the lot. But like I said, I haven't used them yet, so I can't directly comment from experience. But that is definitely the software I'll buy when I am ready.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5690874].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
    vBulletin is fantastic.

    For a free option, Simple Machine Forums has most of the same features, and covers most of the things you would want. They also have active and helpful community and support.
    Signature

    The bartender says: "We don't serve faster-than-light particles here."

    ...A tachyon enters a bar.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5691260].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author tryinhere
    Originally Posted by CircleofDocs View Post

    What is the best to use for online forums?

    I hear Vbulletin is great.. Is Vbulletin a free software??

    I used IPBoard with not so great results...
    with many people swapping out vb for ipb exactly who or what did you set up or get help from, I used vb for a very long time and now 100% dedicated to ipb and it (in my mind) beats vb hands down and then some

    so maybe get some help and work on what problems you have before throwing away the baby with the bath water.
    Signature
    | > Choosing to go off the grid for a while to focus on family, work and life in general. Have a great 2020 < |
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5691510].message }}

Trending Topics