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What's the best forum program/software for 2014?

by Dayne Dylan Banned
8 replies
Hey Warriors,

I'm thinking about setting up a paid forum for a certain niche in which I already have an email list for. The cost will be pretty low, around $5-$7 a month only for access. This way it will only draw in those who are serious as well as keeping out some spammers.

Any suggestions on what is the BEST forum program/software to use for a paid membership, that is also easy to setup and run?

Thank you!
#2014 #forum #program or software
  • Profile picture of the author IMMer1975
    Hi Dayne -

    My personal preference is Invision Power Board ... and I have forums as large as 11 million page views per month. I have a course on starting a forum and in the first module I cover selecting forum software. I haven't released it yet but if you'd like free access (no catch, no upsells!) then just PM me (and give me your email address so I can add you to the membership site).

    Other commercial forum contenders are vBulletin of course (but I hate the latest version) and xenForo but just doesn't have all the community features yet. On the free side, phpBB and SMF are both good choices.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
      Banned
      Originally Posted by IMMer1975 View Post

      Hi Dayne -

      My personal preference is Invision Power Board ... and I have forums as large as 11 million page views per month. I have a course on starting a forum and in the first module I cover selecting forum software. I haven't released it yet but if you'd like free access (no catch, no upsells!) then just PM me (and give me your email address so I can add you to the membership site).

      Other commercial forum contenders are vBulletin of course (but I hate the latest version) and xenForo but just doesn't have all the community features yet. On the free side, phpBB and SMF are both good choices.
      Is Invision Power Board expensive to start? Also, can one set it up as a paid members only forum and automate the subscription process with Paypal?
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      • Profile picture of the author IMMer1975
        Originally Posted by Dayne Dylan View Post

        Is Invision Power Board expensive to start? Also, can one set it up as a paid members only forum and automate the subscription process with Paypal?
        You can use their hosted solution to start and if your forum grows, buy a full standalone license.

        And yes, you can, through their Nexus platform, have certain sections (or your entire forum) only accessible to certain member groups which require payment to be a part of (all automated).
        Signature

        Pssst...want to learn how to build marketing funnels in Mautic marketing automation to propel online conversions?

        Or are you interested in learning Wordpress? Check out my free video courses here. Taken by over 25,000 students on Udemy.

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    • Profile picture of the author GamerZag
      Originally Posted by IMMer1975 View Post

      Hi Dayne -

      My personal preference is Invision Power Board ... and I have forums as large as 11 million page views per month.
      Hey there! What niche is your big forum in?
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  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    I just need something that is...

    1. SUPER EASY to setup on my own domain

    2. Can be made a PAID MEMBERS only subscription via Paypal

    3. HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE and loaded with features, Spam control would be nice as well

    4. SECURE
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  • Profile picture of the author Dayne Dylan
    Banned
    Is MyBB - Free and Open Source Forum Software any good?
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  • Profile picture of the author magnificent
    Invision Power Board is my favorite. I's easy to use and has built-in paid and free membership modules.
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  • Profile picture of the author GamerZag
    I'd go the route of IPB as well. I'm very happy using them, though it does have a pretty step start-up cost!
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