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Is there an easy to install a forum on a website

by ContentIn48Hours
12 replies
Does anyone know if there is an inexpensive, easy way to install a forum on a website? I am
working on a project and it would make my project complete.

Thanks in advance for any help I might get.

Steve
#easy #forum #install #website
  • Profile picture of the author Keith Boisvert
    Originally Posted by Sportsmarketer View Post

    Does anyone know if there is an inexpensive, easy way to install a forum on a website? I am
    working on a project and it would make my project complete.

    Thanks in advance for any help I might get.

    Steve
    Yup. Depends on the hosting company, but most (I use hostgator) have a cpanel where you can install a free forum. PHBB and SMF are standard with hostgator, and takes about 5 minutes to install.

    Keith
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    • Profile picture of the author RebeccaL
      I recommend SMF. I find it is catching up functionality wise with vBulletin, leaving phpBB behind. It als looks great and is easy to install and manage.
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      • Profile picture of the author ContentIn48Hours
        Thank you very much. I'm technically challenged but even I can handle those options. I really appreciate your help.

        Steve
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        • Profile picture of the author Terry Crim
          You want to make sure that the control panel your host uses keeps the automated software installations updated. Many do not in which case you would need to manually download the current version and install the software on your site either yourself or outsource the work.

          Simple Machines Forum is very easy to install the hardest part with any software like a forum would be successfully creating and configuring the database.

          Most people do not understand how to properly setup a new database or how to create and associate the user account with the database. It is really very simple but is a common step people forget or do not realize they have to do.

          Another issue that is commonly misunderstood is FTP "chmod" or ownership property settings of files. You know those pesky numbers you read about in help documents or installation instruction "777" or "644" and making sure you have the correct numbers associated to the correct files and folders.

          It is all really very simple and once you understand it, the time it takes to do all that is literally minutes.

          PHPBB is a commonly known forum software, they have had massive security issues with this forum software but apparently the most recent software is more secure. I personally can not recommend it though even if they say it is more secure now.

          SMF or Simple Machines Forum is a rising star and is actually the forum I recommend not just for my clients and friends but when I setup a forum for one of my own sites this is the one I use myself. It is very easy to modify with plugins and it actually will upgrade itself unless you have had someone manually alter the core files for some reason. In those cases you would need to update the software manually or lose any customizations you had done to the software.

          There are MANY themes available for it and works similar to WordPress except actually easier to add plugins to it. SMF will actually download the plugin itself saving you having to first download it to your computers hard drive THEN upload it to your site. I really like this software, it is very easy to use. Plus it is FREE, can't beat that.


          I hope this helped,

          -Terry
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          • Profile picture of the author bendiggs
            I have only used PHPBB, and it has always worked well for me. It is simple to install and maintain o long as you don't have any database issues. I know the developers of SMF and used, but did not admin, their forums when it was in early development. I haven't used it in a long time so I don't know what it is like any more and I can't say yes or no to it.
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            • Profile picture of the author Dan Grossman
              There's always Tangler for a hosted forum. I like to embed Tangler forums on my product sites for support. I just create a large iframe (100% width for that design, maybe 600 pixels high) with no border with the Tangler forum URL as the source.. so it appears within my site.
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  • Profile picture of the author justcrowd2010
    The answers came to be very useful to me, thank you for sharing
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    • Profile picture of the author khay
      If it's a Wordpress site, you could try bbPress.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mr. Enthusiastic
    Steve, is your project for paying customers, or just for some personal use?

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author Juturna
    "Invision Power Boards (IPB)" is one I like to use.
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  • Profile picture of the author ocsSEO01
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    • Profile picture of the author agrajtech11
      Hi Steve you are designing a project its good but you did not tell us that what are you using in your project. Its easy to install forum but you will have to tell you basics, language etc.
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