Website development planning stage, Need Help

Should I be looking into forums for content and discussion?
- Stay close to topics in your industry.

What if I put in a forum into my corporate website, any cons?
- Lots of companies do this.

Can I post news on my forum and have a link on my news page which will link to this article on forum?
- WarriorForum does this so yes.

If forum is not a choice then we would go for a blog/article posting where people can reply to the post. But ain't this not effective in driving traffic as a forum?\
- It's apples and oranges, it's not the same.

So which would you suggest to be on my corporate site a blog/news/forum ? If my company is going to give me any resource to make it work? Including manpower/capital.
- You should should have a main site and the forum is just a component of it.

Any successful story to share me? Samples of successful corporate site with forum/news/blog
- Other way around. Show me a successful site that doesn't have a forum. Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, and more.

You're on the right track - just be aware that once you start a forum it has to be moderated and you have to plan ahead for growth. You can't just start a forum and leave it alone. It becomes a living breathing component of your web properties.

Hope this helps,
Artemis

The process of designing a site that sells products is not easy because a simple error can decrease sales. If you place a call-to-action on your pages, you can increase your chances of capturing sales.

Forums is the best way out to increase ranking and to build up good client ship for a new business .its cost very less as compare to other advertising methods. give Search Engine a Boost!!

Forums are great if you have a niche you can go after. May take a while to build up.

================================================== =====

1] Visit forums just to know about the requirements/needs/problems of your clients.

2] The only apparent headache with forums is that they need to be constantly administered. As they grow with time, you will need 1 or 2 guys (in some cases more staff) to manage and administer them.

3] Yes, in many ways.
Forum software IP.Board and VBulletin come with an integrated CMS (Content Management System).
You can publish news as well as blog articles, all at one place, under one installation.

4] Blogs are strong when it's about SEO. But it depends upon your situation and business requirements. If you want to provide an automated help desk support like system where people will also participate in resolving help tickets (or solving your company/staff related issues etc.etc.) and they help reduce your headache, then forum should be your choice. Blogs are not effective in such a scenario. Blogs can help in giving exposure to your company and building your company's following. A guy who has nothing to do with your company is very less likely to join your forum.

5] I would suggest you to go for IP.Board or VBulletin forum software since they also come with integrated CMS as I mentioned above. They also have integrated Blogs and many other impressive features for members to communicate.

6]. Visit the following URLS to know more:

IP.Board:
https://www.invisionpower.com

VBulletin:
vBulletin 5 Connect, The World's Leading Community Software

Final Recommendation
Go for IP.Board or VBulletin software. They will help you simultaneously setup a company forum as well as blog. They will support : Forum, news, blogs, articles, discussion, guides, and many more

The exact process will vary slightly from designer to designer, but the basics are the same.
Direct Distributed Web Development

1.Information Gathering
2.Planning
3.Design
4.Development
5.Testing and Delivery
6.Maintenance