<Need Advice> For creating a new forum

[a_medico]

I am from a non-IT field. My IT-field knowledge is limited to basic computer use and using various yahoogroups to take pangas with unknown members. But then life is too short to be pissed off all the time. So I have decided to do something creative this time. In a near future, I wish to create an online community for a specific group of professionals.

I wish to create a phpbb type forum. The purpose will be pure discussion. Not earning.

How do I proceed?

How much is the cost for creating a new forum, webspace etc?

How much webspace is needed to be purchased? From whom should it be purchased, if my location is in India?

What if I, as a moderator forget the password? Or someone hacks the forum. How do we recover and restore the previous data? Is there any additional security?

I am not a rich man as of yet. And whole expenses will be from my own pocket. So I'd prefer cost effective solutions.

Is there any good alernative to phpbb? I want the one with minimal graphics. The one which will load fast. But it shouldn't be too primitive either.

Any kind of suggestion/advice will be appreciated.

Thank You.

 

[nileshgr]

Initially you should start with a minimum plan so that even if your forum sinks, you'll not be in much of a loss.

Buy 2GB hosting for Rs. 700/year from www.ewebguru.com

First of all if anyone hacks your forum, you have the admin access to your forum's db so you can modify it to regain access.

You should always have a backup of the forum db with you. You can do it by using phpMyAdmin which is provided by most of the webhosts.

There are many alternatives to phpbb but phpbb is feature rich and it is recommended. You have a nice support forum for it.

 

[slugger]

if u r startin with a new forum, then IMHO i feel that it would be a nice idea to first test your forum by registering at a free forum hosting site.

depending on your forum's poularity u can always switch to a paid-for hosting service

as of now now just buy a nice sounding domain name and use it on your free forum host

one free forum that allows that is Forummate

its features

ALL FREE FORUMS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING FEATURES

Personalized Address For Your Forum
*yourforum.forummate.com OR
*www.yourforum.com
Unlimited Members & Messages
Unlimited Space & Bandwidth
Customize Your Board With Over 80 Skin/Styles
Upload & Use Your Own Logo
Unlimited Forum Categories & User Groups
Multiple Languages
Powerful Search Feature, Find Posts & Threads Easily
Private Messaging (PM) System With All Forums
Attachments, Profiles & Polls
Fast & Realiable Servers
Free Search Engine Submission & Optimization
No Pop Up Ads
Completely 100% Free !

 

[ravi_9793]

How much is the cost for creating a new forum, webspace etc?

Will depend on you. If you choose free host and domain name, than it is complete free.

Seach google, or even this forum, you will find many free host provider.

There are some free domain name also , like .uni.cc .tk , .co.nr

How much webspace is needed to be purchased? From whom should it be purchased, if my location is in India?

You can even start with 100 MB space. A PhpBb forum installation need only around 10-15 MB.

Paid hosting is always much better than free host, as they are very reliable and offer good features.

Before your buy a webspace, must ask your host.
1) Price, features, and uptime grantee.
2) Money back grantee.
3) server location and configuration.
4) IF possible ask for demo of one week.

What if I, as a moderator forget the password? Or someone hacks the forum. How do we recover and restore the previous data? Is there any additional security?

Admin can change the password of any member throuch administrator control panel. You can download backup, and restore backup from both hosting control panel and phpbb administrator control panel.

Is there any good alernative to phpbb? I want the one with minimal graphics. The one which will load fast. But it shouldn't be too primitive either.

SMF and MYbb

 

[slugger]

There are some free domain name also , like .uni.cc .tk , .co.nr

y go 4 web redirection domains - GOOGLE hates them

if you r running a forum, then you would definitley like your forum 2 b listed on search engine results

so it is always advisble to apply with free domain registrars that offer you DNS service

AFAIK there r only 2 free domain registrars that give u DNS service .UNI.CC and .CO.CC

i am currently using the DNS sevice of .CO.CC for my blog and am completely satisfied with their tech support

But i would still advise you to go for a paid domain name with a .com TLD

 

[victor_rambo]

How do I proceed?

Before buying the domain name, web space(web hosting), download XAMPP server, phpBB3 or SMF or MyBB or Vanilla (Plz google for their official sites)

How much is the cost for creating a new forum, webspace etc?

It varies from one to another hosting provider.

How much webspace is needed to be purchased? From whom should it be purchased, if my location is in India?

To start with about 100 MB diskspace is sufficient. And a monthly bandwidth of about 1 GB is more than sufficient.

What if I, as a moderator forget the password? Or someone hacks the forum. How do we recover and restore the previous data? Is there any additional security?

You will have to do periodic back-ups.

I am not a rich man as of yet. And whole expenses will be from my own pocket. So I'd prefer cost effective solutions.

Doesn't matter

Is there any good alernative to phpbb? I want the one with minimal graphics. The one which will load fast. But it shouldn't be too primitive either.

For Simplistic, I would suggest Vanilla.

 

[nileshgr]

@slugger, what is the gurantee that the free forum hosting services will have a nice uptime and they have no plan to close their service in near future ? This is very questionable on hosting services which don't take money and offer free ad-free hosting.

 

[Saahib]

Let him start a new forum .. phpBB3 is easy and comprehensive..
There is small learning curve and if you do not want to go for big customization then its very simple..

Buy space somewhere.. if its cpanel hosting with fantastico... then voila.. u can install phpBB3 in few clicks via Control panel..
else.. goto phpbb.com and read instruction..

Your forum will take 2-3 days you to set up and understand.. though installing is process of few minutes..

 

[a_medico]

thanks for the responses guys.

any reliable and cost effective web hosters? my location is mumbai if it all it matters.

also , somebody suggested me about DRUPAL. any idea what is it?

 

[nileshgr]

thanks for the responses guys.

any reliable and cost effective web hosters? my location is mumbai if it all it matters.

also , somebody suggested me about DRUPAL. any idea what is it?

Drupal is an effective Content Management System. Its very popular and simple. It can run a forum and a website All in One.

 

[Saahib]

ya.. Drupal is very very flexible.. u can make miracle out of it even without programming skill but learning curve is then really really huge !!

 

[ravi_9793]

also , somebody suggested me about DRUPAL. any idea what is it?

+1 for drupal........
I have used many CMS, but finally settled to drupal.