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How to instal a forum on MY website?

jorbar1551

jorbar1551

New member
Joined
Jan 28, 2007
Location
Los Angeles
Moto(s)
2017 CRF1000L Africa Twin
Name
Jordan
I'm creating a website and i need to download/instal a forum on it. I dont want to link it to some 3rd party website thats going to bombard us with ads and shitty service and such. any idea how?

Jordan
 
What are you currently using for your website?

I build sites using the Joomla! CMS(Content Management System) and have used the fireboard component add-on for the forums. The CMS has a TON of component add-ons for everything from event calendars to online stores. And since its a CMS, adding, editing and deleting your content is very user friendly and requires NO HTML/WYSIWYG editing software.

I have a little sample site that I have the fireboard forum installed on. I haven't worked on polishing it up at all, so if it has quirks then it's simply because it's been installed and that's it. Sample here.

PM me if you are interested in help in going this route.


You can also use phpBB if you're already committed to the site you have and want to add forum funcitonality.

The software for both of these options is free to use. It's really a matter of installing and configuration.
 
I'm using dreamweaver. I've started it, but i havent done much. Its going to be just a simple html site, maybe 3 main pages and some smaller informational pages.
 
what type of host are you on? I'm assuming it's LAMP and supports PHP/MySQL?

I'd recommend SimpleMachines over phpBB, as for me it was much simpler to install, modify and manage...and most of the good features are built in.

In order to install any of these packages, you'll need to login to your web server with a terminal window/ssh and run the install commands from there.
 
Joomla is a CMS. I think what phpBB is awesome and easy to install....
 
The plan is to keep it very simple. make a couple pages on dreamweaver, then FTP it to go daddy or another host. Can i download the files for a forum and upload into my ftp file?
 
I have no web development experience and was able to figure out and establish a family forum using phpBB (goDaddy as my host).
 
jorbar1551 said:
The plan is to keep it very simple. make a couple pages on dreamweaver, then FTP it to go daddy or another host. Can i download the files for a forum and upload into my ftp file?
Click to expand...
Short answer, yes. Review the documentation for whatever forum software you are going to use then follow it. Post here if you get stuck.
 
I thought godaddy offered some sort of forum package that was a one-click set up. Might look into that. It's either phpBB or simple machines, can't remember which.
 
JackTheTripper said:
I thought godaddy offered some sort of forum package that was a one-click set up. Might look into that. It's either phpBB or simple machines, can't remember which.
Click to expand...
It does, but generally not a good choice if you want to be able to work on back end stuff later on. Generally speaking, they automagically set up your MySQL database for you and plunk the application on your webspace at a particular directory, then you're up and running. However, you can't gain direct access to the MySQL database via phpAdmin like you normally do with them if you were to set up the DB and app manually.

Jorbar, if you decide on a forum package and need some direct help let me know. I'm sure we can get you up and running quickly.
 
ah, good to know. Just saw that it was possible, but never actually set it up.

Thanks.
 
With phpBB there are tons of Free forum hosts too.
 
insyder said:
It does, but generally not a good choice if you want to be able to work on back end stuff later on. Generally speaking, they automagically set up your MySQL database for you and plunk the application on your webspace at a particular directory, then you're up and running. However, you can't gain direct access to the MySQL database via phpAdmin like you normally do with them if you were to set up the DB and app manually.

Jorbar, if you decide on a forum package and need some direct help let me know. I'm sure we can get you up and running quickly.
Click to expand...

Don't know that he really wants to tweak the databases manually, though.

Most ISPs these days have site managers, that can auto-install forum (and CMS, Blog, and tons of other software) for you. For instance, the host I'm using right now (apollohosting.com) has the Plesk installer, that can install all this:

http://www.apollohosting.com/sitetools/appVault/index.php

jorbar - just make sure your host has PHP and MySql. Often, they'll have auto-install packages like that.
 
www.dreamhost.com also offers one button installs and offers phpbb as one of the options apart from Joomla and much more ... plus you can actually login to modify the DB.
 
zefflyn said:
Don't know that he really wants to tweak the databases manually, though.

Most ISPs these days have site managers, that can auto-install forum (and CMS, Blog, and tons of other software) for you. For instance, the host I'm using right now (apollohosting.com) has the Plesk installer, that can install all this:

http://www.apollohosting.com/sitetools/appVault/index.php

jorbar - just make sure your host has PHP and MySql. Often, they'll have auto-install packages like that.
Click to expand...
Different strokes, I suppose.

Personally, I don't want to be left out one day having to tell my clients, "Sorry the hosting company didn't back up your CMS/forum/whatever database properly, we'll have to recover from scratch somehow."
 
Yep. But for a hobbyist, that isn't such a catastrophe, as it is a nuisance.
 
zefflyn said:
Don't know that he really wants to tweak the databases manually, though.
jorbar - just make sure your host has PHP and MySql. Often, they'll have auto-install packages like that.
Click to expand...
insyder said:
Different strokes, I suppose.

Personally, I don't want to be left out one day having to tell my clients, "Sorry the hosting company didn't back up your CMS/forum/whatever database properly, we'll have to recover from scratch somehow."
Click to expand...

zefflyn said:
Yep. But for a hobbyist, that isn't such a catastrophe, as it is a nuisance.
Click to expand...

It's not the "want", but the need to manually repair a table directly from MySql. He WILL at somepoint have to do this. And it can be a catasrophe, and is one hell of a nuisance even if you back up regularly. I've been forced to rebuild my database and or sections of it from time to time thanks to MySQL server failures at the host end. And as always... Your data loss, is none of their concern.

Trust me. Having a host do all the grunt work is for people who could care less if everything on their site magically disapears one day. For the rest of us, we learn what we deal with, and back up regularly.

Apollo is way too damn expensive. Dream host isn't bad, however for what they offer you only get a screaming deal if you prepay for 3 years.

Check out Omnis.com $6.95 a month gets you : www.omnis.com (I don't work for these people but I have 2 sites hosted by them, and so far so good, for over 4 years).
Disk Space 300GB
Data Transfer per/month 3000GB
PHP 4 & 5
Perl 5
MySQL
Dynamic HTML
Javascript
Server Side Includes (shtml)
 
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Dopesick said:
... Your data loss, is none of their concern.

Trust me. Having a host do all the grunt work is for people who could care less if everything on their site magically disapears one day. For the rest of us, we learn what we deal with, and back up regularly....
Click to expand...
The funny thing about that is that plenty of hobbyists start out that way. But then the building and developing and polishing begins, then blamo! all of a sudden you actually care about your site and its assets. Then you're stuck having to find a workaround to not having the right tools to admin, when the jobs could have been done right in the first place.

And on a related note, a good backup utility or export script works wonders for when you're tired of your current webhost and want to move the whole lot to someplace cheaper or "better."

My offer still stands, Jorbar. If you need help getting this launched, hit me with a PM. What's this forum gonna be about anyway?
 
Dont' say motorcycles in the bay area. DO NOT SAY MOTORCYCLES IN THE BAY AREA!


:mad
 
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