WEB FORUM COST ??? thinking about starting a site .

[rav440]

im thinking about starting a FORUM  . no not a MOPAR forum . what is involved with start up , cost , what software should i use . is it easy to do ? ect ect ect ect .



thanks RANDY 



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[1969chargerrtse]

All I know is I pay like 30.00 a year for my www.carsnotforsale.com site name.  A friend did all the work to get it up and running.

[Troy]

It all depends on what you expect for traffic. To start with, you need a domain name, some forum software, and a web host (the people with all the servers) that provides database and programming support. For people to actually see your site you'll need to register a domain name (like dodgecharger.com). I use GoDaddy.com to purchase all of my domains. I think they are $7.99 per year. There are many free forum applications - including the one that runs this site (SMF, see link at bottom of the page). Make sure you pick one that works with your web host's  environment. Most cheap hosts these days offer PHP (programming language) and MySQL (database) and a large majority of free applications are based on that setup so it makes sense. I recently saw that Powweb offers unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth usage, FTP, PHP, MySQL and a bunch of other stuff for $3.88 per month with a special right now of 6 months free when you pay for 6 months. These things will get you a basic setup and you can be up and running rather quickly. It may take some effort to make things "look" different than the standard setup and the amount of effort involved is dependent on your skills (and/or wallet).

Back to the traffic thing... once you get wildly successful you'll start running into limitations with your infrastructure (servers, applications, etc.). It *will* cost you more to upgrade enough to keep running. By then you'll know if it's worth it and you have some time to plan before that happens.

Troy

[jb666]

If you need help with software/host, let me know. The space is dirt cheap 

[rav440]

thanks for the info TROY  im still trying to figure out a DOMAIN name that i think people will find to do what i want the site to do and be used for .  POWWEB looks easy to navigate .  i went to SMF but i got confused ratether quickly 

If you need help with software/host, let me know. The space is dirt cheap 

thanks JB  i could use help with software/host , being that im like a caveman with this stuff