[Banteki]

i have not purchased server space yet nor the domain name, i am still in the construction steps of my website.

i decided that i would like to host a forum on my site but have no idea what to do.

i found some coding called WWWforum but i cant get it to work i know its not an issue with the code i just dont have the knowledge to set it up correctly.

so what im looking for is a website that will assist me adding a forum to my site. perhaps someone here might know what to do. I really am lost on this one. i would prefer not haveing to link to a 3rd party site for my forum.

[Alex4R]

I would download phpBB. Make sure when you purchase your webspace that it supports MySQL. All you have to do is paste the phpBB2 folder in your public html folder on your server, and run setup. It will ask for a few different things, which your server will show you once you've setup a MySQL database (its an easy step by step process with most hosting companies).

I have had good luck with www.1and1.com hosting.

As your setting it up, I can help you if you need. Let me know:

You can PM me here or AIM: Alex4R, MSN: Alex4R@nerdshack.com, Yahoo!: S10_laynrockers, ICQ: 261791318.

[TheMajor]

I would try this:

Get a free account at www.100webspace.com
Go to your control panel>phpmyadmin
create a new database ie "test"

Download SMF www.simplemachines.org
and upload it to a directory on your server using a free FTP client (www.download.com)

Go to http://yoursite.com/.../index.php to install.

[Chopper]

If your serious about setting up a sucessful message board I would not recomend a free host. There are many good host out there, You should use a host directory to find the host that best suits your needs and remember to try and get one with good uptime and fast support. Try using a free mesage board script as stated above then as your forum develops I would suggest upgrading to something linke vBulletin like Tech forums uses.

[TheMajor]

Make sure to get a fast host. A slow host can get extremely annoying!!!

I would try SMF first before paying for vBulletin.

[Alvin.C]

Hello,

phpBB is great. I've been using it, and it's easy to install, and has many features for the admin. Plus it's open-source, completely free! They are developing a new version, which I can't wait for it's release!!!

vBulletin, or this one, is also good .

[majistic]

So what you are saying is it is a forum just like this one and it is free ?

[Alvin.C]

yep...

http://www.phpbb.com

[downinfront]

PhpBB is what we use and we love it, it was my first time setting up a forum and I must say it took around 10 minutes to have it up and running. I beleive there is a killer walkthrough on the site that will take you step by step through the process. Also there is a plentyfull supply of sweet themes and add ons that are available for free from the same site or affiliates.

[kennybax]

if you dont want the fuss of programming your own forum, and want a free service which is ad-free and efficient then go to www.dracoforums.com, this is based on the YaBB system, but does the work for you!