Article in Forum Building

Starting a forum can be daunting at times. There are many things you must do in preparation to launching your forums. From choosing a domain name to choosing forum software to getting your name out in the open, these are just some of the tasks required to build a successful forum. I will go over some of the first tasks you will need to accomplish to start a forum.

The first thing you must do is to choose a subject, or a niche. This can be almost anything as long as you have an interest in it. If you aren't interested in your forums subject then why would you be committed to it in the long run? After you have chosen one idea or are still deciding on a few ideas, search the competition to that niche on the big 3: Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. Competition shouldn't stop you from starting a forum, but you also don't want to enter an over saturated market.

Once you have chosen the topic that you want your forum to be about, you need to pick a name for it. Along with a name goes the forum's domain name. Never choose a name in which the domain names for that name are already taken. It doesn't look professional to have a forum called something in which the domain name does not reflect the forum name. I would also advise that you choose either a .com or a .net extension, with the .com being the preference. Reason being that people are most likely to remember a .com. If you choose the domain name genericforums.net or .org, people might remember your forum title but enter genericforums.com the next time they want to visit you, leading them to a blank page or possibly even a competitors page. There are certain sites you must visit to register a domain name. I recommend GoDaddy.com, but there is also Yahoo.com, 1and1.com, namecheap.com, and many more.

You will also need to purchase hosting for your forums. There are many free forum hosts out there, but it is best if you have your own paid hosting for greater flexibility and options. Some good hosts out there for a shared hosting package (the most basic package, suitable for a small to medium sized forum) include asmallorange, Site5, and netfirms. There are many good reliable hosts out there so research and choose what you think will suit your forum best.

The next step after you have purchased your domain name is to choose a forum software. There are two types of software: commercial and open-source. If you have some money to spare then I would recommend to purchase a commercial software. They provide the most flexibility and features to both you as the admin and to your users. The two most popular forum software are vBulletin and Invision Power Board. Both cost about $160. My personal preference is vBulletin. If you cannot afford a paid solution there are many open-source choices. The most popular are phpBB, SMF, and MyBB.

This concludes this article on the basics to starting your own forum.