[NachoDaddy]

Hi guys. First time poster, long time lurker.

Anyways, I have a great idea for a website/forum/chat that i'd really like to get up and running. Besides hiring a professional, what good programs or websites are out there that provide sufficient information for a e-noobie like me??

I'm a student right now so besides the crazy workload, thanks to these massive student loans i don't need a steady income right now. With the extra time I have I thought it would be a great idea to give this website a shot and see what happens...

Thanks in advance,

Nacho

[flnazrael]

What specifically are you looking for further information on?

[NachoDaddy]

How to build a website? Personal preference from anyone that has done so in the past? Good message boards? Good books?

[chrispalko]

A website is relatively simple. But assuming your time and money restraints, I would go with a blog setup (wordpress w/ theme) and a phpBB forum. Keep your blog updated to get up there in search engines and build traffic and use your forum for stickiness. ~$25 startup costs with hosting and domain name. The software is free. You can find good hosting on my website, it's on the right.

Good luck.

[flnazrael]

I've installed phpBB3 a couple of times, actually about to install it on my business site for support purposes when we release some open source software. It's a great free solution, has had lots of security issues in the past but phpBB3 is a big step up from 2.

vBulletin is commercial, I can't remember how much, but I don't think it's more than $200. It seems to be considered the best bulletin board software.


A designer comes in in the area of creating a custom layout and porting it to the bulletin board's templating system, as well as performing any modifications to the software for customized functionality.