First forum/web site ! :)

[ET07]

Hey,

I need some help with getting some direction on my path to this website/forum I'd like to create.

Do I go to godaddy.com and buy a domain name, than find a website taht provides templates for forums, and than go to godaddy.com to purchase a monthly plan or whatever for them to host me in terms of servers and bandwidth etc.

if not, can someone give me teh first 3-4 steps on how to get this ball rolling?

thanks in advance.

 

[datrue_canadian]

Before making any purchases, I would decide what you want to do, what topic you want to cover, and find out if it is feasable.

Make a business plan. Research what others have done (and if you found a lot of sites from other people using the same topic...it might not be the best choice to enter into that "niche" or area).

The first step should always be planning, dont rush into thing prematurely...it can get expensive. Or it will turn into a tough lesson to swallow. But you came to the right place to look for help! That is for sure!

 

[Panupat]

While domain and hosting are 2 separate services, if you intend to use godaddy for both services, they usually come in bundle. Meaning you don't have to make 2 separate purchase but you can buy them as a "set" all at once. I recommend you starting that way, it's a bit easier to set up.

Next you will want to play around with file upload/downloading. godaddy provides you with a web-base control panel but it's a good idea to get yourself used to ftp'ing. You will receive an email from godaddy after you purchase their plans with all the log in information you're going to need.

good luck!

 

[ET07]

I already konw the topic and it is an area I spend about 5 hours a day on myself but it is others sites rather than my own.

I know 1 site that dominates the field and its basically the only existing one.

 

[datrue_canadian]

Ok well then if you have a plan, the next step would be to get your domain. Then get hosting, then software.

 

[Shutout]

I already konw the topic and it is an area I spend about 5 hours a day on myself but it is others sites rather than my own.

I know 1 site that dominates the field and its basically the only existing one.

Curious, what field is it?

 

[ET07]

While domain and hosting are 2 separate services, if you intend to use godaddy for both services, they usually come in bundle. Meaning you don't have to make 2 separate purchase but you can buy them as a "set" all at once. I recommend you starting that way, it's a bit easier to set up.

Next you will want to play around with file upload/downloading. godaddy provides you with a web-base control panel but it's a good idea to get yourself used to ftp'ing. You will receive an email from godaddy after you purchase their plans with all the log in information you're going to need.

good luck!

what do u mean file uploading/downloading?
What do u mean by getting used to FTPing?

 

[ET07]

Ok well then if you have a plan, the next step would be to get your domain. Then get hosting, then software.

thats my question i guess or mainly what I am trying to figure out.

where/how do I obtain those 3 ? and in terms of software, can you name a few taht I would need?

 

[Shutout]

I would suggest a free forum now since it's your first one and you seem rather young.

You could always do something like invisionfree.com and you'd have free hosting too... it'd be completely free. It's just you don't have access to the database and the forums have z3.invisionfree.com/yourforums so the URL is long and not yours.

 

[datrue_canadian]

thats my question i guess or mainly what I am trying to figure out.

where/how do I obtain those 3 ? and in terms of software, can you name a few taht I would need?

Ok no problem.

You can get your domain from Godaddy.com as you said. You can also "bundle" your domain purchase with a hosting package at the same time (as panupat said) and get the ball rolling there right away. So that takes care of the Domain and Hosting.

Now for forum software, you need to decide whether you want paid software, or free software. Some of the more common free softwares for forums are Phpbb, MyBB, and SMF. Out of those 3, I would personally go with MyBB.

If you are looking for paid, You could go with *cough* vBulletin *cough*, IPB, or Xenforo (main ones). Personally, I would go with IPB as this is becoming the norm as vBulletin slides off to the side, and until Xenforo really takes the stage.

 

[Panupat]

what do u mean file uploading/downloading?
What do u mean by getting used to FTPing?

Imagine your server as a usb thumb drive. It's a storage space you can copy your files into. Copying files onto the server = uploading. Copying files back to your computer = downloading.

However you cannot just open My Computers and click click your way onto your server. You need a software called FTP to do so. Search google and you'll find a lot of free ftp software for you to try.

 

[ET07]

I would suggest a free forum now since it's your first one and you seem rather young.

You could always do something like invisionfree.com and you'd have free hosting too... it'd be completely free. It's just you don't have access to the database and the forums have z3.invisionfree.com/yourforums so the URL is long and not yours.

by free do you mean instead of paying for godaddy.com service you mean?

also, what do you mean by z3.invisionfree.com etc etc...my website wont be

BILLYB.com it would be BILLYB.z2.invision etc?

 

[ET07]

Ok no problem.

You can get your domain from Godaddy.com as you said. You can also "bundle" your domain purchase with a hosting package at the same time (as panupat said) and get the ball rolling there right away. So that takes care of the Domain and Hosting.

Now for forum software, you need to decide whether you want paid software, or free software. Some of the more common free softwares for forums are Phpbb, MyBB, and SMF. Out of those 3, I would personally go with MyBB.

If you are looking for paid, You could go with *cough* vBulletin *cough*, IPB, or Xenforo (main ones). Personally, I would go with IPB as this is becoming the norm as vBulletin slides off to the side, and until Xenforo really takes the stage.

free softwares means templates? I see some sites like this i believe are vBulletin. Where can I get to see these types of templates or softwares so to say?

 

[ET07]

Imagine your server as a usb thumb drive. It's a storage space you can copy your files into. Copying files onto the server = uploading. Copying files back to your computer = downloading.

However you cannot just open My Computers and click click your way onto your server. You need a software called FTP to do so. Search google and you'll find a lot of free ftp software for you to try.

gotcha, thanks !

 

[Shutout]

by free do you mean instead of paying for godaddy.com service you mean?

also, what do you mean by z3.invisionfree.com etc etc...my website wont be

BILLYB.com it would be BILLYB.z2.invision etc?

Well you have a few options:

Option 1:
Buy a domain, so you can have billyb.com
You will need a host too.
Then you can either purchase a forum software (vBulletin, IPB, etc) or you can use a free one (myBB, etc, others listed them.

Option 2:
Or since you don't know too much on how this all works, you could simply go to a site that will host your forums. You don't have to pay anything but your domain would be z3.invisionfree.com/billyb or billyb.freeforums.org ... where you can't get rid of the invisionfree/freeforums from the URL. You are "provided" with the software to use these. You don't actually download and install it, it is already set up for you.

If you are very unsure of wat you are doing I would consider option 2 so you don't lose money. When you get the hang of things you could maybe purchase a domain and forum software of your own.

 

[ET07]

say I go with option 1, how much money am i looking at spending lets say monthly or yearly.

 

[Shutout]

say I go with option 1, how much money am i looking at spending lets say monthly or yearly.

Domain registration is like 5-15 dollars per year or so, and maybe a registration fee on top of that. It varies depending on who you go to for registration.

And then a host varies from like 2 to 10 dollars a month depending on who it is.

Someone else can probably give you more accurate details on this, but this is what I've been seeing lately.

 

[Panupat]

If you want to know the price just click around web hosting websites. For example, godaddy

http://www.godaddy.com/domains/search.aspx?ci=8969
http://www.godaddy.com/Hosting/web-hosting3.aspx?ci=8971

You'll see all the options.

 

[ET07]

thanks guys so far you guys are great! can't believe i never found this site before.

can i find some templates on godaddy.com after I sign up for forum templates or I have to find that from another 3rd party type of website?

 

[ET07]

what are these for:


• 10 GB Space | Unlimited Bandwidth ---- How many users can be actively online with 10 gb of space without lagging issues?

• 100 Email Accounts2 --------- what are these e-mail accts for?
• 10 MySQL Databases (1 GB each) ---- what is this?

Now if I go with the 4.99 plan, can I upgrade to 7.99 or whatever whenever I want or I have to finish that 12 month plan before upgrading.