help needed with setting up forums and search function...

[peanutbutter]

howdy guys, i need some help in this area, how do i go about setting up forums, do i need to pay for seperate hosting or do i contact my current hosting company???, and one more thing how do i implement the search function (i use dreamweaver) i mean i know how to, data source and all that but there must be an easier way that i dont know of.....Thanks

my site

 

[StephanieCordray]

there are lots of free php forums that can be installed on your site... depending on what services you have with your hosting company. php requires mySQL databases for most of its applications. The better ones have decent instructions on installation and set up. A paid license forum is vbulletin... the one that runs this board. A couple of the free ones I see being used are phpbb2 and smb. There are others as well.

 

[peanutbutter]

I have yahoo hosting, and i came across http://www.forumer.com/ are they any good, the examples forums seem nice especially the 2nd one from phpbb and 3rd from IPB, any ideas for the search function..

 

[ian]

If you have your own web hosting, better to install phpbb on your own web hosting account. That way you dont have to worry about if the third party site closes down and losing all your hard work.

 

[suz]

That is true. But I do have a friend who is unhappy with me for getting her to install her own forum rather then getting it hosted because of all the upgrading required. So it does depend on how comfortable you feel with installing and upgrading scripts.

 

[peanutbutter]

well..so im gonna go with phpbb for now...so im done here it is http://anabolicguide.com/MessageBoard/view
I can edit the background colors and stuff right?

 

[StephanieCordray]

Yes you can edit the colors (css file and in the admin section) and the pictures. You can make your own template for it, even. It's a lot of work, not hard work, and time consuming.

 

[unity(x)death]

this is the forum setup i used on a previous website and it worked very well so best of luck to you and if you need help you can always email me at [email protected] and i would gladly help you

 

[peanutbutter]

this is the forum setup i used on a previous website and it worked very well so best of luck to you and if you need help you can always email me at [email protected] and i would gladly help you

Thank's, im checking phpbb.com for templates that will match my website, found a few... so i dont have to edit it my self