Joined: May 2013
Posts: 963
Thanks:
45
Hi Guys,
I'm setting up a website for my neighborhood association this weekend and I need to have a forum software. I need something that works pretty much out of the box on bluehost because I don't want to spend more than a few hours setting it up.
One of the features I'd really like is to have different sections viewable to different classes of users. So maybe there's a mod section where only mods can post and read and regular users can't see, or registered users can see certain sections, that anonymous lurkers don't see.
Another feature that would be nice to have is a way to vote on certain things. Multiple choice A,B,C,D or 'in favor'/'opposed' is fine. If it doesn't have this feature, we could probably have it on an external service like surveymonkey or google forms or something but would be nice if it's all in one place.
*edit: A wysiwyg editor is also desirable, but not an absolute requirement.
I've never set up a forum, so if there's any advice on pitfalls or unknown unknowns please let me know. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
Edited: 2015-08-07, 1:55 pm
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 963
Thanks:
45
Thanks guys. Those are both at the top of my list. I was originally thinking phpBB because its wide user base and long history, but it does seem a little dated compared to other platforms so it's at #2 atm. MyBB is my top choice right now because it seems more modern and has a wysiwyg editor and a calendar.
Does anyone know if I can block a class of users from certain sections on either of these platforms? Initial googleing is inconclusive.
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,101
Thanks:
14
Yeah, that's a standard feature of most forum scripts. I think even this forum has a staff-only section.
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,049
Thanks:
4
Are you looking for something free, or is paid ok?
I've been running a popular forum for over a decade now. I started out with phpbb (free), moved to simple machines forum (free), and then finally went to vbulletin (paid).
Among the three, vbulletin has been far and away the best, by a longshot. With the other two, I had to spend so much time and effort setting things up and configuring them. This was several years ago, but on phpbb I would have to install modifications manually by cutting and pasting code into different places, and then you would have to do it all over again when something got updated (maybe this is easier nowadays). Vbulletin lets you do all the administration and editing through a web-based control panel. If you need to install a modification, you simply upload the files and load it up, its a piece of cake. I've also found the variety of quality mods for vbulletin to be better than what I was able to find for the other platforms, especially tools for handling spam (but again, my experience with the others is several years old now).
Another option you might want to try is Wordpress. As far as ease of use, it doesn't get any simpler. Wordpress was originally a blogging platform, but has really turned into a base for almost any type of website now. There are a number of plugins you can get to turn it into a forum. I have no experience with those forum plugins though.
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,085
Thanks:
15
I don't know much about forums, but Wordpress is extremely reliable and easy to use, and the free plugins on wordpress.org are reviewed by users (on a neutral site, so the reviews are not filtered or deceptive in any way). The good ones also tend to have a lot of info on features, how to set up, etc.
So you can't go wrong with a good WP forum plugin. Just check the reviews, pick one with close to five stars. Check the features, make sure it has what you need.
Edited: 2015-08-07, 7:36 pm
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 963
Thanks:
45
I guess I'm not keeping up with technology. I was worried that that a wordpress plugin might not have as strong user base as a dedicated forum package would. But BBpress (a wordpress forum plugin) has 200,000+ active installs. BBpress itself has plugins that have over 100,000+ active installs. That's enough user base for me and might be nice having the whole site under wordpress. Here's the new ranking:
1. BBpress
2. myBB
3. phpBB
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4,083
Thanks:
32
What about mobile support? Which ones work best on smaller screens and touch devices?
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 428
Thanks:
5
Discourse is amazing for mobile, but it only works "out-of-the-box" if your hosting supports Docker.
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 394
Thanks:
1
Can you updating this on what you choose and why, for the full run of things?
All the Japanese people I know do everything with hosters in Japan because of support in their language, but it would be good to hear from someone in process what decisions they made, and whether they regret them.
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 963
Thanks:
45
I ended up going with myBB simply because I wanted this to be a weekend project and the clock was ticking.
The main reason I chose myBB was because it was a one-click install on my server and it had all of the features I desired. discourse and vanillaforums seemed to be really great, modern software but were either lacking features I needed or required more time than I had to set up. At the end of the day, this was a really small project that I'm guessing only 30 or 40 people will ever use, so I went with simplicity over making it perfect. My initial impression of myBB is positive. I haven't had too much time to configure it, but here is my first impression:
Pros:
1-click install on bluehost
the default theme is responsive and works decent on my iphone
large user base, so there are many custom themes and plugins available
I was able to get facebook sign-in working within 15 minutes
Cons:
themes and plugins aren't as one-click as I hoped - you have to copy files into multiple folders and then activate the plugin.
changing the look of themes isn't quite as user friendly as wordpress - you need to change css, and php code.
