Some Questions.

[Viks]

Hi guys,

I would like to setup an online forum using vbulletin and I have a few questions. I have some programming backgground - HTML/VBcript etc....but not much and even if I did, i do not have much time to design the site myself.

I would like to know what wud it take to setup a Vbulletin based website. Im hoping to get around 50-100 active users in the first year. But i need to know what :-
1. kinda hosting i would require
2. If someone can design this for me.. and if you could point me to some right folks for that.
3. how much startup invetment wud it need.
4. once up and running.. it is easier to maintain ..because I would eventually like to maintain the site myself.


I would appreciate your response,

cheers,

Viks

[Floris]

Hello Viks,

Thank you for your interest in the vBulletin forum software.

Some knowledge of HTML doesn't hurt, because it helps you change the design of the web site. However, vBulletin is build to not have this knowledge required.

1. Hosting requirements
With about 100 on-line users a shared hosting solution would do just fine. All you need is a web server that understands PHP and 1 MySQL database for the vBulletin installation. Prefer. the latest stable versions. Most average shared hosting solution has this and that could mean between 15 to 45 dollar per month (hosting costs).
I do advice to keep an eye on allowed traffic and web space. I think 10 gb per month traffic and 150 mb web space for about $15 or $20 is a nice hosting package to start with.

2. Additional styles/skins.
We offer some alternative free downloads for our customers, but unique or more complex designs that aren't free can be found on various sites. Since they are not official, I can only suggest to browse our forum or google to find some URLs.

3. Costs of vBulletin.
At the moment we offer two license types, leased and owned.
The leased license is the same as the owned license, but limited to a period of 12 months. It allows you to run one instance of vBulletin for a period of 12 months on your web site, after which you have to remove it, or renew the license for another 12 months. The leased license costs $85.
The owned license allows you to run one instance of vBulletin for an unlmited period of time. The costs are $160. You get 12 months download access, if you want to download vBulletin after those 12 months (note: you can still run it) you can optionally renew this download access for another 12 months for $30.

4. Board management
After installation you can setup a few categories and forums and set the permissions for the different usergroups. Then go through the global options and you are ready. You can appoint a super moderator to keep an eye on things, like ban spammers or tell users how to behave or help them with their questions. And you can jump back in at any time ofcourse.

I hope I was able to give you some answers, otherwise feel free to ask again.



Looking forward to your purchase,

[Viks]

thank you Floris.

Now I an idea of what is involved and what I need for start-up.

My next question will be -
I've finalized my web host and leased a year of space. How do I install the V'Bulletin s/w on the site.. is there support available for that? Do I need to contact my host for this or Can I install it myself? Also integratiing it with PHP and mySQL on the server etc.. will that require tech assistance?

thanks for being patient with my queries.

Viks

[Floris]

You can install it yourself.

You can purchase vBulletin from www.vbulletin.com/order/
and when the purchase is completed you will receive an email with the customer details.

With those details you can login to your personal members area here www.vbulletin.com/members/ from where you can setup your license and download the .zip

You can goto the online manual for installation instructions here www.vbulletin.com/docs/html

Summery of installation:
* download .zip and unpack it.
* change config.php.new to config.php and edit the file (add your mysql database details and contact email)
* upload the files to web server through ftp
* run install.php through browser - matter of clicking on [next]..

And you have a working forum. After which you can setup your forums, usergroup permission and global settings.

If you feel uncertain about installing vBulletin, we offer this as professional service for $135.

[Viks]

awesome.

thanks a lot.

[Floris]

You're welcome.

Thank you for your interest in the vBulletin forum software and we are looking forward to your purchase.

[Viks]

I've contacted a hosting co. and they've priced out a plan for me in which they are throwing in phpBB for the same price.

Now, im aware that phpBB is a open source s/w but since you've worked with vB and might know abt phpBB as well i wanted to get your opinion on which is better and why?

Viks

[vbcore]

vB is much more advanced and easier to use. Has more features and is a great product. I HIGHLY Recommend it!

[Zachery]

phpBB is free, they are not throwing in anything really (just a selling line i suppose)

The stock features between the two are so differnt.

strip down every feature of vBulletin so you get yourself to display posts, edit them, post them and make new threads, and you have phpBB. A near featureless in comparison bulletin board system that is free and with no professional support.

[vbcore]

phpBB is free, they are not throwing in anything really (just a selling line i suppose)

The stock features between the two are so differnt.

strip down every feature of vBulletin so you get yourself to display posts, edit them, post them and make new threads, and you have phpBB. A near featureless in comparison bulletin board system that is free and with no professional support.

Bingo

do as Zach said, if you are really thinking about whether or not to buy vBulletin, write down the features of both and you will see that vB dominates phpbb.

I like others are very satisfied customers

[Viks]

cool!!
thanks xplode & zachery.

decided to go along with vB.

[Floris]

Don't forget to goto the members area and enter your email in the priority support page.

[Viks]

YAY
I my forum is now installed.

thanks the vB team for helping me get to this point.

[Floris]

YAY
I my forum is now installed.

thanks the vB team for helping me get to this point.

Cool, that is good news. Yeah - installing forum is also a skill we have!

[Viks]

btw, i cannot access (reply and download) stuff in the download forum.

can someone tell me if im doing something wrong!

i get following msgs
=====-=-=-=-=-=-=
Viks, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.