Pre-Sales Questions

[Mgirl]

Hello,

I have read the FAQ section in the Pre-Sales section, but still have some questions.

1. Is there space to insert my own logo into header? (i assume 'yes')

2. If i use default template and choose to upgrade skin later, will it affect my member details and site content?

3. Is there space for advertising, or will i need to programme it in myself?

4. Some purchased skins offer advertising space. Will this affect the forum in any way? What happens if you have no ads? Does the allocated ad space collapse and become invisible to users?

5. Can i add a paid-membership area to my forum? If so, how much does it cost? Does this feature come as a paid-for add-on from vBulletin?

6. Can i accept PayPal payments if i introduce a paid membership area?

7. Can i add an ecommerce / shop site to my forum? If so, can i set it to accept PayPal?

8. I know this is an ignorant question, but what is a MySQL database? How many MySQL databases does a typical forum have? FYI, i am thinking of having around 30 forums (among 6-7 categories).

9. Which hosting package would best suit my needs when starting a forum (remember, i have no members yet). Sorry, it's a little messy - couldn't format:

Starter Silver Gold Platinum

Disk Space: 500Mb 600Mb 700Mb 800Mb
Traffic Allowance: 2Gb 4Gb 6Gb 8Gb
Email Accounts: 10 Unlimit Unlimit Unlimit
PHP, Perl, Python, CGI, SSI: yes yes yes yes
MySQL Databases: 1 3 5 6
SITEBUILDER: no no yes yes
Dedicated SSL Available: free free free free
Monthly Fee (Excl. GST): $6.95 $9.95 $15.95 $19.95

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Mgirl

[Chazel]

1) Yes. You can replace the current logo with one of your own.

2) No, it will not. Make sure your style is always matched with your version number to avoid visual defects.

3) There are advertising hooks pre-installed in the vBulletin template system. There's also a more customizable hack available at vBulletin.org.

4) You would need to ask the merchant of each skin.

5) Their is a subscription feature already available in vBulletin. It is easy to setup, and you can limit off features/forums for groups who are paying for a subscription.

6) Yes.

7) Yes, but this is not default on vBulletin. There are multiple modifications on vBulletin.org that can accomplish this task.

8) I'm sorry, I don't know the answer to this question.

9) Any of those plans could support a vBulletin forum, although I recommend you look for better deals.

[beishe8]

8....How many MySQL databases does a typical forum have? FYI, i am thinking of having around 30 forums (among 6-7 categories).

You do need only one database for your 30 forums.
I hope that you meant forums at:
http://myforum.com

and not

http://myforum1.com
http://myforum2.com
http://myforum3.com

[Mgirl]

Yes, i meant only one forum address (domain name), with about 30 forums.

Thanks!

And thanks Chaselafon.

[Chazel]

You do realize that you'd be paying for thirty licenses, right?

[Dilly]

No they wouldn't.

They mean a forum as in forumdisplay.php?f=12

[Mgirl]

You do realize that you'd be paying for thirty licenses, right?

No, i meant one forum (as in, the one licence), but i would create 30 child forums on the one forum site.

Thanks for your comments anyway, you could have saved me a lot of money if i was intending on doing what you thought

[Mgirl]

Oh hang on, now i'm confused.

The web address of this community forum is:http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/index.php.

So, this is a single forum website.

On this forum website, there are 11 categories and 37 child forums.

I am assuming i would only have to pay for one licence to administer this forum website, with it's 37 child forums and 11 categories?

I wouldn't have to pay $165.00 for each of the 37 (child) forums would i?

[TomJames]

No, you just pay for the one forum (site), the 'child forums' are simply part of the site.

It would be very expensive if you had to pay for every child forum :P

[Mgirl]

Thanks Tom, i thought so .

One of the posts got me thinking over-time.

[pod]

Regarding 8), MySQL is a database program freely available on the internet, most host providers already have it. Programs and scripts you run can interact with MySQL to save and read the data written in the database.

vb wil store all its data in a single database that will consist of about 170 tables (in vb3.7). You can technically use the same database for more scripts, for instance if your host only allows you to have one database, but I'd not recommend it for management (it's easier to back up restore vb if you don't have to select the 170 tables manually) and performance reasons.