Have idea - what next???

[julesh]

Hi

I have an idea for a forum that I would like to start.

I know I like the looks of the vB forums.

I am a member of several forums and love posting on them.

But that is where my knowledge ends!

I have a good laptop and ISP.

What do I do next?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Michael Biddle]

Hello,

You should do the following:

Buy domain name and hosting
Buy vbulletin
Install and make your idea a reality

[glennybee]

Hostgator is a good, cheap hosting and they were very friendly and helped me with simple problems when I started my first forum.

[julesh]

Thanks for the replies

Is your host company in Australia?

I would prefer to use a local company cos I think being computer illiterate I will have a thousand questions.

Do I buy the domain name from the forum host?

Is it expensive? I can't see this being a huge money earner for a while yet.

Do you know any good, inexpensive Australian forum hosts?

Thanks for all your help. I am really excited about my idea and I am itching to get started - just my lack of knowledge on the computer side that is holding me back.

[Scoutie44]

Thanks for the replies

Is your host company in Australia?

I would prefer to use a local company cos I think being computer illiterate I will have a thousand questions.

Do I buy the domain name from the forum host?

Is it expensive? I can't see this being a huge money earner for a while yet.

Do you know any good, inexpensive Australian forum hosts?

Thanks for all your help. I am really excited about my idea and I am itching to get started - just my lack of knowledge on the computer side that is holding me back.

1. Yes, most hosts can provide you with a domain name, usually free with a hosting package. If it's not free, there only usually around $15 USD/year.

2. It can be expensive, again, depending on the host. Some are $15 USD/month, others are $40 USD/month. Then there's dedicated hosting, but that's far more expensive.

3. I do not know any Australian hosts (I'm Canadian).

Hope that sets you in the right direction!

[beishe8]

Do I buy the domain name from the forum host?

Don't ever do that.

Do you know any good, inexpensive Australian forum hosts?

Have a look at this forum:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=116

[julesh]

Hi Beishe8

Why should I not buy the domain from the host?

Thanks for the forum link as well.

As I am just starting I think I would not need much from the host so hopefully it won't cost lots.

[beishe8]

Why should I not buy the domain from the host?

You could become a hostage of your host.

Buy the domain name mydomain.com from one company.
Buy the necessary webspace from another company.
Point your nameservers to your webspace,ready to go.


For some reason you don't like your webhost?
Go to another webhost,point your nameservers there and continue building your website.

Does your webhost provide you with a "free" domain name?
For some reason after a while you don't like the host?
You cannot move easily because your domain name is with them,
could be hard to transfer it.

[julesh]

Hi Beishe8

I get your point about being held hostage - something to seriously consider.

Excuse my total computing ignorance but

What is a nameserver?

I assume I buy the webspace from the forum host?

What exactly does a forum host provide?

I appreciate any help as I am madly trying to learn all about this.

Thanks

[beishe8]

I assume I buy the webspace from the forum host?

What exactly does a forum host provide?

No,you do not buy it from a forum host.
Buy it from a(web)host.

They give you space on their huge "harddisk".
As soon you put there (upload)something,the whole internet community can view it.
That something could be a "forum".(such as vBulletin)

[Shadab]

What is a nameserver?

Without going into too much technicalities...

- You buy a domain from a domain registrar (costs $7 - $10 USD per year for a .com)
- You then buy the webspace from a web host (a good shared hosting account may cost ~$10 USD per month)

Ok. Good now you have both : a domain and a hosting space.
Now you need to LINK them both.

You do that by pointing your DOMAIN to your WEBHOST's NameServers (NS).

It's like an addressing system. When somebody types in your domain name, the requests are directed then to your webhost; as dictated by the nameservers. So, if the domain's not correctly pointed to the webhost; those requests will not reach your webhost and your website will not be visible to anybody.

[Jazzyname]

begin your dream

Hi

I have an idea for a forum that I would like to start.

I know I like the looks of the vB forums.

I am a member of several forums and love posting on them.

But that is where my knowledge ends!

I have a good laptop and ISP.

What do I do next?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

If you are the true green, never have done any thing [running, coding, implementing] I would seriously suggest your first stop should be with the oldest [by decades] company.

http://www.networksolutions.com

Once you settle in on virtual space with a domain name, played with all the goodies behind the scene, grad yourself software [VBulletin] and place it on your 'virtual real estate' [= webhost, & domane name] and then you can begin learning the next steps. [= building on your virual estate]

Oh and bookmark this topic so you can stop back in and update how it is going. Or have more questions...

Good luck

[julesh]

Hi

Jazzyname I am bright green! But my DH & DS are a little more computer savy.

So, I will get my domain name and my webhost, and my forum software. Then I should be good to go????

Thanks everyone for your help.

[Michael Biddle]

Pretty much all ya need