What is involved in installing, maintaining and upgrading vB5?

[dangerwill]

What kind of knowledge is needed to install and upgrade vB5? How bulletproof is the process? Is there a manual that details the steps involved in installing and upgrading? I would prefer a hosted solution, but I'm willing to consider a self-hosted product like vB. I'm just concerned that installation and upgrading might require technical skills I might not have. I have no knowledge of PHP or mySQL, but I have a working knowledge of HTML, CSS and FTP. I have used cPanel before.

Also, what sort of effort is required to maintain vB5 as an admin?

[DemOnstar]

I have no knowledge of PHP or mySQL, but I have a working knowledge of HTML, CSS and FTP. I have used cPanel before.

Neither do I but I have been using/testing VB 5 since November. It was like anything new, a little frustrating at first. Then it got worse and after that, it became progressively easier. As far as manuals are concerned, I never want to read them, I just throw myself in there. If there is something I really need to know, I come here for the answer.
Invariably does the trick for me.

Also, what sort of effort is required to maintain vB5 as an admin?

That I guess is down to the user and how much time they put in. There are various tools available to help make the process less of a chore.

[BirdOPrey5]

We do offer a professional installation service (for an additional fee) if you don't want to worry about installing.

[Wayne Luke]

What kind of knowledge is needed to install and upgrade vB5? How bulletproof is the process? Is there a manual that details the steps involved in installing and upgrading? I would prefer a hosted solution, but I'm willing to consider a self-hosted product like vB. I'm just concerned that installation and upgrading might require technical skills I might not have. I have no knowledge of PHP or mySQL, but I have a working knowledge of HTML, CSS and FTP. I have used cPanel before.

No PHP or MySQL knowledge is required. You will need to create a MySQL Database in cPanel. You will also need to create a user in cPanel to access that database.

Installing vBulletin requires uploading all the files, filling out some form fields and clicking next a few times. Upgrading is similar.

Also, what sort of effort is required to maintain vB5 as an admin?

This is kind of open ended. What you get out of your site depends on what you put into it. If you want to grow a large site, it will need more work and time than a basic site. No real way to quantify this in the method you want.