Choosing Forum Software
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Choosing the best forum software is very critical when starting a new forum. While it may not be the key to your success, it can certainly help you along the way. A forum can be a very hard endeavor, but it can pay off in time, with a loyal user database. But how do you choose the best software for you personally? Well, that’s when you must examine what you want and what your goals are.

Within this article, I will include a brief description and recommendations for the three leading forum software companies. From there, it’s up to you to choose. Two of these are paid licenses, and one is free (open source). Keep in mind, you are not limited to only these three options. There are many other forum software systems out there that can fit your needs, Just try to find the best one for you.

A Few things to consider…

What is your price range? How much are you willing to spend? What features are an absolute necessity? Do you need forum modifications? Skins? Those are just a few of the several questions you’ll need to consider. With time you’ll conclude answers, but it’s always best to plan ahead.


vBulletin
This is a very popular forum software. You have two options as far as vBulletin goes. You can either buy an owned license, or lease one. Leased is only $80, but it’s only good for one year; after that you’ll need to renew. Owned is a license for life, but you will need to pay for updates, which are often not a necessity.

I strongly recommend getting an owned license. vBulletin has so many features, a huge user support system and a large amount of modifications through vbulletin.org. As far as I can tell, vBulletin has every desired features that other boards offer. The only major downfall, is they all come at a price.

The official site for vBulletin is: http://www.vbulletin.com/

Invision Power Board
An alternative paid forum software is Invision Power Board (commonly called IPB). Invision Board started out as free software, but began to license it’s product. The upsides of Invision Board are:

• It’s Cheaper than vBulletin
• There are tons of free skins and modifications for it
• It’s skinning options are very user friendly, so even the newest webmasters can figure it out.

The official site for Invision Power Board is: http://www.invisionpower.com/

phpBB
The final forum software I will talk about her, is phpBB. This stands for PHP Bulletin Board. phpBB is an overall great open source software, however, it is known for numerous security flaws, some which you should definately consider before making it your final decision. It has the same basic features as both Invision Board and vBulletin, and plus, it’s free!

The official site for phpBB is: http://www.phpbb.com/

Now. Realizing that there are many mre alternatives for forum software (perhaps hundreds?) I recommend you shop around. Compare the prices for what you’re getting. See what you think would be the best to get your community going. This article is meant to simply point you in the right direction, not make your decision for you. I wish you good luck in all your endeavors.