With the first two posts of our “In the Beginning” series made, covering the topics of choosing your niche and selecting a domain name, I feel it is time to dive in to the world of forum software today. With so many choices, how do you know which one to choose? Which software is stable and which isn’t? Why are some free and some aren’t? How easy are they to learn? I know there are many questions and I hope to help settle some of them with this post. I will be looking at some of the leaders in the forum software world: phpBB, vBulletin, Invision Power Board, and SMF.
phpBB
This forum software is the most widely known and used forum software on the market (by a large margin). It is likely the best free application you can use. Since it has been around the middle of 2000, you will have the advantage of a wide base of hacks, mods, skins, etc to choose from. For a free solution, you have plenty of options at your fingertips. On the positive side, the admin panel is easy to use, hacks are relatively simple for even a newbie to install, there is a decent amount of flexibility for customization, and the support forums are active so you can typically find plenty of help with any issues. The downside of this software lies mostly in its stability or lack thereof. I know of more phpBB boards that have been totally ruined than I can count on both hands. This is something the developers are working to prevent, but it still remains a major concern in my eyes.
vBulletin
This is my personal favorite, what I believe to be the best of the paid forum software solutions. For $85 a year, the price of a leased license, or $160 for a lifetime license, I feel this is the best of what is readily available. Regarding hacks, flexibility, technology, styles, and a knowledgeable user base there is none better im my opinion. The positive side is full as vBulletin gives you outstandint and lightening fast support, an extremely secure backend, tremendous flexibility, and all the hacks you can think up. Since vBulletin is a true leader in forum software, there are many great sites providing valuable resources for your vBulletin forum. I can’t say enough good stuff about vBulletin software and I back it up with the fact that I own 7 licenses. Regarding leasing versus the outright purchase of the license, I always say just buy the thing. Yoou are in it for the long haul with your forum, no need to pay more to lease the license.
Invision Power Board
This is is similarly priced paid solution, very comparable in pricing to vBulletin. The yearly license will cost you $185 and the yearly (rented) license will run $70 a year. I have the least amount of experience with this particular software. It was once a free software like phpBB until late 2004 when they moved towards their Premium Software label and began charging their users. This is a solid and stable forum software. While it is behind in sales compared to vBulletin, there are many that say it is a top notch software.
SMF – Simple Machines Forums
The last of our forum software overviews happens to be another free forum software package from the folks at SimpleMachines.org. This is a much newer forum software that first came on the scene in Beta format in December of 2003. It really didn’t begin to gain in popularity until early 2005. It has now become one of the players in the free forum software realm. Installation is simple, finctionality is decent (always improving), support is okay as well. Nothing is particularly fantastic about this software, but it is still in its youth. At this point, if you had to choose between free softwares, this would rank as my 2nd choice behind phpBB. It has less to offer along the lines of skins, mods, hacks, etc.
When making a choice between forum software, think about your financial resources and your goal. If you plan to have the forum grow, profit, and be something you are still working on 1-2 years out, then I would say invest in a lifetime vBulletin license. If you are unsure of your goals or your desire to make your new forum concept work, then try a free provider like phpBB as you can always upgrade to a paid solution down the road.
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