Putting a forum in Sitedelux

[jaclynh]

I am completely new to sitedelux and I know nothing about HTML. How can I put a discussion board on my website through sitedelux?

Thank you!

[leenkz]

Reading the first sentence of your post, you might want to get someone to help you with this matter. There is a bit more to running a forum on your site.

Forums are usually written in a server side scripting language like PHP, perl, etc. You will also require a database to store the info.

A simplified version of all you will need to do (if you decide to do it yourself) is as follows:

1- Find one of the readily available online Forum software packages like phpBB, smf, vBulleting just to name a few. (some are free, some you pay)

2- Download the software.

3- Unpack the software (most are delivered in zip, tar, gz or some other compression format) You will need a program like WinZip or WinRAR to do this.

4- Contact your host for the database information you will need. You will need four pieces of information: Database Name, Database User, Password, and host. (Be sure to save this info as you will need it later).

5- Look thru the installation files for the forum software, find the documentation file. (usually called readme.txt or install.txt or similar) read it, this will give you an overview of all you will need to do.

6- Use a File Transfer Protocol (ftp) program to upload the files to your host.

7- Follow the instructions in the documentation on how to install the software.

8- Link to it from your site.

9- After that you will most likely want to learn about the templating methods used by the forum software you picked, so you can make the forum match the look and feel of your site.

It can all be pretty overwhelming for a newbie, but very doable if you are willing to learn new things, if you want to give it a go, and need some help, just let me know right here or in a PM and I can help you out.

[jaclynh]

Thanks so much. I'm going to get started right away, and I'll let you know if I get it.

[IanS]

I would add to the list - as you're using sitedeluxe make sure you install your forum in a sub-directory of htdocs (eg htdocs/forum) and put a link to it via sitedeluxe.

[jaclynh]

I have read everything, and spent a ridiculous amount of tme trying to put it up, but i have gotten nowhere so far. i will keep trying and will let you know if anything comes of it. Thanks for all the help.

[jaclynh]

FINALLY I got ahold of customer support and I got it working. Thanks!