Hope you don't mind but I thought this might be better placed in the Pre-sales forum.
Liss wrote:I've read through the post 'Do I need a Website?' and it appears I do. I've only used a couple of forums but I like the idea that you can create your own online space where friends can drop in and chat as and when they get time, as opposed to chat rooms where you all have to be online at the same time. Nowadays everyone is so busy, it's easy to lose touch and from my experience, it appears to be a way that people can keep in touch without feeling under pressure to either make a call, or write an email.
Fora are obviously designed for discussion and are not dependent on time, location, disability or many other factors that often limit the creation of social groups. They are, however, generally limited to solely discussion. If you wish to add additional levels of client/social network interactivity, you might want to consider a CMS (Content Management System) such as Joomla! where one is not only able to have total control over the layout and content of the site-out-of-the-box but also the level of additional functionality afforded by the inclusion of plugins such as a forum, subscription-based services, image galleries, interactive games, polls, articles, news and e-commerce functionality to name but a few.
However, it's critical that the site and it's content is secure, and that I have control over it. Is this possible? If so where do I start and what kind of costs are involved?
Whether you opt for a dedicated forum or a CMS, you remain in control by setting the user permissions as you see fit. You may allow everyone to view but only registered users to post and reply. You might want to admit users by invite only. Any which way you desire is available. The server housing is quite literally bomb-proof and there are multiple levels of redundancy, not to mention daily backups.
There are a couple of ways to proceed depending on what you want. You can go the DIY route with a hosting account which gives you access to scripts that will automate setting up a blog or CMS site. Alternatively, you can have BWD manage the account entirely, including setting up blogs, CMSs or a multitude of other options. Either way, maintenance and support are included and we always do our utmost to accommodate our clients.
If you can make the process as simple and straightforward for me as possible I would appreciate it. I have a number of ideas that I want to get working on and the forum I think will play a vital role in being able to progress them.
As mentioned above, we can take full control of your account if you prefer but with encouragement and support, it's not terribly complicated to maintain it yourself but for the non-technically-minded, it might appear complicated initially.
The best way to start is to let us know as much as possible about your needs; a forum is a forum at the end of the day but should you require additional functionality, then we need to look at alternatives.
{quote]nice site btw
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Thanks.
