Most online users wish to start a forum of their own, but due to lack of detailed procedures they are simply stuck with the idea itself. Below are steps that would help you start with an online forum  with your own domain.First you need to contact your web hosting service provider asking to provide one of the forum softwares such as phpBB, vBulletin etc. Most of the reputed web hosts would offer an installing service called “Fantastico” using which, you can build your forum with comfort.You do not have to be a skilled webmaster to set up a forum on your domain.

Below are the Tips to set-up a forum:

Tip No. 1: First of all you are required to Register a domain name. A domain name would be the one that be an identity of your online website.
Tip No. 2: Now you need to sign-up with a web hosting provider for a package that would include phpBB, vBulletin or a similar forum software. A web hosting service provider is the one that would provide you an online web server space and the necessary softwares. This would allow you to get your forum online. A shared web hosting package can be an ideal option to start with.A web hosting service provider is the one that would provide you an online web server space and the necessary softwares. This would allow you to get your forum online.
Tip No. 3: Once your account is set up on a server,install your preferred forum software onto your domain. You can install the forum software automatically using Fantastico. PhpBB and vBulletin are one of the most preferred forum softwares available in Fantastico. To install, you need to first log into your web hosting account. Then select the  Fantastico in cpanel. Click on the preferred forum software, phpBB is great for a new forum and has some great features, vBulletin is easier to use and maintain. Choose the domain name you would like to install the board to. You can leave the “Install in directory” box empty in case you wish to have your forum as the starting page for your website (http://www.abc123.com). You can specify a directory, e.g forum, in case you want to have your forum installed at http://www.abc123.com forum.
Tip No. 4: Now you will need to choose the username and the password for the forum administrator.
Tip No. 5: Fill in the Site Name and the Short Description field that appears in the header of each page of your forum. Continue by clicking Finish installation. You will be lead to a page with the administrative panel of the board.
Tip No. 6: Here you will have to describe the categories/sub-categories of the forum.

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Shared and VPS hosting have some things in common. It is important to understand the difference between the two to choos an appropriate solution that most suits your website requirements.

First of all let us take an overview of Shared Hosting and VPS Hosting.

Shared Web Hosting : Shared Web Hosting is the most basic type of web hosting solution. Shared hosting packages are cheap and affordable in terms of pricing. This type of hosting is more preferred by small websites that require less resources. In this, a physical server is shared by multiple users and websites. This being affordable, is more preferred by users as the cost of the server and its resources are shared by multiple users. Shared web hosting can sometimes not suit all types of websites, as different websites require different amounts of resources such as bandwidth and disk space. There may be websites that receive high traffic, hence consume bandwidth that is greater than what is offered with a shared hosting package. In such cases one needs to opt for a higher plan such as VPS Hosting or a Dedicated Server Hosting plan.

To start with, you may choose a Shared Web Hosting package and later upgrade to a VPS or Dedicated hosting plan as per the requirements of your website/s. Many webhosting providers offer flexible upgrade options and you can switch from one plan to another with less waste of efforts, keeping the website up and running over the web without any downtime.

The only drawback of shared hosting is that you do not get much privileges with it.

VPS Hosting or Virtual Private Server Hosting: A VPS is the next option to Shared Hosting in terms of resources and privileges. Basically, VPS shares a similar concept with Shared Hosting, but there is are few major differences between the two i.e. resources and privileges. Similar to a shared plan, multiple VPS accounts are created on a physical server using a virtualization technology. With a VPS you get better resources such as bandwidth and diskspace and you have better control over the server. You get complete admin access to the server, which means you can create, modify, delete ,install or uninstall applications of your choice, which is not possible on a shared server. VPS hosting plans too are affordable. With it you get to experience a dedicated like environment. The only difference is the resources and price. Each client using a virtual server is given a fixed share of a server.

A VPS is more preferred than shared hosting or Dedicated server hosting plan. The reason because, shared hosting packages offer less resources, security and privileges whereas a dedicated server is more expensive and the resources available with it are sometimes much more than what is required. On a VPS there not much restrictions set which isn’t the case with a shared hosting server plus you have almost similar privileges as that of a dedicated server. As said earlier with a shared hosting plan you do not have much privileges whereas with a VPS hosting plan, you get complete root or administrator access of the server. You have the privilege to configure your own applications and softwares.

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