www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hi all..

I am a 'webmaster' on a site which is based on a wordpress template..I have been asked to add a forum based on this template (which is free) to the site so the members have a separate discussion area...does anyone know if this will incur extra hosting costs if I add it to the site?

Thank you..

It should not cost any more, but it depends on what hosting plan you are on.

Normally when you buy we hosting you get a basic package that will include a set amount of disk space, bandwidth and MYSQL databases.

You only need one MYSQL database for a forum and so it should already be included in your hosting account.

Hello chez...thanks again for the info, I have done a little homework on this now, and rung the hosting company why have said that the best thing to do was just place a link on our site to the forum...makes sense (so far )

My next goal is how to grab a template and set it up somehow...does it need 'hosting' to as a separate entity?

Have Brush Will Travel wrote:Hello chez...thanks again for the info, I have done a little homework on this now, and rung the hosting company why have said that the best thing to do was just place a link on our site to the forum...makes sense (so far )

My next goal is how to grab a template and set it up somehow...does it need 'hosting' to as a separate entity?

No that does not make sense at all

Are they suggesting that you buy additional hosting and set the forum up on the additional hosting, then place a link to it?

Is your domain name registered with the same people that do your web hosting?

Hi UHM,

I think he is meaning the access to the forum would be via a link from his current website.


Cheers, John

jmcp wrote:Hi UHM,

I think he is meaning the access to the forum would be via a link from his current website.


Cheers, John

Is..................the right answer!

Our domain name is indeed registered with the same company (easily) who provide the hosting ..just spoke to them this morning who advised that running a board like this will be 29 quid a year..which is fine.

Its only a small members forum (yes that does sound like those who are penile challenged doesnt it! lol) for the exclusive use of members of the association I belong to.

My next 'goal' is actually getting one of these (phpbb) set up..

All good fun! lol

From what I can gather the MYSQL database is required to set one of these sites up...what is it exactly?...something to do with storage?

Cheers fellas..

You need to log into your web hosting account and create a MYSQL database, keep a note of the database name, username and password and copy this information to a notepad document as you will need it for the phpbb install.

You need to create a folder on your webspace, probably forum/

to do this you just make a new folder on your computer and name it forum, then FTP this empty folder into the public_html folder on your website.

You can now download phpbb from their site (only takes a few seconds) extract this folder and then open the read me file, that will provide full instructions of how to install the forum.


Basically you just ftp the files to the forum/ folder and then follow the install instructions. You will need to enter the MYSQL database details that you created earlier.

Once all the files have been ftp'd across you can access the phpbb set up file by typing in the sites url into the address bar with the forum on the end of the url, like this- It's fairly easy to do, but if you get stuck let me know and I'll try and help out

I'm helping our football club develop a new website using Wordpress.

If you're using WP, you already have a database you can use for the forum Chez uses.

Alternativley, there are plug-ins to integrate a forum into the site they already have, and it shouldn't costs any more money.

Look here

I'm currently rewriting the website I look after, updating it from its present 1998 look and adding styling by CSS, and transferring it from the free sub-domain which causes trouble for IE users and non AdBlockers. But I'm sticking with the free forum host as they are reliable.

Can anyone recommend a host, reasonable price as I don't charge, typical traffic about 100 hits a day.

Mooncat wrote:I'm currently rewriting the website I look after, updating it from its present 1998 look and adding styling by CSS, and transferring it from the free sub-domain which causes trouble for IE users and non AdBlockers. But I'm sticking with the free forum host as they are reliable.

Can anyone recommend a host, reasonable price as I don't charge, typical traffic about 100 hits a day.

Do you need a MYSQL database and email?

If you don't I have some spare space on one of my shared hosting accounts, I'll stick your site on there if you like for free. As long as you don't upload any viruses etc

ultimatehandyman wrote:

Mooncat wrote:I'm currently rewriting the website I look after, updating it from its present 1998 look and adding styling by CSS, and transferring it from the free sub-domain which causes trouble for IE users and non AdBlockers. But I'm sticking with the free forum host as they are reliable.

Can anyone recommend a host, reasonable price as I don't charge, typical traffic about 100 hits a day.

Do you need a MYSQL database and email?

If you don't I have some spare space on one of my shared hosting accounts, I'll stick your site on there if you like for free. As long as you don't upload any viruses etc

Thank you. I'll complete the rewrite and let you know how large the folder is. No SQL needed, I let the forum do that for me, same re email.

Apparently..looking at the php site I have to have MYSQL ...I didnt realise it has to be paid for...

Have Brush Will Travel wrote:Apparently..looking at the php site I have to have MYSQL ...I didnt realise it has to be paid for...

Which plan are you on now?

I have just seen a plan on the easily site for £24.99 for the year with a MYSQL database.

Just a bit of advice for the future, never have your domain name and hosting with the same firm as it can make it a real nightmare to move servers etc.

You need to log into your web hosting account and create a MYSQL database

Not a good start...whats that?...do you mean log onto the my own account with the web hosting company (easily) ?

Basically you just ftp the files to the forum/ folder and then follow the install instructions. You will need to enter the MYSQL database details that you created earlier.

Basically? lol...whats ftp?

It's fairly easy to do, but if you get stuck let me know and I'll try and help out

When was you thinking of emigrating again?

Which plan are you on now?

I have just seen a plan on the easily site for £24.99 for the year with a MYSQL database

Thats the one we are on at the moment...the guy quoted 24.99+ I dont think he has taking into account the numerous phone calls he is going to get!

He didnt mention MYSQL when I asked him about it..he just said he was going to send me a link (which he didnt!)

Cheers for the tip about the domain name..I think we will be stuck with these though for a while..

Cheers Chez

Do you have a control panel where you can log in and change settings for the web space?

FTP is file transfer protocol, it is used to transfer files to your web space.

You can get programs for FTP'ing the software to the server or you can use your browser if you know the ftp username and password?

It's normally a 5 minute job to install a basic forum as long as you can log into your webspace and make the required changes.