Limited PvP -> PvE Free Character Transfers
The Cataclysm Classic Pre-Expansion Patch Arrives April 30
Why is it so hard to find a Mythic raiding guild that isn't full of toxic people?
Did Blizzard just hotfix an ilvl requirement onto Awakened LFR?
What's the state of PvP like today?
MMO-Champion
I am starting a web comic with my wife that will have a blog (similar to Penny Arcade's format) and forum (much like MMO-Champion's). I have been researching the tools to achieve this (web hosting, web site creation, blog platform, forum platform, etc.) but am a bit overwhelmed with the multitude of options. Does anyone know if Curse uses their own custom hosting and platform for MMO-Champion or do they use a service like Squarespace, Word Press, PhP/SMF, etc.? My wife and I have a basic (very basic) knowledge of HTML and no experience with CSS but we know how to arrange the appearance and function of a web site. Since we are just starting, we do not want to pay a significant amount of money for this at first but are intent on expanding as we go if the site's popularity increases (or happens at all).
I would love some advice on options for the following features for our site:
Web Hosting and Domain Service
Blog Support - with "comment" functions, spam guards (both of these applicable to forum functions as well)
Forum Builder - either built in or 3rd party
--> For this feature, I would like to have:
1. Registered usersArchive Functions - for blogs and forums
- With ranking system, avatar support, post an thread post count, signature options, login and password password support
2. Voting functions for posts
3. Moderator support - as diverse as possible (permissions, restrictions, powers, controls, locking, banning, infractions, suspensions, etc.)
- "Report" posts function with notification for moderators
4. User-friendly search functions - one feature I think MMO-Champion needs is the option to search for your individual posts (not forum topic) that have been quoted or directly responded to, and to have this be reported via email or notification within the site
5. Private message capability
6. Diverse category breakdown capability
7. Quoting, attachments, polls, preview, quick reply
8. Subscription and RSS feed support (for blogs as well)
9. Customizable display features
- Current and new topic posts display feature--much like MMO-Champ's "Recent Forum Posts" box
eCommerce-friendly - ad space, merchandising support, Paypal-compatible
This is all I can think of right now with my sleep and coffee-deprived state of mind. Thanks in advance for your time and help!
Recent Blue Posts
Recent Forum Posts
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2011-03-30, 04:07 PM #1Mechagnome
- Join Date
- Nov 2010
- Location
- Da House
- Posts
- 702
Need Website/Forum/Blog Creation Help
Opulence. I has it.
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2011-03-30, 04:13 PM #2Titan
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
- Posts
- 14,326
Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
Trolling should be.
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2011-03-30, 04:38 PM #3Scarab Lord
- Join Date
- Dec 2009
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario
- Posts
- 4,664
Web Hosting is mostly personal choice.
I'm current with HostMonster, they aren't the best, but I love their customer support. My friend swears hand and foot on DreamHost. Both of them will be able to accomplish what you need.
Domain name registration is usually done through your host. You can go with a 3rd part registar but it's a bit less of a hassle through your host.
The 4.0 vBulletin Publishing Suite includes forums (same ones as MMO-Champion) and blog software.
Links!
http://www.hostmonster.com
http://www.dreamhost.com
http://www.vbulletin.com/index.php?d...#blog-features
If you do end up going with vBulletin, I have quite a bit of experience with it, I can help you get it set up.
Edit: you said you wanted to remain relatively cheap. Hosting is going to be a bit, you'll be hard pressed to find a decent free host that will offer everything you will require (php support, MySQL databases, large bandwidth usage).
Domain name registration is extremely cheap.
and vBulletin Publishing Suite is $250.Last edited by Tyrianth; 2011-03-30 at 04:55 PM.
(This signature was removed for violation of the Avatar & Signature Guidelines)
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2011-03-30, 05:50 PM #4Mechagnome
- Join Date
- Nov 2010
- Location
- Da House
- Posts
- 702
Originally Posted by vesseblah
Sweet, much appreciated. I'll look into these and run them by my wife, who has more knowledge than I do and post back. Thanks again! Originally Posted by Tyrianth
Opulence. I has it.
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2011-03-30, 05:54 PM #5Scarab Lord
- Join Date
- Dec 2009
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario
- Posts
- 4,664
Since I'm so nice (and bored at work). I set up a copy of my publishing suite on my site. Originally Posted by llcjay1
http://www.aaronpoulin.com/test/
You can login with the account Test, password is 1234. It has full admin powers so you can check out the ACP.(This signature was removed for violation of the Avatar & Signature Guidelines)
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2011-03-30, 06:45 PM #6Blademaster
- Join Date
- May 2010
- Posts
- 29
One of the best hosting services you can get is through www.ipage.com they're super cheap, have incredible 24/7 LIVE support and give you a free domain for a year when you register with them so you're not stuck with http://mywebcomic.hostingcompany.com/ type of domain, u would have www.mywebcomic.com as an example. They also offer a one of a kind back-end where you can easily one button install phpbb, smf, etc.
mmo-champion as previously mentioned uses vbulletin and what's known as a 'Portal' for the main page of the site giving it the appearance of a actual website not a forum and uses posts from a specific category as news posts (all which is setup in the back-end of the forums).
You said you didn't want to spend a lot of money so vBulletin is not the way to go, take a free SMF install with a SMF Portal package added in because a license for vbulletin will run you about $195 (minimum) which you have to renew, you can have a fully functional website running for $54.00 for the year thats $4.50 a month with the following;
- ipage 12 month hosting account (free domain included)
- SMF forum install with a portal installed
there are 100's of alternative ways to set this up as you mentioned Wordpress is the best blogging cms out there and is used for every type of website, you can install wordpress then easily install the buddypress plugin and turn the blog into a community website with forums, user registration, etc.
If you wish to contact me directly with further questions heres my contact info
Web & Graphic Designer
http://komosky.ca/
http://twitter.com/komosky
pin: 303C75FFLast edited by Komosky; 2011-03-30 at 06:54 PM.
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2011-04-10, 02:29 PM #7Keyboard Turner
- Join Date
- Apr 2011
- Posts
- 2
It was a very nice idea! Just want to say thank you for the information you have shared. Just continue writing this kind of post. I will be your loyal reader. Thanks again.
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2011-07-25, 08:58 AM #8Grunt
- Join Date
- Jul 2011
- Posts
- 14
I agree! Choosing a webhost depends on your individual needs and what works for somebody might not work for somebody else. I'm personally with IX webhosting and I really like their VPS offer. For me that was the best. I would also recommend for you to register your domain through your host, the less hassle you have the better. Originally Posted by Tyrianth
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2011-07-25, 09:40 AM #9The Insane
- Join Date
- Feb 2010
- Posts
- 17,705
Or you can use PHPBB3 for the forum software and use an RSS feed to publish items from a specific sub-forum to a front page, for a blog/website system you can use something like Wordpress. These are completely free, customisable through plugins and/or editing the php files and very easy to install.
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