SBI! host a forum?

[Genji]

Hi Lisa,

I'm close to getting SBI!, but I had a few clarification questions that I'm hoping to get help with.

InfinIt! Tool: In a previous post, you mentioned that you didn't use the InfinIt! tool, but you recommended others to use it to link their main website to their forum.

1. If you don't use the InfinIt! tool to link 2CreateAWebsite to the WebsiteBabble forum, then what method do you use? (Do you use a hypertext link? I'm new to website building, so I'm trying to understand the basic mechanics of how things work.)

2. Do you know of any advantages/disadvantages from using your method for linking 2CreateAWebsite to the WebsiteBabble forum vs. using the InfinIt! tool?

3. Also, if you use the InfinIt! tool, are you charged by SBI! for having another website (for the main website and the forum)? Or, do you only need 1 website account with SBI! I just found out that SBI! is having their 2 for 1 special that ends Oct. 31st, so I'm trying to figure out if I will need a second site (one for my website and another for the forum that is linked to my website via the InfinIt! tool).

Hyphens in domain names: In a different thread regarding using/not using hyphens in domain names, you mentioned that you could use a hyphen in your website and also register the non-hyphenated name to be redirected to the website (to help with word of mouth advertising of the site ... ie, people hearing about the site and then typing the domain name in without a hyphen). If you have a second domain name (non-hyphenated) that you want redirected to your SBI! website, how do you set-up the redirect?

When to get SBI!: I was planning to purchase SBI! after I finished writing the content for the site, but was wondering if I would be better off getting it now and write the content using the tools in SBI!?

Thank you!

[lisa]

First of all I should clarify, I do not use SBI for 2Create or Website Babble. I personally wouldn't use SBI! if my primary goal was to create a forum because I would rather have my forum content hosted on the same domain rather than using a redirect with InfinIt!. My flat-stomach-exercises site is the only site I use for SBI!. I bought it 3 years ago to test it out so I could speak more intelligently about it as an affiliate and it's more or less an experiment site that turned into a nice little profit.

So I can't speak much on about the SBI! add-ons because I only have static content on my SBI! site with no add-ons (no InfinIt!, no Content 2.0, etc.) Hopefully someone who has used InfinIt! can clarify but it's my understanding there is no charge for InfinIt!. How it works is if you created a forum on proboards.net (a free forum hosting service) then you would just use SBI!'s InfiniIt! service to redirect your existing SBI! domain to that forum so it looks like the forum is actually hosted on your domain. There are no extra charges for that.

But you can always email their support if you want to make sure before you buy.

[Genji]

Lisa, thank you for your response. In your response, you advised that you wouldn't use SBI! if my primary goal was to create a forum. For clarification, my goal is to create a static info site (in general, how to invest in stocks), and have some sort of a link on my static site to a forum where I can provide up to date info and responses (I will have specific stock picks, financial opinions, etc.). (Similar in set-up to 2Create and WebsiteBabble.) In such a situation, would you still not recommend getting SBI! for my static info site?

If you do recommend getting SBI! in my situation, would it be beneficial to sign-up for SBI! before I start writing the content for the site?

Thank you.

[lisa]

Oh OK, I thought you were only going to do a forum (which I wouldn't advise starting off with a forum only anyway) Yes, if you are planning a static-info site then yes, SBI! is a good choice. Just understand that with your forum, you will still need another web host because your forum content will NOT sit on your SBI! server. The InfinIt! tool simply redirects to your SBI! domain so the address of your forum looks like it's hosted on your SBI! domain but it's really not.

So just keep in mind if you wanted a forum like this for example, you'd need a completely separate web host to actually host the forum functionality/content but then you could use SBI!'s InfinIt! feature to redirect the actual site address so it will appear to be hosted on your SBI! domain. Make sense?

Yes I would definitely recommend signing up before you start because SBI! comes with a lot of brainstorming advice and help on setting up your content.

[Genji]

Lisa,

Thank you for your guidance and quick replies! I'm going to go ahead and sign-up for SBI! in the next week or so through your SBI! link. I'll keep you posted on progress

Genji