SBI! host a forum?

Lellieis1 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-18-2008, 09:26 PM

As in my signature is says I'm hopefully going to purchase SBI very soon.. I have tons and tons and tons of pages Ive already made with Dreamweaver trial version and Kompozer, they are all ready to be uploaded, once the website gets a nice flow of traffic I want to start a forum and buy a vBulletin license, can I host my vBulletin forum with SBI or do I need to buy a completely new domain and web hosting service?

Thanks.

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 10-19-2008, 12:25 AM

SBI! does not support MYSQL / database functionality (which is what vbulletin needs) so you would have to host it on a completely separate domain. Now they do have a feature called InfinIt! which allows you to modify the domain records of the domain that hosts the forum so it will appear to your visitors that your forum is hosted on your SBI! domain. But that still means you would have to host it somewhere else. But your visitors won't be able to tell (supposedly). I've never used InfinIt! so I'm not 100% sure how it works.

SBI!'s platform is just not setup to handle a lot of traditional hosting features so InfinIt! is their current solution to deal with people who want blogs, forums and other interactive sites. Hopefully they are working to include these capabilities. I'm sure there's a technical reason due to the fact all the SBI! software is custom built from the ground up.

Lellieis1 · #3 (**permalink**) 10-19-2008, 12:29 AM

Thanks so much. So once my website gets some basic traffic ill purchase vBulletin and a cheap hosting plan with Hostgator and use the domain from SBI! if the InfinIT! thing works good.

Thanks Lisa!

annelupton · #4 (**permalink**) 10-19-2008, 10:05 PM

Hi,

I believe SBI! goes through Bluehost for their InfinIt! module. Or at least that's what I read a couple months ago.

Anne

lisa · #5 (**permalink**) 10-19-2008, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by annelupton

Hi,

I believe SBI! goes through Bluehost for their InfinIt! module. Or at least that's what I read a couple months ago.

Anne

Really? Very interesting. I just assumed everything was inhouse.

annelupton · #6 (**permalink**) 10-20-2008, 08:31 PM

I just read over the InfinIt! help pages. SBI! will allow any third-party host, but recommends BlueHost:

"We recommend BlueHost.com as a good, inexpensive hosting solution that provides enough storage and bandwidth for most needs. More importantly, it allows subdomain mapping to applications hosted on its servers..."

I'm planning to eventually add a wiki to my site (who knows when, though).

Anne

Lellieis1 · #7 (**permalink**) 10-20-2008, 08:36 PM

Anne, thank you very much for providing that information. What exactly is a Wiki?

annelupton · #8 (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 04:25 PM

Hi Leslie,

"wiki" is from the Hawaiian word "wiki" which mean quick. How this got associated with what a wiki really is on the Internet I really don't know.

Anyway, it's community/user edited content unlike forums or blogs. Take a look at Wikipedia. ANYBODY can edit those listings. Ideally, it's a self-correcting medium to record information and definitions.

On my site, www.small-house-building.com, I've been debating which form of user-generated content to add. Blogs are kind of ho-hum, forums can take a lot of work by the administrator, but a wiki can offer a user-edited database of terms and information related to building your own house.

SBI! does have a module called C2 (for "content 2.0"). It's their version of user-generated content... very similar to blog entries. But, I'm just not sold on it in its present form. Other SBI-ers rave that their traffic and content has just shot through the roof since implementing it. Maybe I should just give it a try and see what happens.

The first 20 submissions in your C2 module are free, but after that SBI! charges an extra $99 per year. Now, that $99 could very well be a great ROI, but it looks like it takes some art and skill to set up the invitation to visitors to contribute something useful (you, the site owner, can always delete and block a particular user).

Hope that helps

Anne
p.s. small-house-building.com is just one of 3 sites I have at SBI!

annelupton · #9 (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 04:37 PM

Another thought, Leslie,

As for your "tons and tons" of pages... I would highly recommend to stop making any more until your go through the Action Guide. SBI! has very specific instructions on how to build a page that ranks well at the SE's. It's no secret, by any means. But, their approach is not taught in traditional web development classes (I know, I've gone through the tech school route). You're probably going to be either hoping mad or depressed that your current Dreamweaver pages are no good. Well, maybe not totally no good... just in need of much revision.

SBI! gives you 30 days to get a refund. Within that 30 days you can go through the Action Guide and make an initial assessment if SBI! is right for you. Once you "get it" you'll never go back.

So, stop building pages the old way, get SBI!, tune out every other internet marketing hype out there, and FOCUS on that Action Guide... before you even think of booting up Dreamweaver again.

(How's that for a plug for SBI! Lisa

)

Anne

Lellieis1 · #10 (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 04:39 PM

Thank you so much Anne! I just finished my 127th page for my website... NOOO! Haha, Oh well, I can just revise them with what SBI has to tell me when I get it.

Thanks!

lisa · #11 (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by annelupton

(How's that for a plug for SBI! Lisa

)

Anne

Great plug and nice advice too!

annelupton · #12 (**permalink**) 10-21-2008, 06:49 PM

Hey Leslie,

If you'd like just drop me a line through small-house-building when you get rolling with SBI! I'd love to see your site when up and running

... or I'll probably run into you in the forums there...

Good luck!!!

Anne

gomez · #13 (**permalink**) 10-22-2008, 03:44 PM

Hi...
It's a very extensive forum for SBI customers and full of friendly and helpful educated and uneducated people.
--------------------------------------
Gomez
Sreevysh Corp

Lellieis1 · #14 (**permalink**) 10-22-2008, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gomez

Hi...
It's a very extensive forum for SBI customers and full of friendly and helpful educated and uneducated people.
--------------------------------------
Gomez
Sreevysh Corp

What exactly are you meaning by that?

annelupton · #15 (**permalink**) 10-22-2008, 08:44 PM

Yes, I'd like to know too. I'm the first to admit I don't know everything about SBI!, but their overall philosophy of going slowly in making a great website really resonates with me. I've learned far more with them than through my tech school training. If there's something that I've brought up in this thread that you think is incorrect please let me know and I'll look into correcting my misunderstanding about it.

Sure, there are "uneducated" people at the forums... because that's the place to go to learn something, or bounce your ideas off others. It's a great support group on your journey.

If I sound too authoritative in THIS forum I do apologize. I surely wasn't trying to come off as a know-it-all. I certainly DON'T know it all. That's why I love SBI!, because I keep learning with a bunch of folks that have such a positive attitude.

Anne

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