Bring the Community Online, Cost-Free, with Simple Machines Forum
January 17th, 2008
Gone are the days when having a bulletin board meant having to shell out hundreds of dollars for software. Say hello to Simple Machines, a free PHP forum software that allows you to setup your own online community without burning a hole in your pocket.
Simple Machines Forum (SMF), is powerful and flexible forum software. Combined with the basic features you will normally find in a forum application, SMF introduces advanced configurations to suit your forum needs. Downloaded as a compressed file, a simple extraction to your web server and minimal setup of your MySQL is all it takes to have your forum up and running. The forum’s design is very much customizable. You can change the layout and design of your site by choosing from the pre-installed skins or from hundreds of downloadable themes. Can’t find one to your liking? You can create your own to suit your tastes. Documentation is adequate, answering simple queries from installation to some of the more advanced options. Need more help? SMF maintains a support team that tries to answer questions. When it’s free and powerful forum software you’re looking for, SMF may just be what you need.
SMF requires a web server with PHP 4.1 or higher and MySQL 3.23.