Thought I'd write a break drown of forum software options available. I'll update this thread as I get a chance to test out various other forum software options.
vBulletin
An oldie but a goody, vBulletin is the choice of many forum owners. A possible reason to it's success is it's consistency, it has had the same feel and usability to it for quite some time and has become an interface many forum users have become use to. It has a pretty easy to use Admin Control Panel, which perhaps isn't intuitive, but I would say more familiar to many, due to vBulletins extensive use. As far as mods and themes go, there's a wide selection available to legitimate vBulletin owners at vbulletin.org, definitely something that should be high up on the consideration list when choosing your forum software.
Invision Power Board
Another choice that's been round for some time. This particular software hasn't remained so consistent, there have been several rather huge interface changes that have happened throughout it's lifetime. However, despite these changes, it has remained very intuitive and very easy to use. A cheaper alternative to vBulletin, it offers many similar features to vBulletin as well as a very similar, if not more extensive, suite of programs that can be integrated or ran independently. There is also a great deal of mods and themes for IPB, however, perhaps not as extensive as vBulletin. IPB is definitely worth a look and has developed into a great piece of software.
XenForo
It has to be said, I'm not as familiar with XenForo, so this isn't gonna be long. Basically, XenForo is becoming a popular choice by new forums. It has been developed by some previous owners/employees of vBulletin so might have a similar feel to it. It's cheaper than vBulletin, so again, might be worth a consideration. I'm not certain whether XenForo can match vBulletin or IPB on the mods or themes front, but it's shaping up to be a pretty good and becoming more an more popular.
phpBB
Right, well... If paying isn't an option, then phpBB is probably something you should look into. It has a great deal of mods and themes, on the account that it's free software, and is a popular choice to those starting a forum. I can't say I am personally a huge fan, but on the basis it's free, you can't really go wrong and should be easy to give it a test drive before hand. However, my main suggestion would be, if you're creating a forum for commercial use, or with an intent of making money from it at some point, I would suggest purchasing one of the above.
MyBB
I have use MyBB before, and it's alright. Similar sort of layout to the control panel as vBulletin, but not something that could compete. Mods and themes (from what I recall) are limited, but some are available, which can be found via the MyBB website. Again, this is free software and it should be easy to install and have a look yourself before the launch of your forum. If you're using the forum commercially or with an intent of monetizing it later, go for one of the first three options.
TinyBB
TinyBB is one of the most simple forum software around, It hasn't got all of the flashy and complex features of other larger, commercial software such as vBulletin. TinyBB is meant for people who want a simple forum software to power their community.
I'll try out some of the other forum software available when I have some time and add them here. Remember, this is just a quick guide to give you an idea of what to go for, but really, you should trial each for yourself before deciding, to see which best suits your needs.
vBulletin
An oldie but a goody, vBulletin is the choice of many forum owners. A possible reason to it's success is it's consistency, it has had the same feel and usability to it for quite some time and has become an interface many forum users have become use to. It has a pretty easy to use Admin Control Panel, which perhaps isn't intuitive, but I would say more familiar to many, due to vBulletins extensive use. As far as mods and themes go, there's a wide selection available to legitimate vBulletin owners at vbulletin.org, definitely something that should be high up on the consideration list when choosing your forum software.
Invision Power Board
Another choice that's been round for some time. This particular software hasn't remained so consistent, there have been several rather huge interface changes that have happened throughout it's lifetime. However, despite these changes, it has remained very intuitive and very easy to use. A cheaper alternative to vBulletin, it offers many similar features to vBulletin as well as a very similar, if not more extensive, suite of programs that can be integrated or ran independently. There is also a great deal of mods and themes for IPB, however, perhaps not as extensive as vBulletin. IPB is definitely worth a look and has developed into a great piece of software.
XenForo
It has to be said, I'm not as familiar with XenForo, so this isn't gonna be long. Basically, XenForo is becoming a popular choice by new forums. It has been developed by some previous owners/employees of vBulletin so might have a similar feel to it. It's cheaper than vBulletin, so again, might be worth a consideration. I'm not certain whether XenForo can match vBulletin or IPB on the mods or themes front, but it's shaping up to be a pretty good and becoming more an more popular.
phpBB
Right, well... If paying isn't an option, then phpBB is probably something you should look into. It has a great deal of mods and themes, on the account that it's free software, and is a popular choice to those starting a forum. I can't say I am personally a huge fan, but on the basis it's free, you can't really go wrong and should be easy to give it a test drive before hand. However, my main suggestion would be, if you're creating a forum for commercial use, or with an intent of making money from it at some point, I would suggest purchasing one of the above.
MyBB
I have use MyBB before, and it's alright. Similar sort of layout to the control panel as vBulletin, but not something that could compete. Mods and themes (from what I recall) are limited, but some are available, which can be found via the MyBB website. Again, this is free software and it should be easy to install and have a look yourself before the launch of your forum. If you're using the forum commercially or with an intent of monetizing it later, go for one of the first three options.
TinyBB
TinyBB is one of the most simple forum software around, It hasn't got all of the flashy and complex features of other larger, commercial software such as vBulletin. TinyBB is meant for people who want a simple forum software to power their community.
I'll try out some of the other forum software available when I have some time and add them here. Remember, this is just a quick guide to give you an idea of what to go for, but really, you should trial each for yourself before deciding, to see which best suits your needs.
