Community Software

[ep2012]

So I want to start a private paid community for my industry & I want to make it very very user friendly so people can see what is written, it's easy to respond, you can read the entire thread (like here), etc. But also their profiles can also be kept private. So, everything is accessible, yet they have a lot of controls so they are kept private if they don't want anyone contacting them or they don't want to participate.

Yes I could go with VB. I love VB, but it's out of my budget right now & I already have 2 VB forums that no one mans & they are a MESS with spam & not a lot of people know how to man VB, plus it takes a lot of work to set it up so it looks great & easy to use. Even the design takes a lot to tweak it just so.

And no I don't want the PHP free version, it doesn't have all the features VB has & it looks very unprofessional IMO.

So I know WP has some membership type plugins, but those are usually for people to read articles, watch videos & stuff, not to also communicate with other members (unless I'm wrong) right?

Is there anything out there like what I described?

I also need to make it so it's secure & people can't just waltz in unless they paid or were invited.

Thanks


Michelle

[jheuyard]

I would suggest reviewing BuddyPress - buddypress.org

BuddyPress is a free, open-source wordpress community theme. Similar to wordpress, BuddyPress is easily extended with numerous plugins freely available.

[ep2012]

Ok, I will look into it. Does one of the plugins include being able to charge?

Thank you


Michelle

[jheuyard]

There sure are. Though not free, I would recommend this one - premium.wpmudev.org/project/membership

[ron angel]

as you say you have two vb forums that nobody mans full of spam why not just delete one of them and use for new project.

[ep2012]

There sure are. Though not free, I would recommend this one - premium.wpmudev.org/project/membership

I'm still trying to find a few people who already have this locked & loaded so I can sign up & see if I like the way it looks & functions, but it seems like I'd have to hire someone to do all the work for me. It doesn't sound simple.

Thanks


Michelle

[ep2012]

as you say you have two vb forums that nobody mans full of spam why not just delete one of them and use for new project.

I thought about that, but the version is very old & I just don't have the funds to get it up-to-date plus hire someone to take it all down, I'd have to get a new theme, redo all the forums, etc. I still have never found anyone within my budget who knows VB really well & can do all this. I'd also have to pay for the paid membership thingy.

I was hoping I could find something I could do on my own as things have been tight.

That's why :)


Michelle

[chrisJumbo]

Maybe look for a programmer who would consider some sort of reduced initial payment for a share of the revenue down the road. I actually belong to the forum this guy ( www[dot]zenduck[dot]me) put together. Maybe you should reach out to him and see what he did. I don't think he had a huge capital outlay upfront. He also didn't build it until he had 100 people indicating they would pay for it.

cd :O)

[ep2012]

Cool, LOL, you got me interested in that forum LOL

So what backend is he using? VB?

Thanks


Michelle

[chrisJumbo]

I think so, but I'm not sure. I thought he had a blog post detailing it, but I couldn't find it. Maybe the write up was done for the forum.
cd :O)

[Optic]

Premise (http://getpremise.com/) is a new Premium plugin from CopyBlogger that gives you tools for creating paid membership sites with support forums.

I think one of the killer features is that it will integrate with vBulletin, and create forum accounts as members sign up through wordpress.

I recently did an installation for a client, and it's working great so far.