Young, Scared, UnExperienced.. My Cry For help.

[xX Fan_1 Xx]

Okay, I'm In Deep Thought Of Purchasing Myself A vBulletin Subscription, And Before I Do, I Have A Few Questions Concerning Such Topics As Hosting, Domain Names, Quality, Availability, How Easy/Difficult It Is To get A vBulletin Board Going, etc. etc. Here Are My Questions, Anyone That Can Help Would Be A Tremendous Help..

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Questions:

1.
-- If I Were To Purchase A vBulletin Subscription And Some Time Down The Line I Decide That vBulletin Isn't For Me, And It's Too Difficult For Me To Operate, What Kind Of Return Policy Does vBulletin Offer?

2.
-- How Do I Get Started? Is There Any Major Coding Involved? How Does The Starting Process Work? What All Will I Need To Get My vBulletin Onto The Web? Is It All Coding And HTML, php etc. etc. Or Is Just A Simple Admin CP, Either Way, Is It Simple, Or More Difficult?

3.
-- What Kind Of Host Will I Need? What Am I Supposed To Be Looking For In Selecting A Host? Is There Any Host Anyone Suggests? Anything Special I Need To Be Getting When Leasing A Hosting Service? How Much Is The Average Price Range For A Substantial Host?

4.
-- Domain Names, Do I Need One? Will vBulletin Equip Me With One When Purchasing An Account? Is There Any Hosting/Domain Packages Any Of You Suggest, That You Personally Have Had Positive Experience With? How Much Is The General Cost?

5.
-- Does It Cost Any Extra If A Newer More Advanced Version Of vBulletin Comes Out, If I Were To Upgrade Would I Need To Pay? Does vBulletin Inquire A Free Advertising Service If I Were To Purchase An Account?

6.
-- I Understand If I Am To By A vBulletin Board, I Am Equipped With A One Year Free Of Charge Availability To All Hacks Posted On The Boards, Is That True?

7.
-- Is There Anything You Suggest I Do When/Before/After Purchasing A vBulletin Subscription?

8.
-- What Is It Like To Add Extra Stuff To My vB Boards(i.e. Hacks, Quick Reply, Skins, A Website, Banner, etc. etc.) Is It Simple? For Instance Just Throwing A HTML Code Into A Footer/Header Or Is It A little Or A lot More Complicated For That Matter?

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I'm Only 13 Years Of Age So Obviously, I'm Alittle Internet, Coding, Hosting, etc. etc. illiterate Any Additional Hints/Tips You Put In Your Posts Would Be Much Appreciated, And Thanks To Anyone That Replies With Answers To Any Of My Questions.

Thanks,
xX Fan_1 Xx

[BillaBongUSA]

1.
-- If I Were To Purchase A vBulletin Subscription And Some Time Down The Line I Decide That vBulletin Isn't For Me, And It's Too Difficult For Me To Operate, What Kind Of Return Policy Does vBulletin Offer?

Like most software packages, vBulletin is not refundable.


2.
-- How Do I Get Started? Is There Any Major Coding Involved? How Does The Starting Process Work? What All Will I Need To Get My vBulletin Onto The Web? Is It All Coding And HTML, php etc. etc. Or Is Just A Simple Admin CP, Either Way, Is It Simple, Or More Difficult?

If you just want to have a message board, it is possible to operate one without any knowledge of PHP or HTML. Basically all the installation consists of is making slight alterations to a configuration file to make it suit your website, uploading the files associated with the message board, and running an installation script in your browser. After that, you can edit the settings for your board is very easy via the Admin Control Panel (http://www.vbulletin.com/admindemo.html) (that demo is for vB2; the Admin CP for vB3 is a little more complicated, but as long as you're just editing basic settings, it's pretty much the same thing).


3.
-- What Kind Of Host Will I Need? What Am I Supposed To Be Looking For In Selecting A Host? Is There Any Host Anyone Suggests? Anything Special I Need To Be Getting When Leasing A Hosting Service? How Much Is The Average Price Range For A Substantial Host?

As long as you can find a host that offers current version of PHP and MySQL, you should be okay. Prices for hosting range depending on the reliability and service you're looking for, but I'ver heard a lot of good things about Ventures Online (http://www.venturesonline.com). The main thing that you'll need to consider when choosing a host is the amount of bandwidth that they offer, and since you're just starting out and you're unsure as to whether or not you'd really like to get involved with something like this, you should probably go for something pretty low, like five gigs per month or so. You can always upgrade your hosting package in the future if your website becomes popular.


4.
-- Domain Names, Do I Need One? Will vBulletin Equip Me With One When Purchasing An Account? Is There Any Hosting/Domain Packages Any Of You Suggest, That You Personally Have Had Positive Experience With? How Much Is The General Cost?

Yeah, all you're buying from vBulletin is the software package, so you're going to need to buy your own domain name. I've had good experiences with GoDaddy.com (http://www.GoDaddy.com), who offer domain names for about 8 bucks per year.


5.
-- Does It Cost Any Extra If A Newer More Advanced Version Of vBulletin Comes Out, If I Were To Upgrade Would I Need To Pay? Does vBulletin Inquire A Free Advertising Service If I Were To Purchase An Account?

When you pay for your license, you're basically just paying for access to the members' area. As long as you have access to the members' area, you are free to download updates (which includes newer versions of vBulletin) until your license expires. If you purchase an Owned license, it's good for a year's worth of members' area access, and once that expires, it's only 30 dollars per year to renew it. I forgot what the deal is with the Leased license, though.


6.
-- I Understand If I Am To By A vBulletin Board, I Am Equipped With A One Year Free Of Charge Availability To All Hacks Posted On The Boards, Is That True?

I think that as long as the email address in your profile (here) matches the one that's in the members' area, you are considered to be a licensed member, and are free to download hacks and ask for support... I'm not sure though, I'd better let someone else confirm this.


7.
-- Is There Anything You Suggest I Do When/Before/After Purchasing A vBulletin Subscription?

I dunno, run a tube from your wang to the toilet so that you can spend time playing with all of vBulletin's features without leaving the computer to urinate?


8.
-- What Is It Like To Add Extra Stuff To My vB Boards(i.e. Hacks, Quick Reply, Skins, A Website, Banner, etc. etc.) Is It Simple? For Instance Just Throwing A HTML Code Into A Footer/Header Or Is It A little Or A lot More Complicated For That Matter?

It's all pretty straight forward... For hacks, it's pretty much just finding and replacing text in the PHP files, skins are just uploaded in the Admin CP, Quick Reply is included in the default vB3 installation, adding banners might require some HTML knowledge if you want to get the placement just right, but I guess it just involves adding some code in the header/footer, and adding a website? Well, that would definately require knowledge it HTML, and maybe a little bit of PHP if you want to make it easier to manage. Unless you just go with a portal of some sort; there are a lot of portal systems available at vBulletin.org, but if you really want to have full control over your website's design and structure, it's always best to just code it yourself.

[xX Fan_1 Xx]

Well, I Hadn't Thought Someone Would Reply So Fast, I Think I'm Fully Ready To Own My vBulletin Board, I Can Not Thank You Enough. I Must Admit, Your Response To Question Number 7 Was Rather Amusing, Nothing I Would Actually Do, But Something For Consideration..:p Again Thank You, You've Been A Tremendous Help.

In Your Debt,
Fan 1

[BillaBongUSA]

No problem, if you ever need any help with anything after you've purchased the message board, I'd be happy to lend you a hand. :)

[Link14716]

Owned Licenses - You can run a vBulletin forever and ever, but you can only download it for a year. Renewing for a year is only $30 and can be done anytime - before or after the license expires.

Leased Licenses - When your license expires in a year, your board must be taken down or the license renewed for $85. You may upgrade to an owned license within 30 days for $85.

About downloading hacks - if you have an owned license, you can access priority support forever. This includes support at the vB.com board, support here at vB.org as well as downloading hacks, and support and template mods from vBulletinTemplates.com.

Return policy - I believe you can get your money back within 30 days of purchase - but you wouldn't want to. :p

[BillaBongUSA]

Well, whaddya know, they do offer refunds under certain circumstances:

Refunds will be given at the discretion of Jelsoft.

I could've sworn that I had read on the order page that refunds were not an option. :P

[xX Fan_1 Xx]

Could I Get This Return Policy Situation Verified By A Mod, Or An Admin? Thanks.

One More Thing, You Mentioned I Need The current version of PHP and MySQL What Will I Need These For?

Thanks So Much.. Again.
Fan_1

[Steve Machol]

As the license page states, refunds are given at the discretion of Jelsoft. We can't really comment further since each situation is unique.

[BillaBongUSA]

PHP and MySQL are just the things that your host needs to be running in order for you to be able to run vBulletin on your website. If you're not sure if a host that you're considering would be able to support vBulletin, you can just ask here or email the host directly.

[MindTrix]

Or when you are on a hosts website about to purchase a hosting package. You are usualy shown what you will be getting ie 50mb Space 10gb BandWidth and it should mention that you get PHP and MYSQL with it, dont get a webhost that does not give you php and mysql :p

[xX Fan_1 Xx]

Okay, I'm So Sorry For Bother You All..

1. If I Download vBulletin, Would I Be Able To Set Up My Board, BEFORE Hosting It? Then Host It When It's All Set-Up Or Do I Have To Wait Till After Hosting It To Access The Admin CP?

[Xenon]

As installing a board already needs mysql access of course you have to get the hosting place before setting up vb

[Natch]

Unless you configure your home PC to run a Webserver, PHP, and MySQL server software - then you can create the whole board structure locally, then upload all files and export your database to import to your hosted site.

NOTE: if you setup on Windows locally, then are hosted on *nix, you may find some cross-platform issues ...