Don't know how to code, is vB still for me

[FearlessWeeder]

I recently joined AdminZone Forums for help figuring out basic costs of starting up a forum to determine if it was feasible for me to do so. Their members determined vBulletin was the software I should purchase if I ultimately decided to go for it. The issue of coding never came up during the decision process wherein which all I did was share features of interest to me for starting up a not for profit educational forum. I have been reading threads here where members are discussing coding. I don't know how to code anything. It was my understanding I would purchase the vB software this coming September and it would be installed on the dedicated server and from there I would begin to learn how to use the software to start up a new forum. I signed up for the demo and poked around at the vB site for a little bit. I felt overwhelmed but it seemed as if it would be doable with patience and time. My experience to date has been as a forum member making posts certainly not as a forum owner/webmaster. Am I going to be able to handle this type of software with such a limited (non-existent) skill set as in no coding knowledge at all?

I decided to go for it. I'd really like to try for an educational forum. When I registered the domains I needed for the new not for profit a few days ago and associated educational discussion forum, the owner of the dedicated servers I selected also provided a service where customers could elect to choose him as technical contact for the domains. I chose him. Seemed like one stop shopping to me and he certainly has forgotten more about computers than I've ever known. He stated he would install any forum software for me that I purchased for no charge- very kind of him. I'm most pleased with his generosity as it is doubtful I could install much of anything but would both of us be able to use this support forum with two different e-mail addresses? I will be the one purchasing the vB software and the license however it was my intent to end up being nothing more than an end user/webmaster. After reading some posts here, I can see where it may be important for both me and my dedicated server provider to have access to all areas of this site. Is this possible or would I need to purchase an additional key or something in order to enable him to receive support here also. I really don't want to purchase two licenses when I will only have one forum just to be in a position to allow both of us to receive assistance and guidance here. Come to think of it, he would be the one who would need to have access to the add-ons/plug-ins to download them while I would need to have access to the forums to learn how to use them. Eesh, dilemma.

Who normally backs up a forum? The webmaster or the provider of the dedicated server who installs the software? Presumably vB has a means by which to back up all settings and data incorporated into their product. If not, is there another product that has to be purchased at the same time to back everything up? If so, what is the cost please?

I notice in comparing software that vB does not have archiving. Pardon my ignorance but what is archiving and why would one need it. Is there some sort of an add-on/plug-in for archiving if one determines down the road that one needs this feature? Seems to me as if vB has every imaginable feature under the sun and then some already so is this some sort of a feature that is a duplicate of another feature already present in the vB software but called something else?