:salam:
This simple guide will teach you how to start your own Islamic forum/Muslim forum so you can benefit the Muslim Ummah. It will cover mostly the technical aspects so you can get up and running :).
Firstly what is a forum? It is best summarized here:
What is a forum? A forum is a platform and community where users can post discussions and read and respond to posts by other members.
Source
Step 1) Firstly you need to think of a specific theme to start it on. Take for example brother Ahmed from MuslimBodybuilding, his forum is focused on the aspect of health and fitness. Or you have sister Zaza from EaselAndInk her forum is dedicated to Islamic art and graphics. Most importantly make sure it’s something you like and are keen on. You could also just choose a general Islamic forum discussing all categories like this one.
Step 2) Now we need to choose a forum name and acquire a domain name. Domain name is going to be the URL for example "www.YourForumName.com". Thinking of a theme for your forum should help you come up with a domain name. Make sure of course you think about your forum name carefully, as this will be the face of the website. When you have thought of your forum name then you can check if the domains available by going to any domain registrar. Best place to get domain names are: Godaddy, Name and Hostgator.
Step 3) Next we need to find a forum software that is suitable for you. The forum software for IslamicBoard we use the vBulletin software, personally we have been using this for a long time and it does a great job. It provides us with loads of modifications too. However vBulletin is costly, and many other softwares can be too so you need to take that into consideration too :ia:. I would recommend you use either vBulletin, Xenforo or phpBB. Xenforo is speedy and responsive, if this forum wasn’t on vBulletin we would be on Xenforo. Many forum administrators are migrating to Xenforo because of it’s many benefits. phpBB is perfect for a starter forum admin, and the best thing is that it’s free. If you want to experiment and gain experience before handling the popular softwares, then try testing out forumotion.com and forums.com. I have just listed a few forum software's but there are many other ones too, if you want to try something different go ahead. Also note that you can migrate between software's in future if you wish.
Step 4) Now we need to find a good hosting company to host your forum on. This is where we will get our space on the server from. If you want to keep it simple, then host your forum on the same company which you acquired your domain name from. Or you can look for alternative hosting company which has cheaper prices and more suitable specifications. Some forum software's have an option where they will host for you, this may be an easier option especially if you never had experience of buying from a hosting company. Make sure you don’t buy excessive storage, your brand new forum you won’t have much traffic or space needed. Web hosting companies will be happy to help you, you can ticket or live chat them discussing your needs and they will find you the most suitable package. Hosting companies I would recommend are: Hostgator, Bluehost, Dreamhost and Liquid Web Hosting.
Step 5) Once you have selected a web hosting package, depending on what type of forum software your using just simply upload and install the forum software on there. Follow the instructions provided and you should be fine. If you haven't already then connect your domain name to your web host. And then alhamdulilah, you now have a forum ready to go.
That's covered the basic aspects on how to get started. After that then you can focus on creating the community, beneficial content and most importantly benefiting the Ummah.
If you need any help I am always here to assist :).
May Allah :swt: grant you success in all of your endeavours! Ameen.