I apologize if this is not the correct place to post this question.

My daughter is developing a message board website as part of a Girl Scout project. She is developing it with Front Page 2002 and would like to use phpBB as the messaging software. There will likely be small amounts of traffic on the site, especially initially. E-mail is mostly unneccssary, maybe 1 account. The phpBB software needs database support as I read it.

Could someone suggest a requirements list for me so I can find the "right" hosting company(ies)? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also, from what I have defined above, do I need Windows, Linux or either for the hosting software?

Thanks so much.

Seti

Hello Seti,

From what you have mentioned above, I would highly recommend a UNIX host. You would need:

50 MB of space
1 GB of bandwidth
1 MySQL Database
PHP

If your daughter is using advanced features of Frontpage then Frontpage extensions would also be required.

A good host however, would let you start with a minimum and upgrade if need be later on.

Thank you,

Arvand Sabetian

Arvand's numbers look about right Seti. I would also add that you may want to look at a Cpanel based host if you want to simplify the installation of PhpBB. Linux hosting is less expensive and is fine for using with Front Page. As was mentioned, just make sure you host will install Front Page extensions, most do.

How advanced is your daughter with computer stuff? While all this seems simple in theory it can get complicated in practice. I agree with the numbers above but you may also want to consider a host with good support if you think she will need some handholding from the host.

Daniel

I recommend you decide what you need and how much you are willing to pay and place a request in the hosting request here. You will get many great responses.

Look for a company that has a great rep here (search tool useful here) and that has been around for more than a year. Someone with a telephone number for emerency support. If your daughter is not experienced then reliability will save heart ache of losing work.

It is a disappointing factor about some hosting. You put hours in to a site and then it is always down.

Thanks to all who posted.

I took ttremeth's suggestion and posted a rerquest for hosting.

Thanks again.

Seti