Do you think forums are important?

[iWF-Jacob]

Do you think open community forums are important for webhosts to have? personally, i think it is! Whenever I decide to go with a webhost, i always make sure there is a community forum. then i see what the vibe is there, and if customers are happy!;)

[TetraUK]

It depends on what type of host.

I think all free Hosts should have a forum.

I Dont know about Paid Hosts, I Suppose for Paid hosts you could have a support forum.

[iWF-Jacob]

Why do you make the line between paid and free?

[TetraUK]

Handing over Money?

A Community only works if there are people willing to participate and free hosts generally bring in more people who have free time to post.

[fwwebs]

I see little value in a community forum offered by web host's. If the host is hosting the forum, they have the ability to control the content, and in at least a few cases I've seen they do so. That said, a forum as an extra method of communication is a good idea. If a user cannot get a response using the support desk or email, they can go to a forum and post their problem.

I read a post on another board, where the poster's first line, which was a hot link, read something like: 'Authenticate our site'. Clicking the link took you to their site's testimonial page. How does this authenticate their site or company? Why would someone assume that the testimonials are true? The same goes for forums hosted by web hosts.

[XeHSean]

I think that having a forum is a good idea if you are a large hosting company that has users that will actually post on the forum. A dead forum with very few posts will make your company seem small, and sometimes unappealing, to others.

[webhostlda]

one more thing, you should only set up a forum if you have enough representaatives to manage the forum 24/7, otherwise it wont be a good option.

[_Dana_]

I wanted to ask a slightly different question but it is on the topic.... when looking for a host the the forum script matter to you? like VB , PHPBB etc . Or does it matter more if its neat clean and active.

[iWF-Jacob]

I prefer PHPBB forums, but that is just me...

[bermuda]

If you seriously are considering launching a powerful web hosting company, in that case having a great and neat support forum might be considered and prove to be necessary.

Running an online support forum can be ideal for having contact with customers needing help.

[1maverick]

Bermuda, agreed if you can get the customers to use it - that is the main problem - unless you have a lot of customers and if the type of customer is also important.

[barsa]

Yes it is important to communicate with your customers.

[XeHSean]

I prefer vbulletin - I feel that it is more professional to not be using free scripts

[ToxicHost]

I see forums as another way of communicating with clients but most of the bigger companies do not use forums because they do not have the resources to maintain all of the support options. However it is a great way of supporting customers as your business grows.

ToxicHost.

[kompliit]

I think it depends on the size of host. Small hosts with few clients wouldn't really need a forum; e.g. few posts may make it seem like the host isn't has good as it says it is.

Being a large host with a forum is always a plus. However, the client has to revisit the forum and may not be totally private.

Mybboard.net is a great forum.

[GTFO]

Free hosts definitely need a community forum, paid hosts need a support system rather than a forum system. Having experienced both, I can confirm that the support setup for paying customers is better for everyone.

[gigapros]

It's always a good idea to install a forum. The latest post by existing customers gives a peace of mind to the new customers that the site is not dead. Moreover, the forum content is good for SEO too. Once you have a nice forum going on, you will be amazed to see what it can do for your business.

[adnanbhai]

I think So bcz forums are very good for discuess

[samin]

I personally prefer phbb forums ,its easy to use :cool:

[hans123]

forums are very useful to gather important info from various parts of world. personally I do like phpBB.

[WNAlex]

It depends what kind of site it is :o

[United Web Host]

I wouldn't recommend forums if you only have a handful of customers, empty forums wouldn't look too appealing :)

[HostsVault]

I think its important and I prefer vBulletin

[DarrenL]

We have a forum but it gets used very rarely unfortunately. It seems that the less problems we have, the less the forum gets used!

[123987]

Well, it's certain that they are important!
On forums you can see what kind of posts do users write - do they just complain, or they write good words...

[BattleHosting]

I personally think forums are unimportant.

A lot of the time, if users make out their problems in the forum, and state them a lot worse than it actually is. It may put of customers as they see their problems...

However, if your a large host, its sometimes a good thing as clients will help each other, minimizing your support ticket needs?

[yourbigsite]

This is an interesting post. I have seen empty forums all too often. A free host would benefit more from a forum in mu opinion.

[Advertiser123]

If you have a lot memebrs a forum but no if you that small amount

[mikelc2]

Forums are good if they are used. But in most cases the forums are NOT used, and just sit there dormant. This means that the odd post that is on there goes unnoticed/unanswered.

[bgsa2472]

Hello

I have something testimony about HHO, this is amazing.

You know, i'm new here in this forums.

Last sundays, i was posted hosted here.

You know, i got a new customer to signup everyday.

So I love HHO, this is my best experience here.

[Ilikehost]

you need to put efforts to manage it, but it is worth...
the advantages brought by it are enormous....

[freedomhost]

this is definatley an important point

[ayesh]

Of course,I'm also using these forums for my works

[ladesign]

Handing over Money?

A Community only works if there are people willing to participate and free hosts generally bring in more people who have free time to post. I agree with this

[ubservers]

To me, it is not important if because if the host answers all questions via tickets very quickly and does not have downtimes or problems with their service, people won't go out on your forums anyways.

But it sure is a nice plus, but not important to me.

[DediServ]

As other, I think it is very imprtant, and useful.

[mwaraitch]

I think it depends on the size of host. Small hosts with few clients wouldn't really need a forum; e.g. few posts may make it seem like the host isn't has good as it says it is.

Being a large host with a forum is always a plus. However, the client has to revisit the forum and may not be totally private.

Mybboard.net is a great forum.

I agree with you!

[vibesh]

thanks for sharing this nice info with us.
hoping more from u.

[vibesh]

forums are front leaders they give major link info.
u can post about your product and make some topic and reply any issue.