In order to get your RPG off the ground, you need to find a good host for your website. If you are willing to pay for your hosting (which is obviously recommended), you should do a little research on finding the best web host for you. As a tip, please do not be swayed by hosts that offer near unlimited resources for the price of a latte, because these companies are overselling and your performance and service will often suffer.
If you are interested in finding a paid web host, you can head over to WHT, powered by iNetinteractive:
Web Hosting Talk - The largest, most influential web hosting community on the Internet Should you want the flexibility of a host (such as one with cPanel), but are unable to pay, there are hosts who are willing to host your site for "free," but please be reminded that these are often ad-powered and that the host can boot you off at any time. That said, if you are looking for free web hosting, you can search for it at this site, also powered by iNet:
FreeWebHostingTalk - Powered by vBulletin That said, most RPGs do not need a lot of webspace; but rather just PHP compatibility and MySQL databases. Many RPGs don't even bother to use anything more than a normal forum with any included portals.
When hosting a forum, consider the forum software. There is quite a lot of selection in today's market, consider using something like
forum matrix to find what forum you like. Keep in mind that a list like this is far from comprehensive, and are sometimes outdated, so use it at your own peril. There is no substitute for personal experience and preference, so go with whatever you are comfortable with.
Also, let me remind you that IPB and vBulletin are
proprietary forum software, and thus the latest versions are not readily available for free forum hosts. You will need to pay for this service. For Invision Power, you can create an IPB forum at their sponsored service,
Invisionpower Hosting. However, if you still do not have the money, don't fret, there are plenty of other options available.
Once you have chosen a forum software, you should investigate some of the free forum hosts. There is a huge selection of forum software out there. Below is a short list, but keep in mind that this is far from comprehensive. Subdomain refers to whether or not you get a short, easy to remember subdomain (sub.theirdomain.com) included with your free board.
Also remember that this list is only for preliminary analysis only. You should not be making your decision solely from the information provided here. Also as a warning, while an uptime guarantee may be nice, it's also completely useless for your end-user agreement. As the forum is free, there is no reimbursement should the site go down. In effect, an uptime guarantee is merely a marketing hitch and a semi-real commitment towards your forum's uptime.
InvisionFree Board: Invision Power 1.3
Subdomain: No
Ad-Powered: Yes
Notable Features: Invisionfree has a very distinctive and inclusive directory based on outbound clicks. It also has disabled the "find post" feature in favor of the find thread feature. Also, in attempting to be more scalable, the Invisionfree staff has created
Zetaboards. Located in ThePlanet datacenter.
Proboards Board: Proboards Software (powered by CGI)
Subdomain: Yes, but unconventional (proboards has multiple domains)
Ad-Powered: Yes
Notable Features: Proboards has its own forum software, expect some limited compatibility.
ezboard Board: EZBoards
Subdomain: No
Ad-Powered: Yes, unless paid.
Notable Features: ezboard has a lot of unique BBCode, and it's also one of the largest forum hosts in the world. Expect some limited compatibility with other software.
Forumer Board: phpBB2 or IPB 1.3
Subdomain: Yes, but pointed.
Ad-Powered: Yes, but a link to forumer on every page.
Notable Features: Forumer offers a choice in forum software and a free subdomain.
eAmped Board: phpBB2
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: No, but a link to eAmped on every page.
Notable Features: eAmped offers several forum skins by default. It also permits its forum creators to upload their own banners and smilies. As an added bonus, eAmped offers search engine friendly URLs.
Jconserv Board: phpBB2
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes. However, it is not powered by a syndicate ad, but rather by their internal banner system.
Notable Features: Jconserv offers a wide selection of skins and a few mods by default.
FreeYaBB Board: phpBB2
Subdomain: No
Ad-Powered: No, but a link to freeyabb.com on every page.
Notable Features: Has a variety of pre-installed mods, including a built-in chatbox. Hosted in the GNAX datacenter.
Hosted Forum Board: IPB 1.3
Subdomain: No
Ad-Powered: Yes.
Notable Features: Full-featured IPB 1.3, including post search. Contains an extensive directory.
SpreeBB Board: IPB 1.3
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes.
Notable Features: Similar to other IPB 1.3 hosts, but with a subdomain. Contains an extensive directory.
BoardNation Board: Your selection. You can even select vBulletin should you have a license.
Subdomain: No
Ad-Powered: Yes, for free hosting.
Notable Features: Boardnation allows for a variety of board selections, including phpBB, IPB, and SMF. It also allows for easy escalation should you wish to pay for ad-removal and more features.
ForumsPlace Board: phpBB2
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes
Notable Features: Forumsplace is a difficult to place to sign up, but they have a lot of features to make up for it. They offer an image uploader for members to upload their images, as well as a full-featured arcade, hundreds of skins, and dozens of languages. They also offer search engine friendly URLs. Forumsplace also offers a large, complete directory.
Invision Plus Board: IPB 1.3
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes
Notable Features: A full directory, including top lists based on activity. Invision Plus also offers a free subdomain and image uploader.
FreeForums Board: phpBB 2(.0.22)
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: No, link back to freeforums.
Notable Features: Freeforums gives a certain allotment of upload space. It also has free backups and support for TLDs and pointers. Freeforums.org also features the latest in spam prevention.
CreateMyBB Board: MyBB
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes
Notable Features: Uses MyBB, a very light and quick forum software that still has the features of other free forum hosts. Also, CreateMyBB permits installation of modifications.
PhpBBWeb/Bizhat Board: phpBB2
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes, can remove at a $10 one-time fee.
Notable Features: Free search engine submissions and banner upload. It also features a few custom modifications.
HostingDelivered Board: phpBB3
Subdomain: Yes, choice of subdomain from two domains.
Ad-Powered: No, link to HostingDelivered.
Notable Features: 99.9% guaranteed uptime and includes a dedicated IP with board hosting. Permits unlimited installation of themes and mods. Also includes routine backups.
FreeSMFHosting Board: SMF 1.1.4
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes
Notable Features: SMF hosting, which includes arcade, link directory, and gallery hosting. FreeSMFHosting also offers several modifications for installation. The main site also contains a forum directory.
SMFForFree Board: SMF 1.1.4
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes
Notable Features: Includes Arcade and Gallery hosting. Also allows installation of mods. Includes several themes. SMFForFree also includes a forum directory. Hosted in the Peer1 Datacenter.
PhpBB3Now Board: phpBB3
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: No, link to homepage.
Notable Features: 99.9% uptime guarantee, allows for attachments, has multiple default themes for selection. Phpbb3now also features the scalability for new modifications.
IPBFree Board: IPB 1.3
Subdomain: Yes
Ad-Powered: Yes
Notable Featuers: Multiple skin support, modification forums, and forum directory.
