Forums are great ways to create communities and to increase traffic. Everybody should eventually have a forum on their website. I say eventually because is not really necessary to have one when you first start. But you should definitely look for a web host that has a forum as one of the extra features.

     You don't have to be worried about installing a forum. A while ago, forums were complicated entities. It would take a professional to install one. Many people did not even think of administer their own forums. They would rather let someone very skilled or give up on the idea. Well, not anymore. today, forums are as easy to install as completing an application for a credit card. Many web hosts offer installation links that will basically do everything for you. You just have to say where you want it and what is your username and password. To be an forum administrator, even simpler. Most of them come with a great administrative console that is easy to use.

    If you are an internet browser, you probably saw tons of different looking forums. There are forum platforms and forum customizations. There are not too many platforms. I know about 3 of them (I would say the most popular - see below). But there are tons of customizations. Forums are usually Open Source Software but not always. That means that they are made of modules put together by a core team of programmers but they are open to the world of programmers to edit the modules. The core team would test and release stable versions of the platform. These stable versions are offered by the web hosts to be installed. If you feel adventurous or have some experience, you could go for the latest beta versions available on the websites of the core support team. As any beta .... is may have problems. But, you may help to the development of it by participating on their support forums. It could be fun.

    These support forums are very helpful. If you feel your forum is not working properly or if you have a question or a suggestion, don't hesitate to ask them. You'll get a ton of help and support.

    But then there are customizations. The great communities of programmers work on the so called "mods" (modifications). These can vary from design types (background, icons, etc) to functional types (special features, special admin modes, photo galleries, special abilities for users, moderators etc. These modifications are pouring from everywhere. The core teams are trying to test them and release them but they won't keep up. You may see something that you want that is not tested and released but want to have it on your forum. Be very careful with those. They're not easy to install and you may end up with a corrupt forum. Or you may end up with a vulnerability that can be used by hackers.

    What I usually do, I have a test forum where I try and play first before I put any modification on the main forum. O, I forgot to mention, you can install as many forum you want. Just make sure your web host allows that.

Forum Platforms

phpBB - open source - my favorite

vBulletin - paid licence

YaBB - Yet another Bulleting Board - open source

If you're ready to choose your web hosting provider, see them all lined up here