HELP! I need it

I have started to make a website. But I know nothing of makeing a forum so......HELP MEH PLEASE!

I don't have any context for your website whatsoever, so here are some broad strokes:

--> Decide what the forum is about.
Having a focused topic for the forum helps. Try to make it narrow enough to have a niche and a thing for you and the future users to focus on, but not too narrow that it's basically just the same few things over and over again.

-->Find a host site.
Host sites make forums free, and usually have a base template. I like forumotion, personally, which is what this is hosted by. It gives you several base templates in both how the site runs and how it looks. Then it has a fairly simple interface to edit the site with.

-->Make the basic layout.
Don't get too insane with finding something that's exactly the way you want, but finding a template that's similar to what you're going for makes for less work later. Don't bother with getting the exact look right now.

--->Fill in the broad categories.
Make a list of the major important places, like here it would be the "Welcome" section with the rules and character apps, the main rping area, and then OOC. This is more important than the exact look of the forum. Don't go too crazy with the number of categories either.

-->Flesh out the sections
Make a list of the major forums that will be in each category. Be flexible with these and remember-- fewer is better. Go for broader sections if you can, with possibly a few more focused sub-forums as necessary.

--->Play with the appearance
After you have the general layout how you like it, then you can play with the appearance. Honestly, having a flashy website is less important than a functional and descriptive one. You can look up specific images to use for the website all over. (though try to make sure to credit people if you're using their own personal work and not a free image.) Try to keep these the same size as the default placeholder image.


General rule: Less is more. Don't go nuts with a bunch of sub categories and areas within the site, because that just makes it look cluttered and confusing. If you can merge forums or trim them down, do so. Or at least hide them from the main page, especially if it's not used as much. Things that are used more should be easy to get to, though.