FreeFrontPage Web Template for Forums

Fortunately, there are many free sources available to assist you. The first place to start is Microsoft’s FrontPage support forum or another favorite site.

Terminology

FrontPage terminology for a forum is discussion board. Other terms used are message boards and bulletin boards or BB.

Understanding Function and Purpose of Forums

There are many reasons why you may wish to add a forum to your website. Determine what you want to gain by this addition. Weigh the pros and cons of this site enhancement.

Pros

• Build an online community
• Create customer loyalty and support
• Provide more information about your products to end users
• Create a buzz for your product
• Answer customer questions and complaints directly
• Gain new customers
• Increase branding efforts and Internet presence

Cons

• Misuse of forum by individuals or competitors
• Additional workload to monitor forum
• Must provide tech support to forum users

Pros Outweigh the Cons

There are more positive aspects to having a message board on your website than there are negative.

Things You Can Do to Lessen the Cons

There are things you can do to lessen and even alleviate the negative aspects of adding a forum to your website.

• TOS (Terms of Service) Set rules and regulations for usage of forum with progression of penalties for violations
• Ask for volunteers to serve as moderators for the forum
• Choose a forum template that comes with some tech support or a template your tech team is comfortable troubleshooting

Getting Promotional Mileage Out of Your Forum

The positive side of offering a forum to your visitors is immense and can result in higher sales and greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. By offering a forum to visitors you:

• Show an openness and willingness to possible criticism
• Offer a direct contact solution to customer issues
• Gain respect from customers by opening your doors to public discussions
• Serve customers beyond purchase point by providing a place for them to share experiences and helpful hints.
• Provide an inexpensive venue to obtain valuable customer feedback.
• Test new product concepts
• Generate more traffic to your site
• Create greater name recognition

Creating a Forum in FrontPage

How you can create a forum using FrontPage.

FrontPage Forum Template Wizard Is Free

Creating a simple forum in FrontPage is easy. You can research the Internet to find a forum template or select the FrontPage Forum Wizard that came with your program.

• Open the website in FrontPage
• Click on the File menu
• Select New
• In new task pane, under new website, click More Website Templates
• In dialog box click in General tab click Discussion Website Wizard
• Select Options and click Add to current website. Then click OK.
• This will open the Discussion Website Wizard and lead you through the process of creating a discussion group.

Finding a Free FrontPage Web Template for Forums

If you decide against using the free forum template provided with your FrontPage program, then you can find many free templates on the Internet. You can adapt most html templates for use in FrontPage, so don’t let straight html scare you off. If your Internet search for free forum templates isn’t generating sites, you may have better luck by entering one of the other terms.

Below are a few websites to help get you started in your search for a template.

Selecting the Template

Decide on the format that appeals to you and will serve your website best.

Features to Include

• Ability to change fonts, colors, size, and format
• User ability to make changes in appearance and customize for individual use
• RSS feed
• Thread tracking

Things to Avoid

• Free templates often mean you are limited in the functionality of your forum. Colors and fonts may be limited or set without the ability to change.
• Format may only have one option for appearance.
• Special requirements for server database (check with your server to see what is available).
• Other features may be limited in the design and formatting of your forum. View the demo and read all of the information about the forum template to determine if it is a fit for your website needs.

Free FrontPage Web Template for Forums Advantage

Whatever forum template you select, a discussion board will offer your customers a little something extra and give you a lead on your competition.