Create a forum with a domain name

Forum with a domain name

While creating your forum, you have to fill in the internet address (URL), which help others access your forum. Then, you'll benefit from a free sub-domain name, offered by Forumotion. You will enjoy thousands of general domain names like forumotion.com but also some more specific domains for cooking forums, RPG forums and sports forums... Thus, you can personalize your sub-domain name to make your forum URL very unique.

You can change the URL of your hosted forum and personalize it at any moment! Some forum founders prefer to have a forum with a personalized domain name. In that case, the forum administrator first creates a forum with a classic URL and then customizes his/her own domain name in the administrative panel. They can either order their domain name via Forumotion or use a domain name bought via another service.

Let's discover the three solutions to get the best domain names for your forum: make your own forum with a personalized domain name!

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Create a forum with a free domain name

Forumotion is a free service for creating and hosting internet forums. Which means you can create a very professional forum without spending money: number of members and messages are unlimited, thousands of free themes, automatic backups, free support forum and free forum creation. Your forum will have a real internet address to be well referenced on Internet.

By consequence, you don't need to buy a domain name to use your forum. Choosing a hosted domain name on Forumotion, allows you to get a free sub-domain name on a powerful and stable platform. Moreover, you have thousands of free sub-domain names that will make your forum URL very personalized. You just have to create a forum with a domain name hosted on Forumotion.

For example, sub-domain name option has been chosen by Forumotion support forum. Thus, you can access our support forum via this address : help.forumotion.com.

In short, sub-domain name option allows to create a forum without spending money and without domain name renewal. Moreover, you will benefit from the notoriety of Forumotion brand. The majority of our members choose the free option.

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Create a forum with a personalized domain name

If you want to create a forum with a personalized domain name, it is very simple. A personalized domain name offers many advantages: a short name is easier keep in mind, an internet address without sub-domain name and personalized emails addresses. This is an excellent option to grow a community and bring new members. Indeed, with a domain name, your forum will be unique and won't have any link with the Forumotion service.

Very active forums prefer to buy a domain name. In fact, buying a domain name is very interesting for all active and independent communities. Moreover, most of very active forums can get a domain name for free. The domain name is offered by Forumotion as soon as the forum is active enough!

Registering your domain name is very simple. You have two solutions to get a domain name: first you can directly buy the domain name via Forumotion or you can buy an external domain name on an other service like Godaddy. Thus you can customize the domain name of your dream pending the availability!

Buy a custom domain name on Forumotion

The first solution is to buy your domain name directly via Forumotion. How to get a personalized domain name on Forumotion? How to create a forum with a domain name? For that, you just have to enter the administrative panel of your forum and check the availability of your domain name. You must first activate an advanced or premium package on your forum to access the acquisition of a domain name. The process takes only two minutes, you have to choose an available domain name and then proceed to the final payment.

Then, the Forumotion team will finalize the domain name configuration; you have nothing more to do! A 301 redirection is automatically set up on your old URL and you won't have any SEO damage. The visitors and members are directly redirected to the new address without any effort. In less than 24hrs, you get a forum with a personalized domain name.

To add a custom domain name to your free forum, it's really simple. Forumotion will manage the DNS settings. You have the choice between the following extensions :

• .com
• .org
• .net

Your domain name renewal is also very simple. You will receive an email two months before the final expiration date. Meanwhile, you can renew your forum at any time! If you don't want to renew your domain name, our team will make the necessary to change your internet address. Thus, your forum will be redirect to the first URL when you first created your forum.

Set up a paid domain name is available on all free forums hosted on Forumotion. In short, getting a domain name is very simple and not very expensive! No need technical skills, Forumotion will manage your DNS settings.

Create a forum with your own domain name

Can you use your own domain name? If you have an existing domain name, this option is for you! You have the possibility to use your own custom domain name. The second solution to get a personalized domain name is to link an external domain name to your Forumotion forum. Forumotion allows you to attach a custom domain name to your free forum.

Forumotion will set your existing domain name directly to your free forum and it's completely free. The process is more complex and should be done by yourself. You have to to manage your DNS settings. However, this option is very practical if you have already bought a domain name. Here the main advantages of linking an external domain name to a Forumotion forum :

• Integrate a forum to a website or a blog.
• Use your own custom domain after importing your forum on Forumotion.
• Get a domain name with more extensions (.CO.UK, .UK, .US or .IN for instance).
• Benefit from the traffic of your website.

How to link an external domain name to a Forumotion forum? In order to link your Free forum to an external domain name, you have to follow some configuration steps.

1. First, you have to buy and register a domain name via your registrar.
2. Then, search for the domain name of your dream, then verify the availability and proceed to the payment.
3. Once the payment is done, you will have to configure your domain name so that it points to your forum. This process is called a CNAME.
4. Finally, order an Advanced or Premium pack on your forum. After that, enter your forum to register the CNAME and finalize the association of the two addresses. Your forum will be available via the new address shortly!

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Change your forum address at any time

How to change the URL of a forum? Forumotion allows its members to change the address of their forums at any time. There is no need to create a new forum to change the URL name and therefore you can change the URL of your forum without losing your forum content.

First, you can just change the address of your forum without modifying the subdomain (example change myforum.forumotion.com). Then, you can select any other free Forumotion sub-domain name (for example change forumotion.org to bestgamesforum.com) or buy your own domain name. Whatever the options you chose, the previous forum address will be automatically redirected to the new one.

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Personalized domain name: the best SEO option

There are some advantages and drawbacks with a personalized domain name. Boost your SEO rankings with custom domains.

If you want to have a domain name for a new forum, that's an excellent idea! Whether to create a RP forum with a personalized domain, a forum about sport, or video game... It is recommended to do it when you create your forum in order to not damage your SEO or disturb your community.

If your forum has been created for a long time and is already very active, there are some risks of changing the domain name or the sub-domain name. Indeed, you'll lose a part of your SEO, which is not good for your search engines rankings. In that case, you have to be patient and wait for increasing your traffic. Search engines need between 3 and 6 weeks to consider the URL change despite the 301 redirects.

However, it is highly recommended to acquire a domain name fitting with your country especially if your discussions are focusing on your language. For example, if all your discussions are in Italian, it can be relevant to buy a domain name ".US". To boost the SEO of your online community, don't forget to switch your forum to HTTPS by activating the SSL certificate for free.

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To sum up, Forumotion is a free hosting forum provider, that allows you to choose between a free sub-domain name or a customized domain name. Our Forumotion team is available to help you in case of any doubts about an address change. You can also integrate your forum on an existing website and link the domain name to your forum to benefit from your website traffic. This option, is called a CNAME, which helps to link an external domain name to your forum.

Changing the URL of your forum is possible after your forum creation via your administrative panel. Creating a forum with a personalized address is very simple and fast! Don't wait and register a domain name via Forumotion, the best free hosting provider for your online discussions.

The custom domain names feature is accessible to all administrators of Internet discussion forums. You have the choice between the "no cost" option with a free sub-domain or the paid option with a custom domain. If you have an existing domain name, don't hesitate to link your forum to this domain. It's easy and free. Need help? Please visit our support forum to have all the information you need about the domain name of your forum!

Create a forum with a free or custom domain name