making a forum with ratings?

[patelbv]

Hi all, noob here

Just bought my domain and looking to make a forum to post reviews

Any recommendations on software to make a forum?

Basically- the main page is setup like a search engine - picture and search box...it searches a database of locations, you can rate it on a scale of 1-5 and post a couple lines of comments...as people post more ratings, the search result will also display the average of those ratings.

Easy enough...where do I start?

[rd]

Hey @patelbv and welcome. I'd say the best solution probably depends on your ability and experience? What platforms have you used before? What are you comfortable working with? Were you thinking a CMS solution could fit? What are your users reviewing?

[patelbv]

first - thanks for the quick response! much appreciated

I do not have any background or experience in creating websites or forums (aside from just using the website builder tool that came with Godaddy where you drag/drop items). No computer science/programming training (was a biochem major in college).

CMS = Content Management System? found that on wikipedia - looks like that should work - any suggestions on one?

Users would be reviewing sites they attend for training.

Does that help?

[rd]

Hmmmmm, given what you've said I'm thinking a WordPress install with BuddyPress would be a great option for you? I don't know much about BuddyPress but it is a very well supported and documented plugin and there is a fairly large community around it.

You figured out the CMS thing so I'm sure you can find communities that are running on BuddyPress so that you can get an idea of what it can do? Maybe someone that has more BuddyPress experience will comment but given its ease and scalability it seems the for fit? Let us know what you decide.