Forums are almost necessities these days for webmasters. Thanks to forums, I gained tons of knowledge on so many areas of development for a webmaster. So if you’re a lurker all this while, come out of the shadows and start making your mark in the forums!
Here are two other forums that have been invaluable to me.
NamePros
NamePros is the largest online forum for domainers. Head and shoulders above the rest. It is free to sign up unlike some other forums, and it is always active with very hot discussion threads, particularly the .mobi debates.
What I like best about NamePros is the warm and helpful atmosphere shown by most of the members, and this extends all the way up to the administrators. You won’t really find Web administration or SEO stuff of the highest caliber over here, this really belongs to the likes of WebmasterWorld and Digital Point Forum, but you’ll find a wealth of information on almost any aspect of domaining.
NamePros is “newbie friendly” and unlike other forums where asking dumb questions may get no responses or even rebukes, it’s not really the case here. In general, you will find this community to be one of the most helpful, even when benchmarked against other forums.
Well moderated, well run, and really a great forum in my opinion. I ‘d also give it a 9/10 rating. Just stellar!
The Warrior Forum
Okay, this is the number one Internet Marketing forum on the Web, bar none. You might not believe it, but millions of dollars have been transacted through the vaults of The Warrior Forum either in joint venture deals, or in sales.
If you’ve been thinking of buying that ebook but not sure of what you’re getting into, chances are that someone has already posted a review of that ebook on the forum. Mostly the reviews are positive in nature, and I will not be the first to deny that some of it may be biased; but in general, you can take them (with a pinch of salt, of course).
It is quite a good place to learn about Internet Marketing, even as a newbie with little to no experience at all. There are many experienced Internet Marketers there who do help newbies along, although the atmosphere in this forum may come across as a wee bit elitist to some. Also, since it is an Internet Marketers forum (after all), be prepared “to be sold”, and it helps to have your wallet on hand. 🙂
The best part of the forum, may be the Warrior Special Offers section of the forum, better known as the WSO. Not as large as the one on Digital Point, but probably ranks as one of the best online marketplaces to get a good deal. Scams and hype do show up frequently, so as with anywhere else, be careful. But there’s still no doubt it is a good place to shop for online merchandise to help boost your Web businesses and knowledge.
You may find certain posts of yours getting deleted if they are deemed to be, “not in the interests of sales”, as well as the community at large. However, don’t let these quibbles get in the way of participating in this great forum. Despite the flaws, it is still a helpful and great forum to learn a thing or two about Internet Marketing. And yes, joining is free.
I would rate this forum as 7/10.
Web Hosting Talk
I seriously recommend Web Hosting Talk as the first to go to, when you need some feedback on the host you have been planning on signing up. Practically all the web hosts out there, are reviewed and critiqued daily, before the eyes of thousands of daily visitors.
This forum keeps web hosts honest, and so you have Web Hosting Talk (or WHT as its fondly known) to thank for acting like a web hosting watchdog, which in its role, it does brilliantly.
Everyday, brickbats are thrown, and kudos are administered generously, at the many web hosts that support all those websites. If you think about it, choosing a good web host is one of the most crucial steps you need to undertake to set up your website. Get it wrong, and you could be facing premature aging; get it right, and you will find success one big step closer.
This is the place to dig up info on a particular web host, learn about VPS, server administration, and security. If you’re tired of bouncing around from one web host to the other, you may well find your web host on Web Hosting Talk forum. I found mine from there.
A rating of 8/10.
There’s lots of other big forums I didn’t mention, simply because I’m not a regular over there. SitePoint, WebmasterWorld, V7N and Webmaster-Talk are some other big forums that are interesting as well. Do check them out…