Best combination of forum software with gallery?

[iATKOS]

Hello friends, I'm new to internet website building and blogging stuff and i need some help. I hope i get some expert comments and advice from here. Well i am interested in building a forum website which i would like to keep it private. No search engine access. The problem i am facing is on selecting which forum software do i use? Also i need to upload a lot of images and so i need Gallery software too. But which would be the best combination? I would like to integrate them both as i don't wont to bug my friends to make them register twice. This will be my private kind of website for only my friends. So can anyone help me with the combination? Any help will be appreciated...

[Rudra.J]

There are so many forum software which has Gallery already integrated into it. All you need to do is install a suitable plugin or modification and you are ready to go. You can also integrate two different software altogether like vBulletin and Gallery2 or vBulletin with Coppermine Gallery. You need to choose which you want to use and which you are habituated to. You can also try Coppermine Gallery along with phpBB 3. Will be a decent combination. But in the end its all upto you...

[FaMe FacToR]

You can try WordPress if you are looking for a blog type solution. Wordpress is a decent and light weight software and has Gallery plugin into it. I think you should first experiment and see which one of the software you feel easy to work with. Coppermine Gallery is quite simple when it comes to integration with other softwares. Just check for yourself and install accordingly...

[iATKOS]

Thanks for those quickies. I have never used any software and so i am not familiar to any of the forum softwares or Gallery softwares. I want to implement two softwares and not a plugin for forum. Also i have heard that vBulletin is not a free software and i would not like it as i will not be earning from it. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[Patio]

Yes, vBulletin is not free but again it is the easiest one to use with lot of customization plugins available with a lot of security. If you just need a free solution of what you are planning to implement, you should go for SMF forums. This is a free forum software also Coppermine is a free Gallery software. Now all you need to do is, install both and integrate. Well this has no worries too. Once you finish installing both, Go to Admin Config of Coppermine gallery and there is an option to bridge it. Its very simple. I hope this is useful.

[iATKOS]

Hey again. Well i will try the softwares as soon as i get my cPanel. I have a friend of mine to hep me with the configuration. Thanks for your valuable replies. I will consider your suggestion Patio. All i need is a simple to use configuration. I will try all those possible softwares before finalizing one as, only then i will be able to decide... Thanks again everyone...