What Is SMF?
Simple Machines Forum (SMF) forum is a free and a professional platform that allows you to create your own community. SMF is an easy to use software that enables you to easily set up your community or forum website within minutes. SMF provides with custom made templates through which you get the complete control of your message board. One of the most unique features of SMF is that it provides SSI – Server Side Includes that enables your forum and your website to interact with each other.
SMF is designed in PHP and it also utilizes a MySQL database. It provides the user with all the necessary features needed to form a bulletin board and to maintain it. SMF is also designed in a way so that it has minimum impact on the server resources. SMF is a full fledged forum software and the best thing is that it is free.
What Are The Hosting Requirements For SMF?
Space required for installing SMF:
Required Space : 7.07 MB
SMF Features : Why Should You Consider Using SMF?
Here are some of the most striking features off SMF:
SMF is efficient, powerful open source and free
SMF comprises of newly created template system that enable you to perform any number of custom edits
SMF provides support for multiple languages
It provides tracking for new and old unread topics, apart from tracking for your last visit
Package manager is provided that automatically installs or uninstalls the mods
SMF provides better options for search engine optimization of your community
With SMF, all the actions on your message board require a session based authorization code
Major actions performed on the message board are time and IP locked, thus preventing ‘hammering’
The number of login attempts from any particular IP can be limited and time locked if required
You can put your board in the maintenance mode for modifications, this mode allows only the admins to login
You can create sub-boards and configure permissions for each of the member groups on the board level
Along with the standard registration fields, you can also add custom registration fields and you can decide whether they are required or not
Both cookie and session based authentication is provided by SMF
A public member list is provided that is sort-able or searchable
You can easily create announcement boards