~Read all of post please. If you only want to answer one question make it question (3) - Thanks~

Ok I have a lot on my mind that I woudl like to ask so I'll try and get straight to the point. Oh, and I've done it in the style of a FAQ(ish)...

1) What fourm software is better: vBulletin (vB) or Invision Power Board (IPB)?

2) My current site was a collection of minigames from around the internet but I had a thought - there's already many sites that have far more games than I do (not to mention mine aren't even my own games). Is there any point in a games site?

3) If 'No' to the question above: Give me ideas on what to do a website on please. Stuff I'm into: Games, Animations, Flash, Forums...etc (reason: My site doesn't even compare to half of the game sites out there -e.g. miniclip - but I LOVE making websites () and need ideas!) It doesn't matter how much effort is needed (as long as it's not making a 3D game in C++) as long as I'm into it and it fills a gap in the internet (or at least half a gap !)

Extra: If you give me a really good idea that I like and you want to help develop it with me, I'd be more than willing to have you onboard the team.

4) For my to-become old site, I made a new template that may also be used for my, if-I-think-of-an-idea, new site. Please review both templates, give your pros and cons and say which you prefer:

Template 1#: http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/5602/web1cj0.png

Template 2#: http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4389/web2fa4.png

##NB##The second template's menu is Flash.##

5) If you have any ideas that would match the style of my to-be new site, please tell me them. I'm fairly decent at HTML, CSS and Flash, thus I can make quite a range of templates - I just lack ideas!

Thanks for any and all help!

A few quick answers:

1) I prefer phpBB3. You can also install a portal so the initial page (portal.php) is actually linked to your forums....you can easily administer the entire site from the phpbb admin console. You can also create custom layouts, custom portal pages, etc. There is a lot you can do with it.

2 and 3) no one can really tell you what kind of site to make. If that be the case then it would be their idea and the amount of joy you would derive from writing each line of script would, in my opinion, diminished. Sleep on it a little bit. Make a site you feel others will use, thats the big key. If you like designing games, make a site dedicated to that. Use the forums for ideas from other people. If you like playing games, stike to what you got but make it better. Im into WoW so my site is a clan site dedicated to my clan on wow. nothing big and I certainly didn't design it all, considering its all phpbb3, but I still like it and i still enjoy editing it. Find something you like.

4 and 5) Templates are nice but don't stick to them. Ideas change, grow, expand. They incorporate new data, ideas, visions each time you edit them. Design it around the best way to reach the info the user wants...thats the key. If it is easy to navigate, it will be liked.

Don't let me discourage you, however, take an open minded approach to designing a site. Figure out what info you want to provide and then design around that. Like I said sleep on it and find something that you like and make a site out of it.

1) I have no clue - I still have yet to find a forum that is simple enough or my needs and easily customized. I don't like forums like these here on zymic. Too complicated to customize.

2) I feel that there can never be too many games sites. The only game site I usually go to though is addictinggames.com until I hear of a better one. But.. In all honesty it most likely will not become that popular because of:

4) No offense but neither of those layouts are very good. I am not trying to bash you or be hurtful in any way because I honestly SUCK at graphics and designing (I'm a coder at heart) but when I go to websites if they don't look professional in a way, or at least SUPER COOL, then I won't really spend much time on them. So...

3) Make a site that is SUPER unique and cool in your own way. I find that I will spend alot more time going to a website that is unique, even if the layout/design is horrible, than one that is one of hundreds of thousands even if it has the coolest layout. Layout doesn't always mean everything and, well, yeah.

Like Aithidoc said... Nobody can really tell you what kind of site to make. You can ask the people on these forums who have been caught upto date with the things I've done. I have gone through... 5 sites already in the past 2 months - I started them and then deleted them. And one one site I even went through 4 different layouts for that because I couldn't find one I wanted..

And then it hit me - I know EXACTLY what kind of site I want to do. When you're not home if you have paper and pen with you just start writing down ideas and more and more will come to you - I did that and once I got a good idea I expanded on THAT idea to know what my site is going to be.

And now it's nearing Beta release so I'm excited

1) I like PunBB because it is free, and there are a ton of mods out there... PM me if you would like to test my mod of PunBB, because I will send you a download link with instructions on how to install... here is a live example of it... http://1337bb.99k.org/forums

2) I also believe another game site would be awesome... Just make sure to have more stuff. and it not be just a game site... in other words, I would add some more stuff...

3) I know my answer was yes, but you should also build your own game.... I'm not entirely sure how, but hey it would be awesome.

4) I like the 2nd template, but they are both /too/ plain for me... Not that attractive to ser4ious gamers like myself....

5) I will try to make a png image of something that would be cool.... I don't know how to make psd templates yet..... Sorry