How fast can we be live?
Answer
About five minutes. Sign in, name your portal, and it is online at yourcompany.myforumcat.com. Nothing to install.
SMF
SMF forum software is free.
The upkeep is the price.
Simple Machines Forum has been running boards for a long time and it still does the job. If you are done being the person who patches it, this is a hosted portal for customer questions instead.
Free for 7 days. No credit card. Live in about five minutes.
5 minfrom sign-up to a live portal
0security patches to apply
$9one time for a working portal
7 daysfree, no card needed
About SMF
What SMF is, and what it asks of you
SMF, or Simple Machines Forum, is free, open source, and self-hosted. It is written in PHP, it runs on ordinary shared hosting, and volunteers have maintained it for a long time.
It earns the loyalty it has. It is light and it does not ask much of a server. A small board can sit on it for years without drama.
What to weigh is that every part of keeping it safe is yours. PHP versions move on and security releases arrive. Mods need checking, the certificate expires, and backups need testing. A public board collects spam registrations whether or not anyone is watching.
There is no importer, and that is the point
There is no importer. Nothing here reads an SMF database.
Saying that out loud makes the plan simpler. The new portal starts with this month, and the old board keeps the past.
You lose nothing by leaving SMF exactly where it is.
Side by side
Running SMF, and running this
The same jobs, and who does each one. Their column describes the software as it is normally run, not any one plan.
| SMF on your server | Forumcat | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | Download it and run the installer on your host | Nothing to install |
| Server and hosting | Shared hosting or a box, and it is yours | None. We run it |
| Updates and patches | You watch the release notes and apply them | We apply them |
| SSL certificate | You arrange it and renew it | Automatic, and renewed for you |
| Backups | You take them, and check they restore | Part of the hosting |
| Spam and moderation | Mods, a captcha, and moderator hours | Sign-in needed to post, plus staff tools and bulk actions |
| Price shape | Free to download. You pay in hosting and hours | $9 one time, or $99 a month on your own domain |
| Your own domain | Yes, on your own hosting | Yes on Pro, with SSL included |
| REST API and MCP server | Depends on the mods you install | On every plan |
| Private questions | Boards you hide with permissions | Private questions and private categories |
| Time to live | A day, once the hosting is ready | About five minutes |
Vendor pricing moves, so we describe the shape and leave the number to their pricing page.
Inside
A private question when it needs to be one
Some questions carry an order number or a screenshot nobody else should see. Staff can make any question private, and a whole category can start every question private.
Only the person who asked it and your team can open it.
- Votes on questions and replies, so the shared ones rise
- One accepted solution, pinned under the question
- Search, related questions, and a log of searches that found nothing
Starting over
When a fresh start is the right call
If the board is now mostly customers asking how something works, a Q&A shape fits better. One accepted solution under a question does more for the next reader than a ten-post thread.
Starting fresh takes a name and an address. Answer the ten questions you always answer, and the archive has begun.
The fresh start
Three things, and you are running
No download, no database, no certificate. The whole setup is a name and an address.
- 1
Create the portal
Sign in, give it a name and an address, and it is online. There is no server to point at and nothing to configure first.
- 2
Answer the ten you always answer
Post the questions your team types out every week, and answer them once. That is the archive started, and it is public and searchable straight away.
- 3
Send people to it
Link it from your site, from your old board, and from your support replies. Reading and searching need no account at all.
Pricing
Two plans. Both flat.
The bill does not grow with traffic, questions, or seats. Pick a plan, and that is the price.
| Basic | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9 one time | $99 a month, or $990 a year |
| Portal address | yourcompany.myforumcat.com | Your own domain, SSL included |
| Team seats | 2 | Unlimited |
| Registered members | 1,000 | 10,000 |
| Questions | 10,000 | Unlimited |
| Media storage | 1 GB (≈2,000 images) | 50 GB (≈100,000 images) |
| Page views a month (fair use) | 100,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Search, votes, accepted solutions | ||
| Structured data, sitemap, markdown view | ||
| REST API and MCP server | ||
| Google sign-in under your brand | ||
| Analytics and search log | ||
| Free trial | 7 days, no card | 7 days, no card |
Unlimited seats and questions on Pro carry a quiet fair-use backstop, lifted for any real portal that reaches it. Page views are fair-use limits, not a meter.
Questions people ask before moving
Fair questions.
Can we import our old forum or help docs?
Answer
Not today. There is no importer. Most teams start fresh and let the new questions build the archive, which is live in minutes.
Can we keep our old forum online?
Answer
Yes. SMF sits on your hosting and nothing here reaches it. Many teams keep the old board online read-only so saved links still work. New visitors go to the portal.
What does it cost in month twelve?
Answer
The same as month one. $9 one time for a portal on a Forumcat subdomain, or $99 a month for your own domain. The bill never grows with traffic or questions.
Does it work on our own domain?
Answer
Yes, on Pro. Point a subdomain like help.yourcompany.com at Forumcat and SSL is set up for you. Your Forumcat subdomain redirects to it.
What happens to our answers if we leave?
Answer
They are yours. Every question and answer is readable through the REST API, so you can pull it all out any time.
Where to go next
Keep the board. Move the questions.
A hosted Q&A portal, live in about five minutes, on your own domain when you want it.
Create your portalFree for 7 days. No credit card.
