PhpBB is an award-winning content management system (CMS), which enables you to build Web sites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility, have made PhpBB the most popular Web site software available. Best of all, PhpBB is an open source solution that is freely available to everyone.

What's a content management system (CMS)?

A content management system is software that keeps track of every piece of content on your Web site, much like your local public library keeps track of books and stores them. Content can be simple text, photos, music, video, documents, or just about anything you can think of. A major advantage of using a CMS is that it requires almost no technical skill or knowledge to manage. Since the CMS manages all your content, you don't have to.

What are some real world examples of what PhpBB! can do?

PhpBB is used all over the world to power Web sites of all shapes and sizes. For example:

Corporate Web sites or portals
Corporate intranets and extranets
Online magazines, newspapers, and publications
E-commerce and online reservations
Government applications
Small business Web sites
Non-profit and organizational Web sites
Community-based portals

PhpBB™ is a free content management system used to create websites. PhpBB™ allows web designers to construct sites by combining modules, and requires no knowledge of programming to use. PhpBB™'s framework is written in PHP, as are the modules used to customize websites. There is a wide variety of modules available, including RSS feeds, polls, and language internationalization, which make it easy for Drupal™ users to publish content to the web, even with minimal web design experience. PhpBB™ can also be used to publish information on intranets, making it a useful organizational tool.

Because PhpBB™'s code is open source, anyone is able to write modules and extensions of the system, making it extremely adaptable. These modules are available for download, typically through their creators' websites. Many web designers also create PhpBB™ design elements, called 'themes', which they then make available for download. Not all PhpBB™ themes are free, however, and many web designers will make custom themes for a price.