Can I create a website/forum with wordpress?

[Jarfi]

I am trying to create a website that has a login/registration/logout and profiles with avatars, it also has forum like comment boards, blogs and stuff like that.

It's basically just a media site where people can talk on, there might even be a chat box.

I have finished all the concept work and all that so I am trying to create a prototype,

I started with HTML but realized learning it would take too much time to be worth the work(more efficient hiring a programmer)

Then I moved on to wordpress and after trying it I saw you can only use or design themes,

so my question is, for my website that is a bit forum like but has other possibilities, can I custom design a new theme with plugins in wordpress so that it does just that?

or is it better for me to use php, or maybe even java servlets(since I know java)?

 

[gmar]

https://wordpress.org/plugins/bbpress/

 

[coffeejunky]

There is a lot of debate on which is better to use. That is, servlets or PHP or ASP or Perl or Ruby. Off the top of my head, PHP has a strong and large community. Using PHP or any of the above would be more suitable for your task.

 

[tridianprime]

You mentioned java servlets. I am currently working on a new web application (java) and was going to use a framework such as Spring or Wicket but then I was recommended the Play! Framework. It has been really good so far and I would highly recommend it.

http://www.playframework.com

A quick start guide:

http://www.playframework.com/documentation/2.3.x/HomeHave fun!

 

[DavidSnider]

check out phpBB or some other open source forum software.

Writing your own is re-inventing the wheel and I wouldn't suggest it unless you intend to do it better that what is already out there.

 

[elusiveshame]

check out phpBB or some other open source forum software.

Writing your own is re-inventing the wheel and I wouldn't suggest it unless you intend to do it better that what is already out there.

Agree. The other exception I'd say is if you're going to program your own, it should be because you want specific functionality that isn't supported by any forums or plugins for the available forums. I did that with one of my sites, mainly because I hate going through other peoples source code, and modifying them for certain functionality (such as adding a "like" feature or integrating some other software / processes that may serve as the foundation of your forum/web app). Since I do a lot of game development in my spare time, I ended up switching from phpbb (very excellent forum software btw) because I wanted a method of integration with achievements being tied to the profile, as well as for future leaderboards and other functionality that would just take too long to hack away at phpbb.

But to the original question, yes, you can use Wordpress, but if you're going to eventually move forward with more custom functionality, it would be more beneficial to learn php or asp, and how to utilize a database back end, such as MySQL (php/Linux servers) or Microsoft SQL (windows/asp), or if you're into torturing yourself, oracle database :p