Hey guys,

I recently started up a video game news site, and so far all is going relatively well; (except for the fact that I'm struggling with finding regular visitors. Then again it's only 2 weeks old and I've gotten nearly 1,000 hits)

I'm running the basis of the site with Wordpress, and you can see the layout and setup for yourself at http://www.GamerFill.com
(I'm posting this link so people can help me, not to advertise.)

Now, when I created it with Wordpress, I had imagined that users would be able to register, select avatars, customize things, etc.
I understand that they can create their own "gravatars" if they know how, but most regular viewers won't have a clue how to do that, and it would be too much of an inconvenience to explain how to do it. I would lose faith in my viewers.
I also understand that yes, wordpress does have a registration system, but it's not exactly the same thing as what I'm looking for. Users can't really do anything with it at all, and if anything, it would just pose as a security breach to the core of the blog.

Long story short, I'm looking for a system similar to what you can find at http://www.gamespot.com
or
http://www.gameinformer.com/
or
http://www.1up.com

What I mean by that, is I want users to be able to register, change their own images, and feel like they're apart of the community.
However, I DON'T want it to be forum-based.
I still want it to be blog-based, and if possible, wordpress-based (so I don't have to change my theme; I spent $30 on that thing).

I have my theories. (IE: I think it might be an integration between forum and blog, using the database of registered forum users to post at the blogs. Is that close?)

What exactly do I have to do to achieve this type of system? Is it another thing like Wordpress altogether? A custom script that I'd have to hire somebody to make? Do I need to create a message board and then just use some kind of script to import the registered users' data? Or am I just not understanding a big picture?
It would even be nice for users to be able to host their own blogs, customize profile information, PM each other, post images, etc.

My hosting IS unlimited space, unlimited bandwidth, etc, so there shouldn't be any problem there.

A great deal of thanks to whoever can help me out with this!

My hosting IS unlimited space, unlimited bandwidth, etc, so there shouldn't be any problem there.

I wouldn't bank on that!!!
http://www.webmaster-talk.com/web-ho...ight=unlimited

Sounds like you might want to have something custom built or maybe customized from an existing script. Since you're already using WordPress you may want to start with WordPress developers who can modify the existing registration system. You may even find there are already existing plugins that do what you want or close to what you want.

There are plenty of free scripts and tutorials for creating a registration/login system. Just search for either.

I spent $30 on that thing

That's not exactly a lot of money. If you hire anyone to create a registration/login system be prepared to pay a lot more. If you don't want to or can't afford to pay much you'll have to accept some compromises like using whatever avatars WordPress allows.

Here's a plugin I found in about 10 seconds that lets you add your own avatars for people to use. If you click the tags at the bottom of the page or try some different searches I'm sure you can find more.

Oh and Chris is exactly right about your hosting. There's not such thing as unlimited space and bandwidth despite what your host advertises.