Do you have a preference of which software/script you want to use?
You can try out several before diving in...see how they feel before you install software on your own site.
Highly recommend you go to the
OpenSourceCMS site.
That site has set up MANY samples of blog, forum, CMS, e-commerce software you can test right on their site. Great way to see if you like that type of program without having to install it first!
I tried SMF and a a couple other forums there before installing here.
(I have mentioned this site in other posts. Finally dawned on me it should be listed under WebTools for quick reference!)