Hosting a Forum

[Shaka_Khan]

I'd like to host my own forum for my group of outdoor activity friends someday. I've hosted and made a css and html website before. I noticed that making a forum with php is very different. What do I need to program and host a forum? I found this -> https://www.phpbb.com/ It seems to be a popular forum hosting site. Is it possible to design a forum similar to the Org with phpbb? I like the Org's layout, design, and how it doesn't have any ads. I guess it doesn't have ads because the forum is a paid one. What tool and hosting site were used to make and host this forum?