The first page of an SMF forum is usually the board index. The board index displays a list of categories, boards, and child boards a forum has available. Some boards or categories may not be visible to some membergroups, or guests, depending on the permissions of the forum.

A board index usually looks something like this.

• Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK

Unread Posts Category Name
	Redirect Board This board redirects to an external URL.	Number of redirects
	Board Name Board Description	Number of posts and topics	Date, time, subject and author of last post
	Child Boards: Child Board
	Board Name Board Description Moderator: Board Moderator	Number of posts and topics	Date, time, subject and author of last post

• New Posts
• No New Posts
• Redirect Board

• Mark ALL messages as read

• Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK - This is the name of the forum, and it links back to the board index. It is part of the link tree, which displays on every page of the forum and allows members to keep track of where they are.
• Category Name - A category contains boards that are loosely related and makes organizing a forum easier. Some categories have an expand or collapse icon next to their names. This allows members to choose which categories they wish to view. Collapsing a category will hide it, while expanding a category will bring it back into view.
• New Post Indicators - New post indicators light up when there are unread posts present in a board. They remain dull when nothing new has been posted. A board with child boards may have a semi-lit indicator if a child board has unread posts inside it.
• Redirect Boards - A redirect board will redirect all clicks to a new URL. Redirect boards do not have new post indicators, because they are not real boards.
• Board Name - The name of a board is displayed as a text link. Selecting this link will take you to the board's message index.
• Board Description - If a board description is present, it will be displayed underneath the board's name. A board description describes the general use of the board, which can assist members in finding the correct area to post.
• Moderators - If a board has a moderator, their display name will be shown underneath its description. The moderator of a board usually has privileges inside that board that regular members do not.
• Child Boards - Child boards serve to help further organize a forum if simple categories and boards are not sufficient. Child boards (or sub-boards) are displayed underneath the description of the board that contains them - their parent board. A child board is the same as a regular board, except that it displays inside another board.
• Board Information - The number of posts and topics inside a board, as well as information about the last post in that board, is displayed to the its right. For redirect boards this information is limited to the number of redirects.
• Mark As Read - Underneath all of the categories and boards is a button that will mark all topics and posts in the forum as read.

At the bottom of the board index is an information center. The information center displays information about the forum including upcoming birthdays, holidays, and events, who's online, and a summary of basic forum statistics. If enabled, a list of the forums recent posts may be displayed here, as well.