Do you would like to create the place in which your site’s users can meet and talk? Utilizing the Best WordPress Forum Plugins you can create an online community on your site.
Forums can assist you increase traffic and rankings, backlinks, subscribers, in addition to increasing your frequent visitors from forum members who are regular.
The process of setting up a forum however, can appear like a daunting job. Forums have numerous requirements to be set up! Thus, ensuring that you’re making use of one of the best WordPress forum plugins is vital.
Features to Look For in WordPress Forum Plugins
If you’ve never created forums before, you’re likely to be thinking about what kind of features you must be searching out for in an excellent forum plugin. Therefore, we’ve compiled the following list of the aspects you should be looking for when selecting the right forum plugin.
Usability- Forums can become complicated due to many of various functions, features and designs. You’ll need a plugin which has lots of options, yet isn’t excessively difficult to use.
Performance – It’s about increase the number of additional pages and posts to your website. Because you don’t want to have a site or forum that is slow ensure that the plugin you select will not slow down your speed.
Customizations – You’ll likely need your forum to appear as if it should be on your website in terms of appearance, and perform the way you desire. Be sure to select forum software that offers the possibilities of customization you’re looking for.
Friendly to users – Nobody will be drawn to stay and visit your forum when it’s not user-friendly! Check to see if it’s compatible with smartphones, is easy to sign up for and access and doesn’t have a slow speed.
Extras – Do you have anything particular you need your forum to accomplish? Perhaps you require the ability to publish polls, messages via push to your users or upload images or files. Take a look out what types of options you can include to your forum prior to deciding on your plugin.
Also Read:- 5 Best Ways to Collect Emails + Email Collection Benefits
Our Favorite WordPress Forum Plugins
1. bbPress
bbPress is an top WordPress forum plugin for forums. If you browse through the lists of the top forum plugins available for WordPress the one bbPress is among the top of the majority of them!
What is it that makes BbPress one of the best forum plugins? It was developed by Automattic, the company that developed WordPress, Automattic. It’s an essential WordPress plugin that’s been well-maintained and comes with a variety of amazing add-on plugins that make it truly flexible.
One of the most exciting aspects of BbPress is it really works with every WordPress design out there.
BbPress Features:
- Lightweight and quick
- Super user-friendly
- 200+ plugins for add-ons to modify your forum
- Secure
- Unlimited, open-source and free forever
Pricing: BbPress is completely free.
2. BuddyPress
BuddyPress is also owned by the same company that runs WordPress and is frequently combined with bbPress to transform your website into a complete social community. Through BuddyPress, you can add more profiles, including activity streams group chats, private messages, groups friendships, and a lot other features.
While you can certainly use BuddyPress by itself to build your private social networks, they’re a great idea when you pair it with a forum powered by bbPress. That’s the reason we’re bringing it in.
BuddyPress features:
- Create profiles that are custom-made for your forum members
- Customers can manage their personal email notifications, email and password
- Permit your users to form micro communities using groups.
- Members may communicate privately with one another.
- You can turn on stream of activity for all members as well as groups.
Prices: BuddyPress is free.
3. Simple:Press
Simple:Press is an high-end WordPress forum plugin that has many of functions and long track record of constant development. It has many of options, from security and management of users to SEO, as well as a user-friendly front-end.
Another great feature of Simple:Press is the add-ons they offer. With a variety of them in either a set or as individual, you can really customize your forum to behave as you desire it to.
Simple:Press features:
- Optional post-moderation
- User defined signatures
- Fully connected to WordPress Registrations, logins and registrations
- A powerful user group and permission system
- Can be created as public or private forums
- Creates beautiful and SEO friendly URLs
- Integrates with AIOSEO
- Private messaging system for private messaging
- Subscriptions
Pricing: You can opt to start by using the free version, then upgrade to a premium bundle that starts at $199. You can also buy each add-on you require separately.
4. ForumWP
ForumWP is another well-known WordPress forum plugin that comes with an unpaid version as well as a Pro version. It’s extremely simple to install and has an attractive design and also comes with a few other fantastic features.
The free version comes with all the basic functions of forums, such as topics, replies and profiles of users, while the Pro version comes with some exciting additional features like bookmarks, subscriptions and likes.
ForumWP offers:
- Public, private, and secret forums
- Choose a color and icon for each forum.
- Nested replies
- User profiles include forum history
- Users can join specific topics.
- Bookmarks
- Solved module for marking topics as solved
- Post moderation
Price: ForumWP starts with a free version that is basic, and is one hundred dollars per year Pro.
5. wpForo
wpForo is an open-source forum plugin that works with WordPress with more than 22,000 active installations and more than 300 five-star reviews. This is the sole forum software included on our list that can provide you with options to change your forum’s layout, and also, it integrates its forum functions with a modern, comprehensive profile system for users. profile system.
The basic Version of wpForo is absolutely free, and has numerous features, however there are additional paid extensions if you’re looking to expand its capabilities.
wpForo features:
- Four different layouts for forums to pick from
- Integrates with BuddyPress
- With an internal cache
- Responsive design
- A built-in subscription system
- Drag-and-drop forum management
- Forum built-in Antispam along with Akismet integration
- A sophisticated forum users profile system
- Forum members’ reviews and badges
Prices: wpForo is free, with a few paid extensions to its capabilities.
6. ForumEngine
ForumEngine is not an WordPress plugin. It’s a full WordPress theme to host your forum. Therefore, this forum could work in the event that you plan to create an entirely new website. In the event that you have already have an established website and are just searching for an online forum then you’ll need to select an alternative out of our list.
ForumEngine features:
- A variety of options for customization include fonts, colors and layout styles
- Front end editor
- Mobile optimized
- Created for simplicity and better interactions between users
- User badges system
- A variety of widgets are available to personalize your sidebar for your forum
- WPML is ready
Prices: ForumEngine is $49 per year.
Also Read:- 9 Quick Ways to Improve Page Loading Speed
7. Asgaros Forum
Asgaros Forum is a forum plugin with a traditional style of forum design and feel. It’s simple and perfect for forums, since it’s light and has numerous features.
Asgaros Forum features:
- Profiles and lists of members
- Feeds and notifications
- Polls
- Reactions
- Uploads
- Approval, ban and report
- Moderators, permissions, and user groups
Price: Asgaros Forum is free.
8. WP Discussion Board
WP Discussion Board is the final (but not the least) WordPress forum plugin on our list. It is compatible in conjunction with every WordPress themes, has 3 different designs to pick between, is focused on security and has an unpaid version that you can create a board.
WP Discussion Board features:
- Register users for specific user roles
- You must activate and have administration approval to users
- Restrict access and use by users with the appropriate the role
- Protection from spam
- Child boards
- Join a board or follow topics
- Media uploads
- Widgets
Prices: WP Discussion Board has the option of a free version. Or add additional features for $49 per year.
This is our listing of the top WordPress forums plugins! We hope you have found the perfect one suitable for your distinctive WordPress website.
