its my first blog: How to create a WordPress forum (in 3 easy steps)

Forums are one of the pillars of the internet. And despite the fact that people spend most of their time on "normal" websites, forums are one of the most attractive types of platforms you can create. In fact, many modern social networking sites are basically forums with additional features. The problem is that creating a WordPress forum can take a lot of work, since the platform itself was not developed with forums in mind.

Fortunately, we are here to help you. In this article, we will look at the three steps necessary to install a WordPress forum, including:

Install and configure the Asgaros Forum plugin.

Create the WordPress forum structure.

Test the functionality of the forum.

In order for your forum to work, we'll have to add a whole new set of features to WordPress. Which can be a lot of work, so let's get started!

Content

Why create a WordPress forum?

3 popular plugins to create a WordPress forum

How to create a WordPress forum (in 3 steps)

Why create a WordPress forum?

The WordPress.org support forum.

Regardless of what your hobbies are, there are likely to be many internet forums explicitly created to discuss them. Simply put, forums are websites where you can post new topics or 'threads' and expect people to reply to you. They are the perfect place to have detailed discussions on almost any topic you can imagine. For example, there are full forums dedicated to web hosting, cooking, and even more specific hobbies like knitting.

A knitting forum.

You will often find that most of the content comes from user discussions. Unlike sites like for example the Hostinger blog where, although each article has a comment section, the main attraction is the content.

If you are a user of forums, you have probably noticed that they have many characteristics in common with social networks . Take Facebook for example: in addition to uploading photos and keeping up to date with your friends, one of the main attractions is the ability to share content and discuss it with others, like in a forum.

In fact, if you take a look at the five most popular websites on the internet, you will notice that two of them have forum functions (or similar to a forum). We have already mentioned Facebook, but Reddit is also basically a forum with many additional features.

In general, having a forum poses a different set of challenges than a website, although it also has its benefits. For example, with a forum you don't have as much pressure to post original content. They're also better when it comes to fostering discussion and engagement, which makes many users want to come back.

However, forums are not a viable option for most web projects. For example, if you want to create a portfolio, obviously a forum will have no place and you will get better results by creating a standard website.

However, if your website has a strong social component, or if you offer online services, implementing a forum may be a good idea. You can even have one along with your regular website and use it to fuel discussion of your content and services.

Creating an online forum generally requires specialized software. With WordPress, you can add forum features to your website using plugins, and there are many options. In the next section, we'll take a look at a couple of popular plugins, and then we'll show you one of our favorites!

3 popular plugins to create a WordPress forum

First we'll look at some of the most popular solutions when it comes to WordPress forum plugins. These are often the options preferred by many WordPress users, so it's worth discussing them before talking about one of our favorites.

1. bbPress

The bbPress plugin.

When it comes to WordPress forum plugins, bbPress is possibly the most popular option. In fact, it's the software behind WordPress.org's own support forums, so it comes with a stellar backup.

As such, bbPress is highly customizable. You can extend its functionality with other plugins and even configure dedicated themes for your WordPress forum. Overall, it's a great option if you're looking for a forum plugin with a lot of advanced features, although it looks a bit dated in terms of style.

2. wpForum

The wpForo plugin.

Next on the list, wpForo offers an experience that falls somewhere between bbPress and the next plugin (Asgaros Forums) in terms of features. It is a little more complex to configure than the latter and has a lot of advanced features. The plugin even offers its own set of extensions, although not as many as bbPress.

And in terms of style, wpForo gets high marks. It looks as elegant as Asgaros Forum, although it has more visual components. If you want to use a forum plugin that offers advanced features while looking great, this is an excellent option.

3. Asgaros Forum

The Asgaros Forum plugin.

Let's see now the solution that we will be using for the rest of this article. Asgaros Forum is one of the many free WordPress forum plugins. However, it stands out for its ease of use. In practice, it will only take a few minutes to configure the plugin and have a fully functional WordPress forum ready.

If you want to have more control over the user experience in the forum, the plugin also offers a large number of settings that you can adjust. Once the plugin is active, you will be able to set up a dedicated WordPress forum page on your site. Then you can use it in much the same way as any other forum and create threads, comment on existing ones, configure subforums and more.

You can also add individual forum sections to virtually any page using shortcodes, which can be useful if you don't want to set up a full discussion board. Furthermore, the plugin also includes basic moderator functions. This means that you can delete content if necessary, and even suspend users for repeated violations. If your WordPress forum grows, you can also designate other users as moderators to help you keep everything under control.

Finally, Asgaros Forum allows you to customize the style of the forum using themes, and supports multiple languages by default.

Main features:

It allows you to set up a fully functional WordPress forum in minutes.

Allows users to comment as guests.

It allows you to moderate the content of the WordPress forum and designate other users to help you.

Provide reports on specific posts and suspend users if necessary.

Although easy to use and configure, the Asgaros Forum is not far behind in terms of functionality either. It offers pretty much all the features you'd expect from any modern forum in 2019. Unless you're looking for some fairly specific feature, Asgaros Forum is our recommendation.

How to create a WordPress forum (in 3 steps)

In this section, we will show you how to create a WordPress forum using the Asgaros Forum plugin. Although the other plugins we have introduced will have similar steps, (obviously) the process may vary. This means that you may need to consult the documentation for specific instructions.

Step 1: Install and configure the Asgaros Forum plugin

Of course, you will first have to install and activate the plugin . Go to the WordPress panel to the Plugins> Add new tab and look for the Asgaros Forum plugin:

Installing the plugin from the Asgaros forum.

Click the Install Now button next to the plugin name, then click the blue Activate button . At this point, a new Forum tab will appear on your WordPress dashboard.

Here you will find a Settings option . You must configure which page to include your WordPress forum on. You can do this using the dropdown menu that lists all of your pages. While you're here, you can also configure the number of responses and discussions you want to show on each page:

Setting the location of your forum.

In general, the default values are a good choice. However, you can safely increase the number of responses per page, if desired. The Asgaros Forum plugin then uses its own built-in editor for new topics and comments, which is enabled by default. We will show you how this works in a minute, so we recommend that you leave this setting enabled.

Later, there is an option to enable the use of shortcodes in the editor, which we recommend disabling since it can cause security problems:

Disable shortcodes within your editor.

You can then configure the plugin to highlight the moderator and author names within each topic. This is usually a good idea, so users know who to contact in case of problems, so let's keep both settings turned on. While we're at it, let's also activate post counters, as they encourage users to be more active:

Activating the publication counters.

Keep scrolling down and you will find some options to display the login, logout and registration buttons for your forum. We recommend activating these options so that users can easily find the buttons:

Add login and logout buttons to your forum.

The next section includes settings that take care of the basic functionality of your forum. Here you can enable user mentions, reactions and a screen that shows who is online. You can also enable guest posts, although we recommend not doing so, as it makes it easier for people to spam your forums:

Enabling the publication of guests in your WordPress forum.

Below, you will find the option to enable subscriptions for your users. This means that they will receive notifications when there is new content in the publications to which they are subscribed:

Enable subsequent subscriptions.

We only have two sections left to cover now. The first includes settings related to the profile. In most cases, it is advisable to allow users to create profiles, as it is a feature that people expect to see. You can also configure if users who are not logged in can see those profiles, which is up to you:

Forum profile settings.

Finally, if you scroll to the bottom of the Settings page , you will find the option to enable reports and receive notifications when users send them. This should facilitate the moderation of the forums, so we recommend activating both:

Enable forum posting reports.

If you like to keep your mailbox clear, we recommend creating an email just to address forum related issues. Otherwise, as you have more users it will be more difficult to locate the forum notifications in your inbox.

And that's it for your WordPress forum setup. Now save your changes and go to step two!

Step 2: Build the WordPress forum structure

Now that you have configured the way your WordPress forum will work, we can start working on the basic structure. To do this, go to the Forum tab > Structure within WordPress. There you will see that the plugin has already configured a basic forum:

The Structure tab.

At this time, the forum is empty. If you see it from the front-end, it should look like this:

Your new WordPress forum.

At this stage, you can already post new topics in the forum and people can reply. However, a serious forum should have several unique sections to keep everything organized. For example, you can set up a welcome forum where people can introduce themselves, which is what we are going to do now. Click the Add Forum button to get started:

The Structure tab.

To add a new forum page you just have to choose a name, a description and a parent topic if you want it to be a subforum:

Adding a new forum.

You can also configure the order in which the plugin will display your forums using numbers:

Setting the order of the forum.

Now we are going to edit the forum that is already configured for us, so that we can use it. To do so, click the Edit Forum button to the right of the name. Rename it and write a description. While you're here, you can also assign a new number to it in the Order field .

Now you already have two forums running and you know how to create a new one if you wish. If you want to create a subforum, click the Add sub-forum option to the right of the parent forum:

Adding a new subforum.

When the forum structure is ready, you can advance to the final step, where we will test if everything works correctly.

Step 3: Test forum functionality

The first thing you will want to do is create a new theme to check if everything is working correctly. To do this, click the New Topic button on the right side of a specific forum.

As we mentioned earlier, the Asgaros Forum plugin uses a reduced version of the WordPress editor. Here, you can define a title and write the description of the new topic:

Creating a new forum topic.

Since this is a test topic, you can write whatever you like. While we're at it, tap the Subscribe to this topic option so you can test if the plugin emails are sent correctly.

When the theme is ready it should look like this:

An example of a forum topic.

Note that there are multiple options to interact with your theme. As an administrator, you can fix, delete, and close threads, which is something normal users can't do. You can also reply to any topic in your WordPress forum by clicking the button at the bottom right, which will open the editor again.

If you can post new topics and posts, you will know that the forum works correctly. You just need to inform your users so they can register!

conclusion

When people think of WordPress, forums are not usually the first thing that comes to mind. However, with the correct plugin, anyone can set up a WordPress forum. You have many options to choose from, but if you are looking for something simple, Asgaros Forum may be your best option. With this plugin, you can set up a functional forum in a matter of minutes, including all the features you need.

And if you are not a WordPress fan, there are plenty of other options to choose from. For more information, see our article on the best software solutions for online community building forums.

Have a question about setting up a WordPress forum? Let's talk in the comment section below!

Monday, December 9, 2019

How to create a WordPress forum (in 3 easy steps)