After the widespread spread of social media, forums disappeared from the arena of competition. Many users went to Facebook groups to engage in dialogue and discussions and completely forgot about the forums. Despite this, we find that there are many website and blog owners interested in creating a forum on WordPress, but what is the reason?
Well, the reason is simply that the forum audience, although shrinking, is still very popular and has its own audience, albeit small compared to the social media audience. For example, we find that the largest online forum with a high demand of users is Reddit, where there are more than 52 thousand active users around the world every day, according to the latest 2021 statistics.
In this article, we will talk in detail about how to create forums with WordPress from the beginning until you have an excellent forum ready to publish and receive visitors. Forums will help website and blog owners gain a larger audience base and publicize their brand, but how? Follow the topic to find out the answer.
The importance of creating a forum on WordPress
Although many website and blog owners stay away from forums and see that they do not represent the best solution to advertise the site, there are many users who own large websites and blogs looking for a place to chat about topics they are interested in, in addition to that they are usually looking to earn money. A larger audience base, in this case establishing a forum would be the most appropriate choice.
Forum positives
There are many reasons why users create an online forum and add it to their sites or blogs, perhaps the most prominent of which are:
- Earn the trust of readers and followers while increasing the loyalty of customers and other visitors.
- We find that visitors to the forum constantly contribute to publishing new content for the main site, which contributes to improving search engines on the site.
- The forum contributes to gaining more visitors and readers, thus increasing the site’s fan base.
- Investigate the opinions, ratings, and comments of site visitors through their writings in the forum. This strategy is useful in the process of developing the content or site.
Disadvantages of the forum
Despite the many positives and advantages that the forum offers, it has some negatives that make website owners hesitant to establish their own forum. We can summarize these negatives in the following points:
- Establishing a successful forum requires a lot of effort and work, whether the goal of the forum is to promote discussions or answer questions from followers.
- In addition, we find that any forum requires supervision and monitoring of messages posted by users to search for inappropriate or offensive content and deal with it so that it does not cause harm to the site or the brand.
- If the forum develops and its fan base increases, you will need to upgrade the hosting and perform ongoing maintenance for the forum, and this requires investing more effort, time, and money.
How to create a forum on WordPress
Now that we have highlighted the importance of building forums and their advantages and disadvantages, we will address the most important and fun part at the same time, which is how to build a forum on WordPress.
In fact, there are many WordPress add-ons that we can use to create a wonderful forum, but we will single out in our article one famous add-on that is characterized by flexibility, ease and simplicity, which is the bbPress add-on, an easy-to-install and use add-on. There are continuous updates to the add-on, and it has a technical support team that you can use to If any errors occur.
Add bbPress
bbPress is a plugin used to create, edit, and develop forums with WordPress. It is worth noting that bbPress is a developed add-on; Meaning that it is subject to continuous development, just as in the WordPress platform; Thus, the add-on is loaded with many new features and tools. The bbPress add-on is distinguished by its relatively small size, flexibility, and great speed in creating and developing forums compared to other similar add-ons.
Installing the bbPress plugin on WordPress
You can install the bbPress plugin by logging into the WordPress control panel, then going to Plugins << Add New , and you will see a group of plugins available on the WordPress platform.
What you have to do now is click on the search box and type (bbPress), and the plugin will appear for you. After that, you have to click on the ( Install Now ) icon. After completing the installation, click on the ( Activate ) option to be able to use the tool on your WordPress system.
Read also: How to install a WordPress plugin and activate it on your site correctly
Create a new forum on WordPress
After installing the plugin, you will notice that some new elements appear in the WordPress interface (WordPress Control Panel), which are: the Forums tab, the Topics tab , and the Replies tab , as in the picture.
All you have to do to create a new forum is to click on the Forums item in the side menu of the WordPress interface and then choose Add New . You will notice that you have been taken to a page similar to the page for writing posts or articles in WordPress blogs.
On the new page, enter a title for your forum and add a description to it that explains the most important characteristics and tasks of the forum, topics for visitors, and everything related to the forum. Make sure that this data is as brief as possible, then specify the permanent link to the forum, as follows:
In addition to the above, through the forum editing page, you can modify and add many options, such as the forum title and description, and modify some of its features. You will also notice some side customization options (forum properties), which include the following:
- Type : You can choose a forum or classification. If you want to establish one forum, you must choose ( Forum ). However, if you want to create more than one forum, it is better to choose ( Classification ) so that you can collect the forums that you will establish on your site in one place.
- Status : It refers to the status classification, which is either ( open ) or ( closed ). We will choose ( open ) if you want to allow users to create new topics within the forum, but in the case of the ( close ) option, this prevents users and visitors from creating new topics or Comment on current topics.
- Visibility : This is related to the classification of the forum’s visibility, either ( public ), ( private ), or ( hidden ), and choosing the appropriate option is up to you, knowing that public forums are the forums visible to everyone, while private forums are visible to users who are logged in to the forum. While hidden forums cannot be accessed by anyone except site administrators and moderators only.
Once these settings are completed, we will click on the ( Publish ) button, and thus you will have created your first forum, and you can preview the forum and see what the customization options you have chosen will look like.
Of course, the forum will not be composed just by completing these steps; there is more effort you must put in to reach a professional level.
How to add topics to your forum
There is an entire section for writing articles and adding topics within the forum. These topics are basically topics for discussion and the exchange of ideas and experiences between users.
The topic model available in the forum enables you to write and format content, with the ability to make it a pinned topic above the topics, determine the status of the topic, and follow it via email to review the content and discussions by visitors in this particular topic.
Integrate your forum with your site
Now we will discuss another important step in the journey of creating a forum on WordPress, which is linking the forum to your site. You may be wondering what is the importance of this step?
The importance of this step lies in quickly archiving the forum and increasing visitors to it by integrating it into the main site, in addition to gaining a larger audience base for your site in general, as visitors to the forum will browse the pages of the main site, and in return, the forum will attract the attention of site visitors and may end up among the users interacting with it. .
The process of integrating the forum with the website is summarized in the following steps:
- Create a forum page
- Add a forum page to the site
- Activate the ability to register on the site and forum
- Create a user registration page
- Create a lost password page
- Add the full registration box to the site
We will discuss each step in detail in the following lines.
1. Create a forum page
- Go to your site’s WordPress control panel, then click on the Pages section, then Add New, then write a name for that page, for example ( Forum ).
- After writing a name for the page, the next step is to convert the writing form from written text to programming code, either by pressing the buttons ( Ctrl+Shift+Alt+M ) together or by modifying the options as in the image below.
- Then paste this code [ bbp-forum-index ] into the codes page and press the ( Publish ) button.
Thus, you have created a forum page on your website. The next step is how we will display that page on the site.
2. Add the forum page to the site
This step will enable you to display the forum page within the site and enable users to access it easily. The process simply boils down to placing the link to the forum’s page in the top navigation menu of the site. To accomplish this, you must follow the following steps:
Go to the Appearance option located in the WordPress control panel, and from there click on Menus , and from there you can add the forum page to the place you want, whether it is in the specializations section, next to the main pages on the site, or in any other place you deem appropriate for the template you are using. . The important thing is that the forum page be visible to all site visitors so that they can go to the forum from there.
After completing these steps, you can preview the site to see if the forum has been linked to the site. We will find the Forum tab in the place you chose on your site.
3. Activate the ability to register on the site and forum
This step is necessary to ensure that visitors can register and participate in the forum by posting content, making comments, opening public discussions, and other activities.
You can activate the option to register visitors in the forum. All you have to do is go to your interface on WordPress and then go to: Settings << General and you will find the membership box.
Put the confirmation mark in the box ( Allow registration ) and do not forget to save the changes.
4. Create a user registration page
After we have activated the Allow registration button on the site, our next goal is to create the registration page, by following the following simple steps:
- Go to the Pages section in the control panel, then click on ( Add New ). You can name it ( Registration Page ) or any other name you deem appropriate.
- Then convert the page from a text page to a code page in the same way that we indicated while creating the forum page previously, then paste the code ( bbp-register ) in the codes page and press the ( Publish ) button.
Now, if we preview the registration page, the registration form that we designed will appear for every new user who has not registered on the site or forum.
5. Create a lost password page
We are now one step away from completing the process of creating a forum on WordPress, which is setting up a lost password page for the user so that he can recover the password if he loses it. You can do this by creating a new page, and giving it a title such as (Password Recovery).
After that, convert the page to a code page, as we also mentioned previously, then paste the following code: [bbp-lost-pass] Then press the ( Publish ) button to display the password recovery page as follows:
6. Add a registration box to the site
Now we have reached the final step, which is adding a user login page to your site in a place visible to everyone, to allow visitors to easily log in to the site. The following simple steps summarize what you need to do to get this done:
- Go to your control panel, then choose the Appearance section , and from the drop-down menu, choose Widgets. Here you can choose the location of the registration box via the drag-and-drop mechanism to the place you choose on the site.
- Then you must choose the bbPress widget and the login widget and drag and drop it into the ( main menu ) section so that you can create a registration form for the forum and the site.
- Now choose an appropriate name, such as Registration Form or something else, and then copy both the link to the registration page and the lost password page that we created in the previous steps and paste each of them into its own box in the widget, as indicated in the image below.
Then, after saving the modifications and reviewing the site, you will find that the registration section has been successfully added to the site.
Customize the look of your forum
We will now move to one of the important steps, which is customizing the external appearance of the forum, and our next goal is to choose the appropriate template in terms of performance, speed, and appearance so that you can gain the admiration and trust of users, and display the content better.
You can view our series of detailed articles on WordPress templates and how to choose them via this link , where you can choose the appropriate template for you via the WordPress platform itself.
It is worth noting here that there are many free templates available, you can choose the appropriate one from them, and if you want some distinction, you can choose from the paid templates that include some additional privileges.
You can also go to the website ( themeforest ) to purchase a template for your forum, where you will find more than 52 thousand different templates in terms of performance, functionality, design, speed, and other features that differ from one template to another.
After choosing the appropriate template, the next step will be to install the template on WordPress. To accomplish this, you must follow the following steps:
1- First, go to the Appearance << Templates option
2- You will find that WordPress offers you many free templates available on the platform, and if you want to activate any of them on your forum, all you have to do is click on the desired template and the option (preview the template) will appear for you or activate directly by clicking the ( activation)
3- You can install the template, and after the activation process is complete, you can preview the forum and you will find that the template has been activated on your forum with a comprehensive change in the design and external interface, as in the following image.
If you purchased or downloaded another template from a source outside of WordPress and want to install it on your website and forum, you must follow these steps:
1- Go to Appearance in the WordPress control panel, choose Templates, then click (Add a new template) at the bottom of the page, as in the following image.
2- Then you will be directed to a page containing many free WordPress templates. Ignore them and then click on the ( Upload Template ) option, which you will find at the top of the page.
3- Then click on the ( Choose File ) option and choose the template file that you downloaded or purchased.
3- After choosing the template file, click ( Install Now ) until the template is activated on your website and forum.
Add widgets to your private forum
By adding bbPress, you can invest many wonderful customization tools for your forum, which you can access by going to the main WordPress interface and then choosing Appearance << Widgets , and you will find a list of customization tools, the most prominent of which are:
- Forum search form : which enables you to add the forum search box wherever you want to help the user easily access the content he is looking for.
- Login element : This is the element for users to log in, and it includes a registration link and a link to the lost password page.
- Latest Topics : The item for the latest topics published on the forum, and you can easily control it and place it in a place that is consistent with the forum template.
- Forums List : Displays all your main and sub-forums with an option that enables you to select the primary forum.
- Latest replies : This is the item for the latest replies in the forum, which you can add to the forum interface.
- Statistics : The element that displays all statistics about the forum, including content, visitors, and others.
To add any of these tools to the forum, all you have to do is drag this item to the sidebar of the forum or the section you deem appropriate on the page. It is preferable not to add any element or tool unless you are sure of its importance in your forum, so as not to overcrowd the forum page and increase the page loading time.
Make the forum work the way you want
One of the great features of the bbPress plugin is that it has a special settings page on WordPress that enables you to modify various options flexibly, with the internal settings management system in your forum.
In the following paragraph, we will explain the most prominent settings provided by this add-on regarding the forum.
To go to your forum settings page, all you have to do is click on the Settings tab from the WordPress control panel, then choose Forums from the drop-down menu to find a list of pre-activated default settings for all forums on your site. We will highlight each setting and its function in case you want to change any of them. .
- Rank : through which the rank given to the visitor interacting on the forum is chosen, and we find that the activated automatic rank is ( participant ). Here you can change the default status or rank of visitors or cancel the default assignment for it if you want to manually give each user on your site a special rank after registering.
- Flooading : This is an option that allows a delay of a few seconds between new and subsequent posts, with the aim of preventing the forum from being swollen with posts at the same time. You can modify the period either by increasing or decreasing.
- Editing : Through which you can specify the period during which the user is allowed to edit his post, whether to add something new or amend the written texts to remove errors, etc. Here you can uncheck this option if you want to prevent users from editing the post immediately after publishing the post, and you can also increase or decrease the period as you wish.
Forum properties
It is the features section that you can activate or deactivate for the forum, which includes: the number of posts that are displayed on the forum’s main page, subscriptions, and the favorites list, in addition to topic formats, the ability to include links in them, and other features that will give a unique character to the forum.
After activating the settings and features that you deem appropriate for the forum, do not forget to click the (Save Changes) button to activate these settings.
Thus, you have created your forum and it is ready for visitors to interact with it.
Should I stop or continue working on the forum?
The secret to the success or failure of any forum lies in the nature of the content and the audience’s interest in it. If you create a forum on your site and allocate some time, effort and money and it produces good success, then investing more effort in it will be a successful and perhaps necessary step if you want to expand your site’s popularity and attract More customers or users.
We can say about the project of launching a forum that it is unsuccessful if it cannot attract a number of visitors who contribute to it on an ongoing basis and does not succeed in obtaining a clear increase in the number of participants in it and the diversity and usefulness of the topics presented. In this case, it would be better not to invest more effort and money in it. The current forum project, and start planning again and overcome the weaknesses that caused its failure.
Conclusion
This guide that we have provided will be your quick way to learn how to create forums with WordPress via the bbPress plugin. Of course, creating a successful forum requires a lot of effort, a good dose of patience, and a smart investment of the money you put into it, so make sure, before you embark on the project of establishing a forum on your site, that you develop an integrated work plan for the goals and results that you want to achieve through this forum.
