Best plugins to Integrate Discussion Forums on WordPress

prathanajohar

3 years ago

Best plugins to Integrate Discussion Forums on WordPress

Looking for a group section to add to your WordPress site? A great way to improve user interaction and create a community around your website is through forums and discussion boards.

In this article, we are going to discuss the top five plugins to integrate discussion forums on WordPress that you can use to create a community around your website or business.

1. bbPress:

bbPress is the perfect plugin for the job when it comes to incorporating a forum into WordPress. It’s a WordPress.org sister project, which means it’s designed in the WordPress way and uses the new WordPress core to power your forum. It is easy to set up, easy to moderate and maintain, simple and clean, bbPress. Using this plugin, anyone can easily create a forum on WordPress.

Pros:

Built for WordPress, bbPress uses the same core as WordPress and meets the same guidelines for coding as WordPress.
You can do just about anything you want as it consists of more than 200 bbPress extensions.
As it’s free and open-source software you can use it for free without limitations.

Cons:

The core plugin has only the basic characteristics, so for more control, you need to install additional extensions.

2. Discussion Board:

The discussion board is a free plugin that you can use to create a forum very easily. Installing and setting up this plugin is simple, so anyone can create a WordPress forum without touching any code.

You can allow the front-end registration and login framework to attract more users by using this plugin. It has options to limit reposting, moderation for comments, etc., to stop spamming.

Pros:

The theme of the Discussion Board is intended to fit well with the plugin. You can also use this plugin with whatever theme you want.
It comes with plenty of easy shortcodes for functions like type display, list of topics, etc.
You can also get the Discussion board’s premium version at a pocket-friendly price.

Cons:

Its free version doesn’t have many powerful features.

3. BuddyPress:

Inside WordPress, BuddyPress lets you create your social network. Much like bbPress, BuddyPress is an official plugin for WordPress as well. The same coding practices and guidelines as WordPress are followed in this plugin.

You can create a full-fledged online community with user profiles, activity feeds, user groups, messaging, and networking options with BuddyPress.It enables users to add friends, send private messages, build communities, and get updates, similar to Facebook.

Pros:

It works seamlessly with any WordPress theme or plugin.
It is featured with hundreds of BuddyPress plugins and extensions from third parties to expand the features.
BuddyPress is open source and frees that’s why you can install BuddyPress and use it on limitless sites for free, and get daily updates as well.

Cons:

It is not featured with many advanced features you might have to take the help of third-party plugins to extend its abilities.

4. wpForo Forum:

WpForo is a free forum plugin for WordPress that comes with plenty of options for design and customization. For your platform, it has 3 interface layouts: Expanded, Streamlined, and Question and Answer style.

There are specific styles and features in each layout. Plus, including dark theme, there are 6 sets of forum color types in this plugin. You can easily build modern forums using this plugin where your users can join, get help, as well as contribute.

Pros:

You can use it free of charge or you can get some extra features by buying paid addons.
wpForum has advanced features like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) built-in functions, antispam, caching and XML sitemap, etc.
It is featured with a user-friendly interface to allow more social networking features with BuddyPress.

Cons:

● wpForum might be difficult to get into for a beginner.

5. ForumEngine:

ForumEngine is a WordPress theme that can convert your WordPress site into a forum for discussion. It’s a strong theme that was explicitly designed to build a WordPress platform. Right on the homepage of your website, the theme displays the forum threads.

You can create forums with ForumEngine where users can interact in several ways, such as posting topics, questions, replying, liking, or disliking a subject. It also provides users with a private space where they can view and control all their forum activities.

Pros:

It is featured with lots of widgets to add statistics, hot topics categories, etc for the forum.
It helps you to view ads on your site and gain extra money.

Cons:

● It’s a premium plugin. You can’t use it free of cost.

So, that’s it! We have listed the best plugins for integrating discussion forums. Now, it’s up to you to check all the details and choose the plugin that suits your requirement list. We hope our article was consistent enough for you to choose the best plugins to integrate discussion forums on WordPress.