The forum is the best way to build an online community around the blog. It will keep your users engaged and gives a reason to come back for more. Here, in this article, we will share the best options available for forum integration into WordPress blog.
Remember, there are two ways to integrate a forum in your blog. First, using the WordPress Plugin and Second, installing separate forum software. Here, in this article, we will discuss the first option only. Below, we will share the top five forum plugins for your WordPress blog.
For the first option, you don’t need to have any technical knowledge. All you need to do is install and activate the plugin. That’s it. It will integrate a forum in your blog.
If you are looking for the second method then please refer the below article. At below article, you will find the top 5 open source software for building an online community.
Top Five Internet Forum to build a great community
So, what are we waiting for? Let us discuss the top five forum plugin below.
BB Press
When it comes to integrating a forum into WordPress site, bbpress is the best option available with you. If you are looking for the forum structure like SMF, Vanilla, Phpbb, V bulletin etc then bbpress will be the best choice for you. It converts your existing WordPress site into message board easily.
This is the best forum plugin with more than 3 lakhs active installations.
bbpress forum in WordPress
For more information, you can refer to the official plugin page here.
Buddy Press
Buddy Press allows you to build your own social community within a WordPress site. It has everything that an online community requires. It includes Private Messaging, Extensible Groups, Friend Connections, User Profiles, Site Tracking, Notification, and many more features.
The best part of using this plugin is- It is extensible. More than 700 buddy press extensions are available in repository alone.
Buddy Press Setting
It will be the best option if you want to build a social community with collaborative tasks. The Buddy Press extension will allow your users to work together in a group.
For more information, you can refer to the official plugin page here.
Vanilla Forum
The third plugin in our list is Vanilla Forum. It is not so famous but if you are a die-hard fan of Vanilla open source forum software then this plugin is for you.
As the name suggests, this plugin will integrate your vanilla forum into a WordPress site. For using this plugin, you will be required to create an account on Vanilla Open Source Forum first.
Vanilla Forum into WordPress site
For more information, you can refer to the official plugin page here.
Asgaros Forum
With more than 10000 installations and average 5-star rating, the next forum plugin in our list is Asgaros Forum.
If you are looking for the simple forum plugin then this will be best for you. It is very easy to install and use this plugin. It has everything that a normal forum software must have. For the complete list please refer the below-attached image.
Asgaros Forum
For more information, you can refer to the official plugin page here.
wpForo Forum
The next forum plugin in our list is wpForo Forum. It has more than 20000 active installations and average 5-star rating.
If you are looking for a good looking forum then this plugin will be the best option for you. It is easy to install and look best than any other forum software. Just refer the below-attached images, it is really looking beautiful. Isn’t it?
wpForo Forum Plugin in WordPress
Next, it has beautiful inbuilt user profile also.
wpForo Forum Plugin in WordPress User Profile
The best part of using this plugin is – No Manual intervention required to create forum look like above one. The plugin will create everything automatically. The above snapshots are taken immediately after activating the plugin.
For more information, you can refer to the official plugin page here.
That’s it for the best forum integration options. If you face any problem in installing any of the above plugins then feel free to drop a line in the comments section below.
Further, if you think we have missed out any name then please feel free to share with us. We will be happy to include your suggestion on our list.