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WordPress: forum plugins

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Forum plugins for WordPress: the best providers
Forum plugins for WordPress: final comparison
bbPress
BuddyPress
wpForo Forum
Asgaros Forum
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WordPress: forum plugins

No matter what the topic is: forums are always a good platform to chat, debate or search for information. For a company, forums are a way to strengthen the community of members and promote interaction among visitors . However, if your company's website is not a forum as such, instead of choosing a WordPress theme, it is probably better to use a plugin to provide this type of space on your website. This way you can quickly create a forum separate from the usual content in which visitors can communicate..

Index
  1. Forum plugins for WordPress: the best providers
    1. bbPress
      1. bbPress, WordPress forum plugin: main advantages and disadvantages
    2. BuddyPress
      1. Most important functions of BuddyPress, WordPress forum plugin
    3. wpForo Forum
      1. Most important functions of wpForo Forum, WordPress forum plugin
    4. Asgaros Forum
      1. Asgaros Forum, forum plugin for WordPress: main advantages and disadvantages
  2. Forum plugins for WordPress: final comparison

Forum plugins for WordPress: the best providers

If you want to create a forum, you have different WordPress plugins at your disposal that you can choose from depending on your needs. Is it enough for you to have a plugin that only has the essential functions as long as it takes up little space or do you need additional functions to carry out voting or create user profiles, for example? To choose the best plugin for you, you will have to base yourself on these types of needs.

bbPress

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bbPress is a WordPress forum plugin from the creators of the famous content management system. / Source: https://wordpress.org/plugins/bbpress/

bbPress is a very popular forum plugin developed by the creators of WordPress. Some of its strengths are its simple structure and the great freedom of configuration it offers. This plugin allows you to quickly create forums and expand them with custom categories..

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With bbPress, a WordPress forum plugin, you can quickly add a forum to your website.

And best of all: bbPress is completely free . The basic version already includes the most used functions, but if you need additional functions you can also choose from the more than 200 extensions.

bbPress, WordPress forum plugin: main advantages and disadvantages

Advantage Drawbacks
totally free The basic version only includes the essential functions; additional functions are obtained by installing extensions
More than 200 extensions available to carry out surveys or evaluations Only offer a design template
Takes up little space  
Multisite compatible  
Allows you to create user profiles  
New thread notices  
It automatically adapts to the colors and fonts of the web page. By modifying the code more changes can be made.  
Akismet compatible  
Easy handling  
Compatible with many WordPress themes  
It has been developed for WordPress and shares the same code standards  
Available in multiple languages  
Optimized for mobile devices  

BuddyPress

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The BuddyPress WordPress forum plugin allows you to create a whole social network on your website. / Source: https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/

With Buddypress you will not get a conventional forum, but a social network in which members and clients of your company can create user profiles, join groups and send private messages. Like bbPress, BuddyPress is an official WordPress plugin that uses the same code standards as the content management system. Thanks to this, BuddyPress is one of the most compatible plugins with a wide variety of WordPress themes and pages..

In just a few steps you will have created your own social network: just activate the desired elements on the configuration page and, if necessary, make changes to the design to start it up.

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From the configuration page of BuddyPress, a forum plugin for WordPress, you can quickly create an exclusive social network for your company.

Another feature that BuddyPress shares with bbPress, the WordPress forum plugin featured above, is that it is completely free and can be installed as a plugin directly from the backend .

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If you want your forum to appeal to a more diverse audience, you can combine BuddyPress with bbPress or other extensions. This way you can create, for example, a standard forum and an area for social interactions.

Most important functions of BuddyPress, WordPress forum plugin

Advantage Drawbacks
totally free To create a strong online community you need extensions
Hundreds of extensions available to take surveys or evaluations  
Takes up little space  
Available in multiple languages  
It automatically adapts to the colors and fonts of the web page. Modifying the code can make more changes.  
Social network with a wide range of functions: user profiles, friend requests, groups and events  
Easy handling  
Compatible with many WordPress themes  
Optimized for mobile devices  
Developed for WordPress and with the same code standards  

wpForo Forum

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wpForo is also a free forum plugin for WordPress. / Source: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpforo/

wpForo Forum is a free WordPress forum plugin with a more modern design than many of its competitors . Its basic version includes four forum layout templates to choose from. If you buy additional plugins, you can add features such as taking surveys, uploading files, custom fields, and many more.

For starters, you can create a forum or category quickly in the backend and define the hierarchy mediant and drag-and-drop ( drag and drop ) .

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The wpForo Forum plugin for WordPress allows you to define the structure of the forums and categories in a very simple way, using the drag-and-drop method (drag and drop).

Most important functions of wpForo Forum, WordPress forum plugin

Advantage Drawbacks
Gratuitous Payment add-ons
Modern design I handle something complex
Integrated: SEO, XML sitemap and cache function  
Available in multiple languages  
Colors and style adaptable to corporate design (via code)  
Surveys, file embedding, custom fields and many more possibilities through extensions  
Compatible with many WordPress themes  

Asgaros Forum

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Asgaros Forum is a lightweight forum plugin for WordPress. / Source: https://wordpress.org/plugins/asgaros-forum/

Asgaros Forum is a WordPress forum plugin that takes up especially little space . Using the shortcode ? [Forum]? a forum is added to the desired page. The font and colors can be easily modified using an editor in the backend .

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In the backend settings of Asgaros Forum you can easily define the colors and the font of your WordPress forum.

Asgaros Forum is also a completely free WordPress forum plugin and offers an easy-to-understand platform that includes features such as a statistics page, uploading files, and creating surveys.

Asgaros Forum, forum plugin for WordPress: main advantages and disadvantages

Advantage Drawbacks
totally free Few extensions available
Takes up little space and improves page load time  
Very easy handling  
Multisite compatible  
Available in multiple languages  
Colors and style adaptable to corporate design  
Built-in statistics page to measure forum performance  
Possibility of uploading different types of files  
Suitable for SEO  

Forum plugins for WordPress: final comparison

All the plugins that we have mentioned in this article serve the main function of creating a forum area on your WordPress website. However, if your priority is to have a lightweight website that loads quickly, bbPress or Asgaros Forum will be the best choice. WpForo Forum, for its part, is a modern tool that offers you very attractive designs with its different patterns. If, instead, what you want is to create a complete social network, we recommend BuddyPress. To make the choice a little easier for you, in this table we have compared all the plugins presented :

Function bbPress BuddyPress wpForo Forum Asgaros Forum
Colors and style adaptable to corporate design They adapt automatically They adapt automatically The font adapts automatically; the color, only through the code Yes
Easy handling Yes Yes Something more complex Yes
Multisite compatible Yes Yes Yes Yes
Available extensions Yes Yes Yes Yes, but few
Akismet compatible Yes Yes Yes No
Available in multiple languages Yes Yes Yes Yes
Warning system Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post moderation Yes Yes Yes Yes
Creation of user profiles Yes Yes Yes Yes
Social network with friend requests, private groups and activity history No Yes No No
Different design patterns No No Yes No
Modern design No No Yes Something more modern than bbPress
Compatible with many WordPress themes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Optimized for mobile devices Yes Yes Yes Yes
Reputation of users Yes (with extension) No Yes Yes
Free version Yes Yes Yes Yes
Paid version No No No, but the extensions are paid No
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