suggestions for Free forums to add to static website

[richx16]

Hi All

I have a static website where i use wysiwyg widgets, i want to add a forum to the website to allow members to post and comment etc etc. I'm looking for suggestions on what good FREE forum apps are available, It's only a small members group (50 approx) which in time may group to a few hundred max.

I can only add HTML code via the widgets so any forum software would need to provide that code only.

I've looked at SMF, Elkarte, Muut, Bravenet and Tribe

I can't seem to find how to add any of these to my static site via HTML code. I can't add PHP files.

Help!

 

[Pete]

If you have a static site, your choices for a forum are basically Disqus where you are putting their widget onto your site.

You can’t run *any* of the forum packages on a static site, it doesn’t work. That‘s the point of a static site: no dynamic resources to handle users, comments etc.

 

[richx16]

If you have a static site, your choices for a forum are basically Disqus where you are putting their widget onto your site.

You can’t run *any* of the forum packages on a static site, it doesn’t work. That‘s the point of a static site: no dynamic resources to handle users, comments etc.

if i was able to add PHP files would i beable to add forum to site?

 

[Chemical]

You can look at open source Discourse which I believe still allows you to embed it in an iFrame. It's not perfect but it may work for you if you have no other options. Beware, installing Discourse is not a trivial matter.

Also, consider adding a forum as a subdomain, so something like yourforum.yourstaticsite.com. And then linking to that in your global menu. It won't be integrated into the rest of your site, but would at least offer you the functionality. Most forums will support this, IPS, XF, Discourse etc.

If you switch to something like Wordpress then you will have more options still. Or you could bite the bullet and go for something like IPS which offers forums, blogs, galleries, articles, classified, user profiles, pms, alerts etc. Cloud and standalone options available. Very good value.

 

[LeadCrow]

You can’t run *any* of the forum packages on a static site, it doesn’t work.

Quite a handful of forums didnt use databases but flat files. Nowadays much of the processing is offloaded to clients/browsers so the old restrictions may no longer apply.

Flatboard https://flatboard.org/
live demo https://flatboard.org/index.php/forum

 

[Oh!]

I believe that YaBB still offers a flat file version/option.

 

[Oh!]

I believe that YaBB still offers a flat file version/option.

Just to add, unless they've managed to work some magic on YaBB since the early 2000's when I used it for a short while, a flat file forum has awful performance issues if is at all busy or has long threads. Something to consider.

I have to ask, what's to stop you from running a dynamic website with databases? It is probably no more difficult than what you are doing already and provides you with so many more options.

 

[richx16]

Just to add, unless they've managed to work some magic on YaBB since the early 2000's when I used it for a short while, a flat file forum has awful performance issues if is at all busy or has long threads. Something to consider.

I have to ask, what's to stop you from running a dynamic website with databases? It is probably no more difficult than what you are doing already and provides you with so many more options.

i use a website builder package so have no access to code

 

[LeadCrow]

If youd rather not micromanage a forum install no matter how lightweight, then check out Tribe. Its an embeddable forum with the functionalty you expect and the usual drawbacks of SaaS (no real sovereignty since you're using someone else's install and infrastructure, and priced according to activity level with luxuries sold separately).

Embedding a Forum: The Ultimate Guide to Maximize Community Engagement

Learn how to enhance customer experience and improve engagement by embedding a forum into your website or app. This guide will show you how to choose the right platform and embed it correctly.

tribe.so