WordPress Forum AddOns

Lisa

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I know the majority who run WP prefer to integrate forum software from the big boys - XF, IPB, etc. I've spent some time investigating what addons there are available, and there are quite a few. The ones that stand out the most to me are:-

bbPress is an obvious one which, if you combine it with BuddyPress, you can build your own social network. The main upside of these is they're both official WP plugins.

wpForo is quite a pretty one, but to gain any real functionality - like messaging, polls, embedding and ads, you have to purchase their extras , which can cost a pretty penny.

Asgaros is another nice one, and while it has a few of the features you'd have to pay to get on wPForums, it's still pretty basic and there's no extension availability for it for anything above and beyond.


So, I suppose my question is does anyone use one of the addons available. What are your thoughts on them, experiences with them, etc?
 
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Lisa

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Do you mean wpForo?
Yeah. I was on auto pilot lol I'll edit my post :)
I think wpForo is the best visually. There are some impressive communities running on wpForo that look & feel fantastic. But having to pay extra for PMs or Polls just gives me an immediate vibe of "what am I getting into here?"
Yeah, that's my vibe too.
 

Alpha1

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overcast

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You can integrate Ads in Wpforo without their add ons. You can use other free WordPress ad rotators which are free and use them in your wpforo forum.
 

Lisa

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You can integrate Ads in Wpforo without their add ons. You can use other free WordPress ad rotators which are free and use them in your wpforo forum.
Good to know :)
 

gConverter

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May 7, 2016
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wpForo is quite a pretty one, but to gain any real functionality - like messaging, polls, embedding and ads, you have to purchase their extras , which can cost a pretty penny.

Go for wpForo for sure. wpForo is 100 times better even without addons. In case you need private messages and polls you can get those with tons of discounts. They have Sale Packs + you can contact them and ask for discount. You just need 2-3 addons, like Private Messages, Advanced Attachments and Polls. Those will cost you a few dozens of $$$, not more. You can see those addons worse those many. Those are super modern, smooth and feature-rich. All wpForo addons are unique, you can find those on demo forums and you'll see why they are not free. I can say without any doubt that the wpForo Private message is better than any other forum PMs. It's a mix of FB chat and regular PM conversation with tons of option to control and add/remove members from conversation. this is the most modern PM solution I've ever seen. i can say the same for Advanced Attachment addon and for others.

Also with the new Thread Layout you can create a modern discussion list forum. wpForo has 4 forum layouts, most of those classic forums, but this one is totaly different:
Screenshot--wpForo-Threaded-Forum-Layout--View-Forums-List-collapsed.png Screenshot--wpForo-Threaded-Forum-Layout--View-Posts-List.png

in case you want to have a rich Profile system, you can use wpForo with BuddyPress. it's 100% integrated (activity page, real-time notification, forum tab in profile page, etc...). Or you can buy wpForo Custom User Fields addon and keep all with wpForo. So the best and professional solutions always cost some money. There is no 100% free perfect solution in forum world.
 
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Lisa

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Go for wpForo for sure. wpForo is 100 times better even without addons. In case you need private messages and polls you can get those with tons of discounts. They have Sale Packs + you can contact them and ask for discount. You just need 2-3 addons, like Private Messages, Advanced Attachments and Polls. Those will cost you a few dozens of $$$, not more. You can see those addons worse those many. Those are super modern, smooth and feature-rich. All wpForo addons are unique, you can find those on demo forums and you'll see why they are not free. I can say without any doubt that the wpForo Private message is better than any other forum PMs. It's a mix of FB chat and regular PM conversation with tons of option to control and add/remove members from conversation. this is the most modern PM solution I've ever seen. i can say the same for Advanced Attachment addon and for others.

Also with the new Thread Layout you can create a modern discussion list forum. wpForo has 4 forum layouts, most of those classic forums, but this one is totaly different:
View attachment 53173 View attachment 53174

in case you want to have a rich Profile system, you can use wpForo with BuddyPress. it's 100% integrated (activity page, real-time notification, forum tab in profile page, etc...). Or you can buy wpForo Custom User Fields addon and keep all with wpForo. So the best and professional solutions always cost some money. There is no 100% free perfect solution in forum world.
Sounds like you're a fan :)

I'll definitely have a fool around with it.
 

gConverter

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May 7, 2016
Messages
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We know well wpForo, because we provide forum to forum migration services. This year, we're getting lots migration projects to wpForo from different forum softwares. So we know all wpForo functions and features very well.
People are happy with the migration, it opens door to dozens of thousands WordPress plugins. Using wpForo means an opportunity to use WordPress themes and plugins for your website. Almost all themes and plugins are compatible with wpForo, because it's 100% WP product and based on WordPress user system and settings. You can use WordPress security, cache, profile builder, authorization, paid membership and other types of plugins with wpForo. This is the main reason why there are very few addons for wpForo. Only very specific forum features are included in wpForo addons, all other features can be found in free WordPress plugins.
 

Lisa

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We know well wpForo, because we provide forum to forum migration services. This year, we're getting lots migration projects to wpForo from different forum softwares. So we know all wpForo functions and features very well.
People are happy with the migration, it opens door to dozens of thousands WordPress plugins. Using wpForo means an opportunity to use WordPress themes and plugins for your website. Almost all themes and plugins are compatible with wpForo, because it's 100% WP product and based on WordPress user system and settings. You can use WordPress security, cache, profile builder, authorization, paid membership and other types of plugins with wpForo. This is the main reason why there are very few addons for wpForo. Only very specific forum features are included in wpForo addons, all other features can be found in free WordPress plugins.
Good to know. Thank you! :)
 

Smokey

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Jan 22, 2010
Messages
190
I never heard of wpForo, i knew of BBPress, but not wpForo. I'd like to check that out at some point.
 

overcast

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Messages
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wpforo is relatively new. I think in few years worth of promotion, they will overtake the BBPress too.
 

haqzore

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Dec 6, 2012
Messages
2,654
So wpForo does not have a Single Sign-on feature? Having two (!) different (!!) links named "Login" confuses me.
Interesting, I never noticed that.
I'd surely assume it does... But no idea?
 

SteveAR

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Joined
Nov 11, 2019
Messages
22
this is exactly what I've been looking for. Thank you guys for the information. Back in the day, this was very difficult to do
 
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