Bulletin and Discuz are both very good software for creating a forum, and there are a lot of free and open-source forum programs on the Internet to choose from. However, if a website is based on WordPress, integrating a third-party forum program may be a little troublesome. bbPress can solve this problem. This article will show how to use bbPress to add forum functionality in WordPress.
What is bbPress?
bbPress is a WordPress-based forum program, which uses the core program of WordPress, so users can easily implement the colloquy function in WordPress. And its extensibility is also very strong, and the desired function can be extended by adding other plugins. bbPress is lighter and faster than other popular open-source forum programs.
How to install bbPress
bbPress is a plugin for WordPress, so, it can be installed like any other plugin. Just log in to the site administrator background and go to “Plugin”-“Install Plugin”. Search for bbPress, then select bbPress from the search results, install and enable the plugin. After enabling the plugin, a welcome interface will show up.
Using bbPress in WordPress to create a forum
After the installation is successful, bbPress will add “forum”, “topic” and “reply” sections in the WordPress management background.
Click “Forum”-“New Section”, and the page that opens looks like the page where the article was posted. Give the board a name, then add a little description, and finally, click the “Publish” button.
Displaying bbPress colloquy on the WordPress front-end page
Now having created some sections, how will this section become visible on a web page? First, create a new WordPress page, give the page a name, such as a forum, community, etc., and then paste the following shortcode into the page:
[bbp-forum-index]
Close the comments and trackbacks on the page and click Post. Go to “Appearance”-“Menu” and add this page to the site navigation menu. Now, if the visitors click on the page, they will see the forum homepage.
Integrating bbPress with WordPress themes
In general, everyone wants more users to register as forum users, then the admin needs to open the registration function of the website. Go to “Settings”-“General” and check “Anyone can register” to enable the registration function of the website.
Now that the website is open for registration, the first thing that users need to register to take part in a colloquy and to be able to find the login page. Creating a login page is also very simple, just create a new page, and then give a name, such as “register”, add the following shortcode to the page, click publish.
[bbp-register]
Another page that may be used is the password reset page, which is generally used when the user forgets the password. Create a new page and give it a name, such as “Forgot Password”. Add the following shortcode to the page, and then publish the page.
[bbp-lost-pass]
bbPress comes with some very easy-to-use gadgets. Go to “Appearance”-“Gadgets” to see these gadgets. The most important gadget you may use is “(bbPress) login widget”. Drag the login widget to the sidebar or any other gadget area, enter the URL address of the registration and forgot password page, and save it.
Refresh the website page, the login form will appear in the sidebar. Users who have logged in will see their own username and a “logout” link.
Managing bbPress forum settings
Unlike other popular forum programs, the setup page of bbPress is very simple. To manage these settings, just go to the “Settings”-“Forum” page. On the bbPress settings page, and perform some basic control over the forum.
All the options displayed on the forum setting page can be explored for a better experience with bbpress
