Adding Discussion Forum to WP.com website
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I’ve read the answers about this in these two discussion threads:
In addition to the options already discussed, can I install a discussion forum plugin like BBPress if I purchase the Business Plan? It seems like I can, but I want to make sure that the forum will be fully integrated (rather than a link) in the WP.com site. Thanks!
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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Let me try adding the list items again:
I’ve read the answers about this in these two discussion threads:
https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/how-to-create-forum-in-wordpress?replies=5
https://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/creating-a-forum-on-my-wp-site?replies=7
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Hello there, Both those forum replies were created long before WordPressdotcom introduced their Business plan upgrade earlier this year.
Yes, you will be able to fully integrate a BBPress forum under the Business plan. However, from what I recall from more recent discussions, your forum users may also have to register for a WordPressdotcom account as well. I’ve tagged this for Staff input on that point.
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Hi there,
@justjennifer’s reply is accurate. You can use bbPress with the WordPress.com Business Plan, but any users on the forum will need to sign up for their own WordPress.com username accounts before they’ll be able to join the forum.
How big a community are you looking at? And will anyone be able to join, or is it invitation only?
For a smaller, invitation only discussion forum you might also want to consider out P2 theme. It’s what we as a company use for all internal discussions, and have some features like front-end posting and real time comments (i.e. you don’t need a page refresh to see new comments) that other themes don’t have.
https://wordpress.com/theme/p2-breathe
But in this case your site will function like a regular WordPress.com site, i.e. you’ll need to invite any member of the forum as an author or higher on the site before they’ll be able to post, but if the site is set to public anyone will be able to comment without needing an invitation.
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Thanks for the prompt and informative replies justjennifer and kokkieh.
The requirement that users must sign up for a WP.com account is a key detail. Is it correct that discussion participants will have to sign up for a WP.com account with ANY forum plugin we choose (not just BBPress)?
The community will be closed and we have been talking about setting up single sign on (also available as a plugin through the business plan) so that our users can seamlessly go from a closed website to the blog/discussion forums. 800+ users, but I expect that there will be less than 100 active participants in discussion forums.
Thanks for the reminder about the P2 theme; I looked at it briefly and had forgotten about it. Will revisit. Like the front-end, user-friendly posting.
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You’re welcome.
Is it correct that discussion participants will have to sign up for a WP.com account with ANY forum plugin we choose (not just BBPress)?
Yes, that is the case.
And about my earlier misstatement: The Business plan has been around for some time. It’s the ability to add custom themes and plugins that was introduced earlier this year. Sorry about that. “-)
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The community will be closed and we have been talking about setting up single sign on (also available as a plugin through the business plan)
The reason why a WordPress.com account is required is because Business Plan sites use the Jetpack plugin’s single sign on feature by default, so you’ll already have that functionality. In fact, other single sign on plugins will most likely not work, as they’ll be in conflict with Jetpack. Most plugins that modify the login process on the site are not compatible with the Business Plan, as they conflict with Jetpack’s own security features.
We have internal P2 sites with 600+ users, so the number of users shouldn’t be a problem if you decide to go that route rather than a Business site with bbPress, but I feel the need to qualify that as I’ve not seen a regular WordPress.com site with that many users. (While our internal sites are technically regular WordPress.com sites, they obviously have some customizations our developers have added to serve our unique needs :) )
Just also keep in mind you can only invite 10 people at a time from My Site ->People or from Users ->Invite New in WP-Admin. This rate limiting is to prevent the feature being abused by spammers, and we cannot lift it on a site-by-site basis. So inviting 800 users will take a while.
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SO, if we set up a business plan (we’re currently Premium), the Jetpack plugins will allow us to set up a SSO from our current site (a browser-based learning management system)?
Sounds like P2 is the way to go. To make sure I understand:
- if I set the P2 site to public, I will not need to invite users to join WP.com; they can read and engage in forum discussions automatically?
- If a P2 site is private, I’ll need to invite contributors, 10 at a time. But once they are contributors, they can enter into discussions at will?
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SO, if we set up a business plan (we’re currently Premium), the Jetpack plugins will allow us to set up a SSO from our current site
Jetpack SSO is automatically active on any business plan site using custom plugins, so there’s nothing you need to activate. So if your current site is a WordPress.com site (are you speaking of https://qmmunity.quiktrak.com/?), you’ll have that feature active the moment you install bbPress.
if I set the P2 site to public, I will not need to invite users to join WP.com; they can read and engage in forum discussions automatically?
They’ll be able to read, and comment depending on your comment settings in My Site ->Settings ->Discussion, but to be able to create new posts they’ll need to be added to the site in at least an Author role, same as on any WordPress.com site. Even with P2 there’s no way to allow non-members to publish new posts on the site.
If a P2 site is private, I’ll need to invite contributors, 10 at a time. But once they are contributors, they can enter into discussions at will?
If you want them to have the ability to create new posts they’ll need to be added as Authors or higher (on Contributors if you want to give them the ability to create but not publish posts, e.g. if you want to review new posts before publication). If they only need to be able to comment on posts, inviting them as viewers on a private site would be sufficient.
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