Forum type functionality on wordpress.com

• 

  stevc999 · Member · Nov 7, 2015 at 12:18 pm

  • Copy link
  • Add topic to favorites

  Hi All,

  I am not a web designer, but have put together a little blog that I share with some friends that I have made authors.

  Each week we add a new blog and others will be invited to comment. I would ideally like to add a seperate ‘forum style’ area where people can post ad hoc stuff that won’t necessarily appear on homepage and won’t be a blog. It’s really for ongoing discussions that won’t effect the weekly blog element of the site.

  Has anyone got any suggestions as to how this can be achieved? And if I’m trying to actually do something that can’t be done on wordpress.com

  Any help would be great!!!

  Thanks

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

• 

  timethief · Member · Nov 8, 2015 at 12:08 am

  • Copy link

  There is no FTP access and no blogger installed plugin capability on any free hosted WordPress.COM blogs and there is no upgrade you can purchase here that changes that reality.
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/ftp-access/
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/plugins/

  For your WordPress.COM blog you have three free workaround forum options. See here: http://onecoolsite.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/wordpress-com-forum-options/

  One approach is to register a forum on the internet and then create a custom menu in your blog and include a custom link to the forum in it.

  http://en.support.wordpress.com/menus/
  http://en.support.wordpress.com/menus/#adding-custom-links

  Another is to create another wordpress.com hosted blog using the P2 Breathe theme https://theme.wordpress.com/themes/p2-breathe/ and and include a custom link to the new forum blog in your custom menu in your main blog.

  The Tlk.io widget may be useful for your group. It allows you to embed a web chat in your WordPress.COM hosted blog. http://en.support.wordpress.com/widgets/tlk-io-widget/ There are no other chat options I know of that work on WordPress.COM blogs at this time.

• 

  stevc999 · Member · Nov 9, 2015 at 9:35 pm

  • Copy link

  Thanks for this it’s great info.

  Do you know how to add widgets to the intergalactic theme – is it possible?

• 

  timethief · Member · Nov 10, 2015 at 8:26 pm

  • Copy link

  You’re welcome.

  Do you know how to add widgets to the intergalactic theme – is it possible?

  The theme description page with set up instructions is here https://wordpress.com/themes/intergalactic/

  The one-column layout provides a distraction-free environment for reading, while the slide-out menu keeps your navigation and secondary content readily accessible.

  The live demo site is here https://intergalacticdemo.wordpress.com/ To view widgets used there and the menu click the 3 bar link on the top right corner of the page.

  For widgets see here https://en.support.wordpress.com/widgets/ and here https://en.support.wordpress.com/category/widgets-sidebars/