If you are looking to create a forum maker on a website, then you need to come up with the website that will best meet your needs. There are many types of forums to consider, including a discussion forum, message board, community forum and more. Each of the forum examples found below can help you with many of these types!
Wix
Wix is perfect to help you build the online community forum that you desire. Social media has allowed users to connect, but a forum still has the ability to connect you on a much deeper level. You only need to create one code on Wix to build forum material. The platform is extraordinarily user-friendly as well through the drag and drops features available.
When you use a forum template on Wix, you will find that the features truly have the ability to create a whole sense of community. Each user can create a personalized profile as well to connect with others on a much deeper level. You can even integrate the forum seamlessly with your website if you have one through the Wix platform. Plus, it is free to use with the most basic plan that is available!
Pros
- Fully customizable
- Social profiles
- SEO utilization
- Mobile and desktop versions
Cons
- Difficulty changing templates after choosing the first
- Slow loading speeds at times
Site: https://www.wix.com/
MyWebForum
Though Wix starts with a basic free plan, MyWebForum is completely free to use to build forum material of your own. This forum maker can be used for any industry and for any ideations you have, including even a discussion board if you are an educator. This platform is extremely easy to use if you d not know where to begin as well, so it is a great starting point.
It is important to note that MyWebForum does not offer the ability to choose your own domain name due to the free nature of the platform. You can choose a hosting platform, however, that you can link to the forum that you created in order to obtain the professional domain name that you seek. You will only have to pay or the hosting platform still as well, as MyWebForum software will remain free to you.
Pros
- Free to use
- Extremely user-friendly
- Available for a variety of industries and multiple uses
Cons
- No option for your own domain name without third-party hosting provider
- Sometimes appears a bit outdated
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Site: https://mywebforum.com/
vBulletin
The platform known as vBulletin has been in the industry for over 20 years. It is truly a premium service provider, and there are no free plans. This is due to the many features that are provided to you when you sign up to use the forum maker on this platform. The most popular feature is artificial intelligence that helps you to build growth in your community forum.
There are also strong administration tools to help you manage a large community, allowing you to even build forum privacy within the greater forum. There is even the ability to link a blog to your forum in order to develop your connection with your community even more. Finally, there are self-hosting or cloud-hosting options if you are looking to create your own domain while you create your platform. Both are easy to set up, but it just depends on the technicalities you are looking for.
Pros
- Customizable forums
- Integration with blogs and media
- SEO optimization
- Administrative tools such as privacy and schedules
- Mobile and desktop versions
Cons
- No free version
- Learning curve at first
Site: https://www.vbulletin.com/
Vanilla Forums
Vanilla Forums, again, has both a free and a premium version available to you to use. The free version is best if you are looking to create a casual message board or something else open-source. The premium version is great for businesses or for schools in that you can create a discussion forum that is accessible to a wide audience.
The premium version also operates on a cloud-hosting system, while self-hosting is available on the free version with some basic capabilities and features. There are marketing tools that are available to you to use in order to reach the target audience that you have in mind. When you build a forum template, you can also set up automation for the content to post about. You can increase engagement with your community as well through the available gamification features.
Pros
- Integration with data and social services
- Multiple plugins to increase engagement
- Automative features to increase content
Cons
- Premium plan is the most expensive on the list
- Minimal customer service options
Site: https://vanillaforums.com/en/
Final Thoughts
No matter the forum maker you choose to use for your business, your students, or your personal use; each has strong features. They can help you customize a place where your community is able to share content, give advice, and speak up when it is needed.
