So you want to start your own discussion forum. Great. All you need is some forum software to help handle and build it.

The entire world of CMS (content management systems) has a great deal to offer regardless of what type of website you’re looking to construct. That’s both good news, and news.

As for the fantastic news, it means that you will eventually find yourself. The good thing is, thanks to there being so many to select from, it’ll be hard to generate a call.

Here are my top picks for forum software in no particular order to give you a helping hand.

1. VBulletin

Released in 2000, VBulletin has been around for a while, and for good reason.

Renowned for handling of some of the Internet’s largest discussion forums, VBulletin comes in 2 forms; VBulletin 5 Join and VBulletin Cloud. The former being the self-hosted version, for which a license has to be purchased.

Unlike a few other cloud-hosted solutions though, VBulletin provides an extremely cost-effective path in to owning your own forum, together with plans starting from just $14.99 per month.

Attempt VBulletin

2. Vanilla Forums

Got a large neighborhood? Vanilla is an open-source and extendable conversation forum that comes in two different flavours, self-hosted and cloud-hosted.

If you are familiar with all the technical aspect of running a web site, you may download the version that is self-hosted for free. To use Vanilla as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) and forget about the hosting and technicalities, their pricing begins from $99 per month.

Because of a thorough level of layout customisation, Vanilla can be branded to match current sites, or tailored to appear just the way you desire. Additionally, it integrates with WordPress, Salesforce Mailchimp, and more.

Attempt Vanilla

3. Node BB

NodeBB is sleek. It plugins ready to be used alongside a host of features and also has themes.

On top of the basic offerings of websites marketing, mentions and social integration, NodeBB serves up instant messaging, favorites, drafts , desktop notifications and real-time updates, maintaining members as they navigate the forums connected. It’s a solution by anyone’s standards.

Whereas the cloud-hosted variant has plans starting from $ 35 nodeBB could be self-hosted and downloaded free of charge.

Try NodeBB

4. GetSatisfaction

GetSatisfaction is a customer community platform, designed to be used by companies wanting to give their customers a place to congregate.

The platform brings forth CRM ways, gamification attributes , strong analytics and integration to glean testimonials and feedback from customers. GetSatisfaction can help promote a organization’s community as a self-serving support source for their clients.

Attempt GetSatisfaction

5. Ninja Post

Ninja Post may be the forum CMS for you if you’re looking for something unique.

The bewitching interface is easy for both users and administrators, while a live-feed approach is used by default giving community members a glance at the hottest threads as they roll up in.

Ninja Post is not lacking in features. With built in spam defence real time updates, ribbon tagging, gamification plus a few analytics, the stage may hold its own.

Attempt Ninja Post

So there you have it, 5 forum CMS, every one capable of creating discussion boards. They vary in cost but I believe there’s something for everyone within the listing above.

Which is the preferred platform? Allow me to know via the comments below if I missed your forum software out.

Categories: General