What is the best way to add a forum to my current website?

Ask David

I currently have a WordPress website. I want to add a forum. My WordPress website is already slow, so I’m thinking it is for sure better to switch to UltimateWB before adding the forum. But can you go through my choices on how to add a forum to my website – whether if I stay with WordPress or switch to UltimateWB? Thanks!

There are several ways to add a forum to a website, but the right choice depends on more than the forum software itself. You also need to consider your existing website’s performance, the number of plugins or other components you’ll be adding, ongoing costs, maintenance, and how well the forum will integrate with the rest of your website.

Since your WordPress website is already slow, I would think carefully before adding another substantial component to it. A forum can add another significant component to a website, so this is a good time to look at the bigger picture rather than simply adding another plugin and hoping for the best.

Option 1: Add a Forum Plugin to Your WordPress Website

It is easy to think that the simplest option is to stay with WordPress and add a forum plugin. If your existing WordPress website is fast, stable, and relatively lightweight, this can be a reasonable approach.

But that’s not the situation you described. Your website is already slow.

Adding a forum plugin means adding another substantial piece of software to the WordPress installation. Depending on the forum solution and the features you need, you may also need additional plugins or paid extensions for memberships, user profiles, private forums, notifications, moderation, or other functionality.

That can turn into a stack of interconnected components: WordPress core, your theme, the forum plugin, extensions, and your other existing plugins. Each component can introduce its own resource usage, compatibility considerations, updates, security issues, and potential conflicts.

There’s also the ongoing cost to consider. A forum plugin may have a free version, but the functionality you actually want may require paid extensions or a premium license, often with recurring renewal costs.

So if your WordPress site is already struggling with performance or has accumulated a lot of plugins, I would not simply add a forum plugin and assume everything will be fine. First determine why the site is slow. If the underlying problem is the WordPress/plugin architecture itself, adding another major plugin can make the performance problems even worse – and a slow website can lead to frustrated users and a higher bounce rate.

In this situation, I’d seriously consider whether it makes more sense to address the underlying platform before adding the forum, rather than continuing to build on an architecture that is already causing problems.

Option 2: Keep WordPress and Use Separate Forum Software

You don’t necessarily have to use a WordPress forum plugin.

Another option is to keep your WordPress website and install separate forum software, such as phpBB, XenForo, or another forum platform.

This gives you more choices when it comes to forum-specific functionality, but it also means you’re managing another application.

You’ll need to consider how the forum will be integrated with your website, whether users will have separate accounts or a shared login, how the forum will match the design of the rest of your site, and how you’ll handle updates, backups, security, and maintenance.

Running two separate systems can add quite a bit of complexity. You’re not just adding a forum — you’re taking on another application to install, update, secure, back up, and integrate with your website. Separate forum software can make sense when you specifically need its functionality, but it’s worth considering whether that additional complexity is justified for your website.

Option 3: Use a Hosted Forum or Community Service

Another possibility is to use a hosted forum or community service.

The advantage is that you don’t have to install and maintain the forum software yourself. The tradeoff is that you’re adding another service to your website, usually with an ongoing subscription cost.

You also have less control over the underlying software and hosting environment, and the forum may not feel as fully integrated with the rest of your website.

You’re also committing to another company’s pricing and platform. If the service changes its pricing, features, policies, or availability, those changes can affect your website and community.

This can be a good choice if convenience is more important to you than having complete control over the forum.

Option 4: Move the Website to a Platform With a Built-In Forum

If you’re already considering rebuilding your WordPress website because of performance or other issues, there’s another possibility: move the website first and then add the forum as part of the new website.

This is where a platform with built-in forum functionality can make a significant difference.

With UltimateWB, the forum is built into the website builder. You don’t have to install a separate forum plugin to add a message board to your website.

The forum can include categories and subcategories, user permissions, polls, file uploads, moderation and spam controls, post likes and dislikes, search, topic ratings, and other forum functionality. You can also allow either members or visitors to participate, depending on how you configure the site.

For details on creating, customizing, and integrating the forum, see Create, Customize, & Integrate Message Boards (Forum) For Your Website.

The important distinction is that the forum is part of the same website platform rather than another major plugin or separate application that has to be added and maintained alongside everything else.

If you’re already considering rebuilding because your existing site is slow or becoming difficult to maintain, this is a good time to consider whether moving to a platform with built-in forum functionality makes more sense than continuing to add components to the existing setup.

So, Should You Switch From WordPress Before Adding the Forum?

In your particular situation, yes – I would seriously consider switching before adding the forum. You’re already dealing with a slow WordPress website, and you’re considering a major new feature. That makes this a good point to reconsider the underlying platform rather than build the forum into a setup you’re already unhappy with.

The question then becomes what you value most:

Stay with WordPress: Less disruption to your existing website, but potentially more plugins, extensions, renewals, and maintenance to get the forum functionality you want.
Use separate forum software: More forum-specific choices, but you’re managing another application and dealing with integration between the forum and your website.
Use a hosted forum service: Less software to maintain yourself, but another ongoing service, subscription, and platform to depend on.
Move to UltimateWB: A website platform with the forum and other functionality built in, without requiring a separate forum plugin or application.

I would look at the total cost and complexity, not just the initial price of the forum. Consider the software itself, paid extensions or subscriptions, renewals, maintenance, security, performance, integration, and how much control you have over the website.

So What Does a WordPress Forum Actually Cost?

And just for kicks, if you want to see what adding a forum to WordPress can actually cost, I did some research into the current pricing.

The basic forum software doesn’t necessarily cost anything. bbPress, Asgaros Forum, and wpForo all have free versions. So if all you want is a basic discussion board, you can add a forum to WordPress without paying for the forum software.

But what if you want more?

Maybe you want polls, private messaging, file attachments, advanced attachments, user mentions, reactions, or other features. Depending on the forum you choose, some of these may be included, while others may require paid add-ons.

For example, wpForo’s core forum is free, but its paid add-ons include features such as polls, advanced attachments, private messaging, user mentioning, reactions, and topic tags. You can buy add-ons individually, or wpForo currently offers an 8-add-on Basic Bundle for $190 and a Full Addons Bundle for $290.

And here’s another thing to pay attention to: the paid wpForo add-ons are subject to yearly licensing for future updates. The bundle includes one year of premium support, and the vendor states that its products are subject to yearly licenses for future updates. You can continue using the version you already have, but keeping the add-ons updated becomes an ongoing licensing consideration.

That matters because you’re not dealing with just one piece of software. You have WordPress, your theme, the forum plugin, its add-ons, and potentially other plugins — all of which can be updated independently. There have even been compatibility issues between older wpForo add-ons and newer versions of wpForo, which illustrates why keeping these components current can matter.

Then there’s membership functionality.

If you want people to pay for access to the forum, have different membership levels, restrict certain forums or content to specific members, or manage recurring memberships, you may need a separate membership system such as MemberPress.

MemberPress currently lists Launch at $399/year, Growth at $699/year, and Scale at $999/year at regular pricing. Its current introductory offer cuts those prices in half for the first year. Launch is the basic membership option; Growth adds community features such as ClubSuite, while Scale adds features including real-time direct messaging.

So you could have:

Basic WordPress forum:
Free forum plugin → $0

Forum with additional features:
Free forum plugin + paid add-ons for things such as polls, advanced attachments, and private messaging → potentially hundreds of dollars

Membership forum:
Forum + forum add-ons + membership software → potentially several hundred dollars per year or more

And that’s before counting your WordPress hosting, premium theme, other plugins, security and backup services, payment processing, and any development work needed to make all of these components work together.

That’s the part that’s easy to overlook. The question isn’t just “How much does a WordPress forum plugin cost?” It’s “How much does the complete forum setup I actually want cost?”

And with a WordPress site, you also need to think about what you’ll have to keep updating and renewing to keep all of those pieces working together over time.

So, What Would I Do?

If you’re already rebuilding the website, choosing the platform before adding the forum gives you the opportunity to build the forum into the site’s overall architecture instead of treating it as something added on afterward.

And actually, I would have recommended switching from WordPress to UltimateWB for a long list of other reasons as well – website performance, maintenance load, security, plugin dependencies, ongoing costs, and overall control of your website.

Those are bigger platform considerations that go beyond simply adding a forum. If you’re interested in the details, we’ve covered them in depth:

And if you’re building a forum website from the ground up rather than adding a forum to an existing website, see What is the Best Way to Create a Forum Website?.

Ready to design & build your own fast-loading website with a customized forum? Learn more about UltimateWB! We also offer web design packages if you would like your website designed and built for you.

Got a techy/website question? Whether it’s about UltimateWB or another website builder, web hosting, or other aspects of websites, just send in your question in the “Ask David!” form. We will email you when the answer is posted on the UltimateWB “Ask David!” section.

Meet David from the UltimateWB Team

David is a full-stack web developer with over 20 years of experience in programming, design, and server administration (WHM/cPanel), specializing in building high-performance, secure web solutions that prioritize user autonomy. Have a technical hurdle? Ask David!