2 replies
Hi Warriors,

I know I don't post often here on the WF, but I still spend as much time as I can here reading through topics, trends, etc. Unfortunately, my online time is still very limited due to my long term health issues, so I miss out sometimes on the good stuff. :-(

This is a bit long, so please bear with me...

I am in the planning stages of a project I've been wanting to do for a LONG Time now because it is in a niche I'm very passionate about and as I start out, I can do it in small steps and scale up as I go. I had planned on having most of the foundation already on place by now, but multiple surgeries and follow ups, along with a horrible recovery time put the breaks on for a bit.

Already knowing of at least one surgery and biopsy coming up next month, I really need to get some feet on the project so that in my recovery time, I can play around with special "tweaks" I have planned rather than having to build from scratch at that time.

Here's my question to you Warriors...

This project is going to integrate a community/forum structure along with a blog and a few other special pages added as I scale up. Until today, I had been looking at forum software as the foundation and then having a custom theme designed for it. Then, I planned to try to integrate the blog and other pages and "hope" to keep the custom theme uniformed across all of the platforms.

Knowing the expenses of VBulletin, which in my opinion is the best stands alone forum software, I was thinking I'd have to start with a free one first (like SMF) and then convert at a later date.

About 45 minutes ago, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Wordpress has come so far over the past couple of years, I wondered if there were any options to using Wordpress as my foundation and then having a forum plugin or system that would integrate together and even share the basic attributes of the theme being used. I did a quick search and found a few options, some even including Mobile capabilities built right in.

I'm more than certain that this is the direction I should go, but because I'm unfamiliar with any of the forum options, I wondered if any Warriors might have more expertise and share what you think is the best to use to integrate like this.

Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, or whatever else might help would be greatly appreciated!

Have a Great Weekend!

Scott
#wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author icemonkey9
    Hey Scott,

    First and foremost, best of luck to you for your upcoming surgery and recovery. My positive thoughts are with you!

    I think you might be on the right track. I know that a lot of websites run by wordpress integrate with forum software like SMF or vBulletin since they can place nice with each other. In fact, you can use some SSO magic (single sign on) so that users of your brand (WP site + Forums) have a unified log-in and password to go between the two. I think the idea has legs and I'm pretty sure I've seen it elsewhere.

    I'm not 100% familiar with your business model, but at a high level, yes WordPress can be the foundation of your site AND be made to integrate with forum software at many levels, all dependent on what you want it to do, plus the skill of your web development team.

    Good luck!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author ScottRaven
      Icemonkey9,

      Thanks for the well wishes and the advice. I'm putting in as mush research time into it as I can with this change in direction. The site is not going to be your normal Internet marketing site like everything I've worked on in the past. I'm going for an Authority site and plan to cultivate it with patience to help it grow organically and with word of mouth. It will take awhile to show any kind of profit, I'm sure, but because its a niche I'm passionate about, it'll be worth the time in the long run.

      Thanks again! :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
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    • Profile picture of the author ScottRaven
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