{"id":20037,"date":"2018-10-29T09:01:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T14:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=20037"},"modified":"2019-07-02T11:19:08","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T16:19:08","slug":"create-forum-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/create-forum-website\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Forum for Your Website"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you run a business website or a personal blog, one of the main reasons to<\/span> build a website<\/span><\/a> is to reach other people. If you want your website to become a place people regularly want to visit, then your goal should be to build a community around it.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a big goal, and you can help achieve it and even go a step further by creating a forum for your website.<\/span><\/p>\n

By enabling communication that goes more than two ways, a forum can create an active online community that not only engages with your content but also allows users to interact with each other. In essence, a forum can become a valuable part of achieving your website goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

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5 Benefits of Creating a Forum For Your Website<\/h2>\n

A forum does require extra work, so you want to be confident it\u2019s a good choice for your particular <\/span>type of website<\/span><\/a> before diving in. If done well, creating a forum for your website can yield some significant benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. It provides a place for a community to grow.<\/h3>\n

Having a website that gets visitors is nice, but if most of what you learn about your visitors is what you see in<\/span> Google Analytics<\/span><\/a>, then there\u2019s a lot you still don\u2019t know.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting visitors isn\u2019t the same thing as having a community. A community is active and engages with your website on a regular basis. The members of a community feel like they\u2019re a part of something when they come to your website. They have a higher level of investment than someone just passing through.<\/span><\/p>\n

That makes them valuable partners in the overall success of your site.<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. It gives readers a reason to keep coming back.<\/h3>\n

Many websites struggle with<\/span> turning one-time visitors into regular traffic<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyone who participates in your website\u2019s forum cares about what others in the community have to say. They\u2019ll want to see responses to the posts they make and follow conversations on topics they\u2019re interested in.<\/span><\/p>\n

To stay a part of the conversation, they\u2019ll keep coming back.<\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Your readers can learn from each other, as well as from you.<\/h3>\n

You work hard to provide valuable content to your visitors. As your community grows, you\u2019ll have a difficult time answering every single question they have. And sometimes, other people in the community will have better answers anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

Giving community members direct access to each other can be especially useful for any business that sells complicated products. Your customers can help each other do general troubleshooting, offloading some of your customer service burden while still resulting in satisfied customers.<\/span><\/p>\n

We see this at work in the<\/span> HostGator forums<\/span><\/a>. When one web hosting customer asks a question, another often chimes in with the answer.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Newer members get the help of more experienced members, and long-term participants are able to distinguish themselves as helpful and knowledgeable in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

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4. You can see what your followers are talking about.<\/h3>\n

If you do<\/span> content marketing<\/span><\/a>, then you know that coming up with relevant topics your audience cares about is an ongoing challenge. But even if you don\u2019t, any glimpse into the questions and issues your audience has can translate into useful feedback on your website and products.<\/span>
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Businesses frequently spend money and time on market research to try and figure out what their audience is thinking. When you have an active forum, all you have to do is follow the conversations your members have there to gain the same information.<\/span><\/p>\n

The forum in Carol Tice\u2019s<\/span> subscription community<\/span><\/a> for professional writers helps fuel her blog posts. She can reference forum conversations and answer common questions she sees members ask.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Because of the discussions in the forum, she knows the topics her audience cares about and can make sure her website provides the answers they\u2019re looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

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5. An open forum can improve SEO.<\/h3>\n

Private forums can make sense for businesses that want to<\/span> create a subscription community<\/span><\/a> or membership website, but if you go that route you do lose out on this benefit. If you <\/span>create a forum for your website<\/span> that\u2019s accessible on the open web, then every new conversation your community members have creates a new page to be indexed by search engines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only is regular fresh content good for SEO, but as your forum begins to cover more and more topics (using the language of your audience, no less), those forum pages and user-generated content could begin to show up for search terms you haven\u2019t covered yet on your main website.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How to Create a Forum on Your Website<\/h2>\n

Ready to set up your website forum? Here are three steps to get started.<\/span><\/p>\n

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1. Choose the right web hosting plan.<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re ready to get started and <\/span>create a forum<\/span> on your website, then one of your first steps is to evaluate if your<\/span> web hosting provider<\/span><\/a> is up for the job. If your forum accomplishes the goal of bringing a community of regular visitors to your website, then you can expect an uptick in traffic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure the web hosting plan you have now can support the forum software you choose to use and the increase in traffic likely to occur. If your current plan isn\u2019t going to cut it, take time to figure out a better option before you start building your forum.<\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Choose the right web forum software.<\/h3>\n

Next, you\u2019ll need software to create your forum with. Many of the most popular options are free and offer open-source software. A few of the top solutions to look into are:<\/span><\/p>\n