bbPress install + setup

Modified on November 10, 2020

In this tutorial I will teach you how to install and set up the bbPress forum software plugin.

Before watching this video…

  1. Install and set up WordPress.
  2. Optional: Install BuddyPress.

1. Install bbPress (0:20)

  1. Log into your WordPress dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New.
  2. Search for “bbpress”.
  3. bbPress should be the first result. Click “Install Now”.
  4. After WordPress finishes downloading the plugin, click “Activate Plugin”.
  5. You should now see sections for Forums, Topics, and Replies in the WordPress dashboard.

2. Configure bbPress settings (1:11)

  1. Got to Settings > Forums.
  2. Select the settings you desire.
  3. Make sure the “Forum Root” is a unique URL, not used by an existing page on your site.
  4. Click “Save Settings”.

3. Create your first forum (2:06)

  1. Go to Forums > New Forum.
  2. Give the forum a title and description.
  3. Select the Type, Status, and Visibility for the forum.
  4. Click “Publish”.
  5. Click “View Forum” to see it on the front-end and add your first topics and replies.

4. Optional: set a WordPress page as your forum index (4:39)

  1. Go to Pages > Add New.
  2. Give the page a title.
  3. Add this shortcode into the text editor: forum-code
  4. Click “Update”.

5. Allow BuddyPress groups to have forums (6:23)

  1. Install BuddyPress
  2. Activate the BuddyPress Groups component in Settings > BuddyPress > Components.
  3. Go to Settings > Forums.
  4. Under “BuddyPress Integration”, check “Allow BuddyPress Groups to have their own forums”.
  5. In any BuddyPress group that you manage, go to Admin > Forum and then associate the group with a particular forum.