FULL FEATURES LIST Discover the awesome versatility of our features.
Forums.net provides a modern community platform for any business or organization.
Community Branding Features
White Label
Analytics
No Size Limits
Single Sign-on
With single sign-on, your members will enjoy seamless account sharing between your existing login system and your new forum.
Learn More
InSite Forwarding™
Bring all the SEO benefits of your forum's content to your primary domain without having to host the forum yourself.
Learn More
Transfer to Forums.net
We can work with you to transfer your existing community to our platform.
Learn More
Design Matching
Our team will work with you to have your community match the feel of your existing website.
Learn More
Domain Name
Use your own domain as your forum's URL. Uniquely express your community's personality.
Admin Control Panel
Our admin tools were designed from the ground up to be both easy to use and powerful, making the job of managing your forum as easy as possible.
Easy Moderation Tools
Forum moderating can often be a delicate job, so we provide effective tools for moderators to discuss issues and render decisions out of view of other forum users.
Fully Exportable
Your always own your data. Export a complete copy of your forum's database at any time from your Admin Panel.
Accessibility and Searchability
Live Search
Mobile Devices
SEO Optimized
Navigation Tree
Members can use the navigation tree at the top of your forum to quickly jump to other areas of the forum.
Video Embedding
Embed videos directly into posts from popular video services such as YouTube, Vimeo, and more!
Bookmark Threads
Bookmark threads directly from the forum for easy viewing later. Turn on bookmark notifications to be notified when a bookmarked thread is updated with new content.
Recent Threads & Posts
Quickly see what threads and posts have been created recently with the Recent Threads and Recent Posts links found on your homepage!
Automatic Image Thumbnails
When posting an image attachment, a preview thumbnail is automatically appended to your post. You can also choose to insert the thumbnail image to a specific spot in your post.
Unlimited Pageview Bandwidth
There are no limits on pageview bandwidth usage for your community.
Ajax Pagination
Dynamically switch between pages in a board or thread without needing to reload the whole web page.
Advanced Search
Search all posts on your forum with plenty of advanced options from your forum's search page. Use the search bar inside a board or thread to get live results as you type!
Narrow Your Search
Filter search results with options like the thread's creator, start date, post count, and more to easily find what you're looking for!
Scalable
Whether your forum is for a dozen of your closest friends or millions of people, our software scales to accommodate communities of any size!
Accessible
Semantic markup and built-in support for standard keystrokes help blind and disabled users easily navigate the forum
"New" Indication
Threads with unread content will have a "New" icon listed next to their name, letting members know that there's new content to read.
RSS Feed
Use the RSS feed to display the newest posts on your website, or use an RSS reader to see if new content has been posted without visiting the forum.
Forum Statistics
View information about the total number of threads, posts, and members right from your homepage.
Use Your Images
Upload images or link to an image that's already hosted by a 3rd party hosting provider for use in your forum's themes.
Calendar
Keep track of forum events and member's birthdays with the Calendar.
Posting Features
Quoting & Multi-Quoting
Attachments
Events
Live Editing
The preview posting mode allows you to make posts as if you were using a word processor. With this you can stylize your post and add other elements while being able to see those changes directly in the editor. No coding required!
Smiles
We offer a variety of image smiles that convert text such as ":)" into an image version of the smile. You can upload your own custom image smiles to use on the forum as well!
Video Embedding
Members can embed their favorite videos from a wide variety of popular video services directly into posts.
Quick Reply
A Quick Reply box at the bottom of each thread allows you to reply without needing to navigate away from the page.
Post Linking
Easily share a link to a specific post made on the forum.
Administration Tools
Sub-Boards
Category & Board Management
VigLink Support
Attachment Management
View and remove attachments from all posts in one place.
Maintenance Mode
Prevent non-staff members from accessing your forum while this mode is enabled.
Manage Reported Posts
Moderate forum posts that have been flagged quickly and easily.
Auto-Save
Changes made to your forum settings take effect immediately with our convenient auto-save feature.
Member Application Review
You can choose to manually approve or deny new member accounts when they are created.
Welcome Message
Automatically send a welcome message to members that join your community.
Navigation Customization
Customize your top navigation bar, including links to external websites or social media.
Custom Pages
Add additional pages to your forum with your own customized content.
Shoutbox
Allow your members to chat in real-time from our integrated shoutbox.
News Feed
Display news or announcements on your community's homepage with our news feed option.
Themes
Our themes are easy to customize and build, even for beginners. You can also pick from our hundreds of pre-built themes to install with a single click.
Plugins
Add new features to your forum in a single click. We have hundreds of plugins available in our Plugin Library - all free!
Upload Avatars
Provide a set of default forum avatars for your community to choose from.
Reserved Names
Prevent your members from using certain names on your forum.
Custom Profile Fields
Allow your members to add additional information into their profiles.
Moderation Tools
Forum Cleanup
Member Warnings
Flood Control
Reported Posts
Forum members can use the "Report Post" feature to call the attention of your forum's staff to problematic posts for a quick resolution.
Move Posts
Take one or more posts from a thread and move them to either a new thread or merge into an existing thread.
Announcement Threads
Announcements are prominently displayed at the top of all boards on your forum, rather than sticking in the one board you created the thread in.
Post Editing
Modify any post to add any missing details or fix mistakes. The edit time and editor will be noted in the post, and you can even provide a reason for the edit.
Remove Threads & Posts
You can delete any thread or post on your forum at any time.
User Notes
Moderators can store private notes about members in the member's profile.
Falling Threads
Prevent certain threads from bumping back up when replies are made.
Lock Threads
If a thread has run its course or is getting out of hand, you can lock it to prevent further posting in the thread.
Privacy/Security Features
Password Protected Boards
SSL Secured
Security Log
Disable Accounts
You can prevent a member from logging in to your forum for a set period of time without banning them from the forum.
Censored Words
Using the censored words system you can automatically replace certain words posted on the forum with something more suitable.
Member Application Review
You can choose to manually approve or deny new member accounts when they are created.
Email Verification
We verify that the email address a user registers with is valid by sending a confirmation code. Accounts will not be activated until the email address is confirmed unless you disable this feature.
Age Confirmation
We enforce COPPA compliance by requiring all users to be at least 13 years old when registering.
CAPTCHA Visual Confirmation
All registrations require validation via CAPTCHA to help keep automated bots from creating accounts on your forum.
Bans
You can ban problematic members from your forum either permanently or with a specific date and time for when the ban will be removed. You can ban by username, email address, as well as IP address.
Reserved Names
Prevent members from using certain names as their username or display name.
Member/User Management
Member Groups
Custom Profile Fields
Ranks
Full Profiles
See extended details about a member such as social networks, websites, recent posts threads created, and more.
Mini-Profiles
View info about a member next to every post they make. This can include the member's group, rank, avatar, status update, post count, and more.
Signatures
Members can create their own custom signature that are displayed at the bottom of their posts.
Display Names
Members can change the way their name is displayed on the forum.
Member Listing
Registered users view and search the list of forum members.
User Preferences
Your members have the ability to customize their experience on your forum with various settings and notification options.
Forum Avatars
Members can choose a forum avatar from a list of defaults, upload or link their own image, or create one using the built-in Avatar Maker.
Audience Engagement Features
Forum Notifications
Social Embedding
Mass Email
User Tagging
Tag other members on the forum when posting and they will be alerted with a notification.
News Feed
Use the news feed at the top of your homepage to prominently display new or important information to your visitors.
Polls
Easily add a poll to any thread and let your members cast their vote. Set the number of possible responses, how many choices each user can make, and the length of the poll's voting period.
Users Online
View a list of members that are currently online or have been online in the last 24 hours right from your homepage.
"Like" a Post
Click the "like" button above a post to let the author know you liked it. A list of members that have liked a post will display above the posted content.
Active Threads
Threads with a large number of replies gain a special icon indicating an active discussion.
Thread Participants
See a list of members that have participated in a certain thread, along with the number of posts they have made, by clicking the reply count on the thread listing page.
Personal Messaging
Start a direct conversation with one or more members on the forum from the Messages area.
Conversation Labels
Easily manage your personal messages by creating labels for your important conversations.
Participated Threads
Keep up to date with the threads you have been participating in with the "Participated" button located at the top-right of every page.
Built-in Shoutbox
Offer your visitors a simple way to engage in real-time with one another.
Social Sharing
Easily share content to other social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter.
Friends & Following
Follow others to easily view what your favorite forum members have been up to through the activity feed!
Mass Message
Need to bring something to everyone's attention? Send a direct message to all forum members!
Flexible Customization Tools
Themes
Plugins
Custom Pages
Advanced Theme Modifications
Need your forum to look truly unique? We give you direct access to your forum's HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to create a truly unique experience.
Theme Library
Install pre-made themes to your forum with one click from the Theme Library.
Navigation Customization
Customize your top navigation bar, including links to external websites or social media.
Drag & Drop Organization
Creating and organizing your forum's Categories and Boards is simple with our drag and drop interface.
Avatar Maker
Don't have an avatar? No problem! Our Avatar Maker helps you create a unique avatar quickly and easily to display in your profile.
Forum Templates
We provide you access to your forum's templates allowing you to customize how your forum's content is displayed.
Headers & Footers
Easily add HTML to specific areas of your forum in our easy to use Admin Panel.