App reviews, troubleshooting, and recommendations
I would like to add a customer forum to my store, and I'm searching for one that fits my needs:
I've done some research, and I'm not finding anything that looks compelling:
Shopify actually has a built-in forum feature that you can use to create a forum for your store.
To get started, go to your Shopify admin and click on the “Settings” tab. Then, click on the “Forums” sub-tab.
Is anyone here implementing a forum on their store that they like? Please share! Thanks!
Hey @TheWaterbug
I've been looking for a new project to sink my teeth into. I would be interesting in building this for you. Care to collaborate with me?
Did this ever pan out? I’m looking for the same thing!
Hey! I never got a response from the OP, so I haven't proceeded.
I would still love to build this, as long as I have someone I can share my work with and bounce ideas with. Down to work with me @FunkoBros ? Shoot me an email @ ilia.reingold@gmail.com !
LOL. I was logged in under my other account.
Thanks, but I don't have the budget to fund a custom app. This is such a generic need that I'm really surprised that there aren't good offerings out there already.
Thanks, but I don't have the budget to fund a custom app. This is such a generic need that I'm really surprised that there aren't good offerings out there already.
Oh haha. I don't charge for custom app development.
I would build it entirely free, and release it as a public app to other merchants if it brought enough value for you.
I just don't like working in the dark, I would need someone to bounce feedback with (some emails/screenshots etc). The goal would be a minimal viable product (with a longer roadmap as well).
If you're interested in doing this with no development fees, then I'm interested, and I'd be your first paid subscriber if it all works out!
In terms of look-and-feel, arstechnica is a forum that I use daily:
https://arstechnica.com/civis/
and it's built on XenForo, but there's no canned integration feature of XF with any store, at least not that I can find.
Regarding desired features, they're pretty much listed in my original post, e.g. single-sign-on (if that's even possible, given Shopify's security model), and some integration with my store's product structure.
SSO wouldn't work as shopify doesn't expose customer login via API. I would do a google oauth though. Another challenge is how to embed this forum onto a store. Something messy like creating a new Page via api and embedding an iframe might work. There's quite a few challenges.
XenForum is able to do SSO. Try the two sites I linked to, below. Create an account on their shop, and then click Forum, and you'll be logged in already.l
I have been on the same journey myself. Nothing comes up that would be an asset and I’m not into blogging. Good luck!
Thank you for your input Chris. I will check this out for sure. Appreciate it!!
Hi @TheWaterbug,
I hope this message finds you well. I'm Chris, the developer of Xenforum. I appreciate your interest in our forum platform for your store.
I apologize for any confusion regarding the outdated list of customers on our website. We have a vibrant community using Xenforum, and you can explore the current customer base on our updated demo forum: https://xenforum.myshopify.com/community/xenforum.
--
Xenforum is designed to meet your specific needs, including single sign-on, a focus on technical discussions, categorized content, and easy integration. Thousands of customers benefit from these features.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out. For prompt assistance, I recommend using our support feature inside the app because I don't visit this forum regularly.
Looking forward to the possibility of working together.
Best regards,
Chris
Chris,
Thanks! You probably ought to prune that list of customers again, as some of them no longer exist, and some of them have almost zero traffic.
But I did look at these two, which have hundreds of topics and thousands of posts, which validates that your product works:
https://wargamesatlantic.com/community/xenforum
https://www.dasaita.com/community/forum
I also created accounts on several of those shops to validate that single-sign-on works as advertised.
So XenForum is now back into consideration. Is there a reason why the free trial is so short? 7 days isn't nearly long enough to test anything serious. I'm guessing it would take me the better part of a week just to get it set up and organized the way I like.
I think 30 days would be a more appropriate trial period.
Hi @Steven_Kan,
Your insights are truly appreciated, and I'm glad to hear that the active forums provided valuable perspectives.
It's worth noting that certain forums, despite having a modest number of categories, boast a significant volume of posts. Some forums still using Xenforum platform but they have changed their forum paths. Additionally, we showcase specific forums because they've beautifully customized their layouts to seamlessly integrate with their main sites. This serves as a testament to the flexibility and aesthetics that XenForum offers.
https://www.ikkoaudio.com/en-eu/community/forum
https://mdaemon.com/community/forums
Concerning the trial period, we understand that 7 days might not be sufficient for a comprehensive evaluation. Should you require an extended trial, kindly reach out to us through the support form within the app. Our dedicated support team is here to assist, ensuring you have ample time to explore XenForum thoroughly.
Feel free to connect if you have additional questions or if there's anything else I can assist you with.
Best regards,
Chris Nguyen
Xenforum Developer
Hi Chris,
I'm test-driving Xenforum right now. Is there a way for me, as a user, to edit my displayed username? Right now it's either LastnameFirstname or FirstnameLastname, with no option to edit it at all.
Most of my customers are gov/mil/aero, and they cannot ask detailed technical questions if their names are exposed, which might then be used to connect their technical information to their company and then their government contract.
For example, here on community.shopify.com I'm logged in as TheWaterbug.
I DO want to the retain and use the SSO feature of Xenforum, because that's a huge friction-reducer in getting people to sign up and use the forum, and as an administrator I'd like to be able to look at a user's account and see what company they're from and what products they've purchased.
That look up feature would be permitted for me as the forum administrator, but I can't allow any potential leakage of identity info to non-admin users.
If this feature doesn't exist, please allow adding it. I can't use Xenforum without it.
Hi Chris,
Are you still actively developing Xenforum? I test-drove the new username feature that you added, and it seemed to work very well, but then that appears to have broken the user verification feature, so I was unable to get my employees to test-drive the forum before my trial expired.
I really would love to start paying for your app, because it's the only one I've found that has the features I need, but I need to get new user verification working first.
Thanks!
Hi @TheWaterbug,
Thank you for reaching out! The user verification feature is still working well. The issue may be related to your email settings. For verification to work, please ensure your email is functioning correctly. If you’re using our email services (which are automatically activated on your forum), setting up an SPF record will help prevent your emails from being marked as spam.
Feel free to contact us through the support form on your forum's admin Panel, and I’ll be happy to assist you further.
Best regards,
Chris
Hi Chris,
I've sent a support request through the admin panel. Please extend our trial period so I can continue testing the user verification feature.
@ChrisNguyen can you compare Xenforum vs Shopicial? What are the main differences?
Limited customization for forum-specific needs and is more like a commenting system than a full forum
Top customer forum options for Shopify include Discourse, Vanilla Forums, and XenForo. These platforms provide strong customization, integration, and engagement features to enhance community interactions.
The best customer forum to install on Shopify includes apps like Discusify, Social King, or using third-party tools like Vanilla Forums and XenForo integrated with Shopify. They provide customizable forums, user engagement features, and easy Shopify integration. Choose based on your needs for design, moderation, and scalability.
Hi 👋
There are a couple of good forum options out there. I think Vanilla Forums and Discourse are two very good options. I've personally used Discourse for customer forum, works wonders.
Tribe is a good forum of you are looking for something Shopify native.
For extensive customizations Discourse and Vanilla forums should do.
Hope this helps!
One of the best customer forums to install on Shopify is Discourse, which offers seamless integration and robust community features. Another popular choice is Shopify Community, though it is more of a native option.
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