Discourse vs Flarum? Best forum software for SEO?

[Juliani]

Hi,

I am in the hopes of creating a forum and I wonder which site you guys think have the best SEO?

I have found that both Flarum and Discourse are free open-source platforms.

They are both a forum canvas with plugins/extensions.

Discourse seems to have a bigger community whereas Flarum is a bit more minimalistic.

I think the SEO is better out of the box for Discourse where the Flarum SEO is more relied upon the extensions.

Which one would you go for if you were to create a forum today? Or would you go with another platform?

I think SEO is really important so the forum and posts easily can be found.

Best regards
Juliani

 

[Steptoe]

Either, I've got bots written for both platforms

But out of the two, use and functionality wise I'd go with Discourse - usage seems to be a lot more extensive and so you'll have better luck with community support. There's still nothing wrong with XenForo for running a big, healthy, thriving forum though!

 

[Juliani]

Either, I've got bots written for both platforms

But out of the two, use and functionality wise I'd go with Discourse - usage seems to be a lot more extensive and so you'll have better luck with community support. There's still nothing wrong with XenForo for running a big, healthy, thriving forum though!

What do the bots do?

Discourse seems to be a bit better in that aspect. I already set up a Flarum forum so I hope it will be as easy to set up a Discourse one even though I dont have programming skills.

Best regards
Juliani

 

[hideath]

I would go with xenforo,
There are plenty of extensions that makes it well worth and better than others

 

[Social Tools]

Or would you go with another platform?

NodeBB is also known as a fast forum software with great SEO support

 

[Juliani]

I hope that Discourse can fit what I need without having any programming skills.

I wonder if I have to pay for the plugins or can go free with most of them anyways?

 

[lienhevkt]

You should try NodeBB! It's easy to use and has a large community

 

[iams0l]

Hi,

I am in the hopes of creating a forum and I wonder which site you guys think have the best SEO?

I have found that both Flarum and Discourse are free open-source platforms.

They are both a forum canvas with plugins/extensions.

Discourse seems to have a bigger community whereas Flarum is a bit more minimalistic.

I think the SEO is better out of the box for Discourse where the Flarum SEO is more relied upon the extensions.

Which one would you go for if you were to create a forum today? Or would you go with another platform?

I think SEO is really important so the forum and posts easily can be found.

Best regards
Juliani

I'd say both are solid options, but it ultimately comes down to personal preference. Discourse has got a huge community and it's got some awesome features out of the box, which is great for SEO.

That being said, I've found Flarum to be a bit more lightweight and easy to customize, which can be beneficial if you're planning on doing some heavy lifting with extensions. I think the main difference is that Discourse's SEO is definitely more robust, whereas Flarum's is more dependent on the extensions you use.

If I were to create a forum today, I think I'd probably go with Flarum. I love the minimalist design and I find it easier to integrate with other tools I use. But, if SEO is your top priority, I'd say go with Discourse. Either way, both are awesome options and you can't go wrong with either of them.

What kind of forum are you planning on creating, by the way? Is it a community-driven forum or more of a knowledge base kind of thing?

 

[Juliani]

I'd say both are solid options, but it ultimately comes down to personal preference. Discourse has got a huge community and it's got some awesome features out of the box, which is great for SEO.

That being said, I've found Flarum to be a bit more lightweight and easy to customize, which can be beneficial if you're planning on doing some heavy lifting with extensions. I think the main difference is that Discourse's SEO is definitely more robust, whereas Flarum's is more dependent on the extensions you use.

If I were to create a forum today, I think I'd probably go with Flarum. I love the minimalist design and I find it easier to integrate with other tools I use. But, if SEO is your top priority, I'd say go with Discourse. Either way, both are awesome options and you can't go wrong with either of them.

What kind of forum are you planning on creating, by the way? Is it a community-driven forum or more of a knowledge base kind of thing?

I am creating a forum about personal development where people can discuss everything from yoga to work.

I hope to make it a big community and make it monetized with ads/affiliate so the SEO is very important for me as I hope that people will find the forum.

As you said I think that Discourse is better out of the box SEO wise. Is it easy making Flarum as good in SEO if you use the correct extensions? Are they good enough to rank as high as Discourse?

I have tried out a Freeflarum forum already and I really like the minimalistic design. I've had a few bugs already but that might be because its Freeflarum and not the official product who aligns better with the extensions.

My concern is to that Flarum is being developed by a really small team and that the community is not very big either. If I run in to bugs with the extensions, will I get help from Flarum or may it take a long time before I do eventually get help?

I would love to continue with Flarum as I prefer its minimalistic design but if the SEO and support is not as good as Discourse I might go for Discourse.

 

[Juliani]

Is it possible to make Flarum as SEO friendly as Discourse?

I am thinking of starting building a forum but I do not want to be limited and locked to the platform if the SEO is not good enough or puts you at a disadvantage towards other platforms.

 

[iams0l]

I am creating a forum about personal development where people can discuss everything from yoga to work.

I hope to make it a big community and make it monetized with ads/affiliate so the SEO is very important for me as I hope that people will find the forum.

As you said I think that Discourse is better out of the box SEO wise. Is it easy making Flarum as good in SEO if you use the correct extensions? Are they good enough to rank as high as Discourse?

I have tried out a Freeflarum forum already and I really like the minimalistic design. I've had a few bugs already but that might be because its Freeflarum and not the official product who aligns better with the extensions.

My concern is to that Flarum is being developed by a really small team and that the community is not very big either. If I run in to bugs with the extensions, will I get help from Flarum or may it take a long time before I do eventually get help?

I would love to continue with Flarum as I prefer its minimalistic design but if the SEO and support is not as good as Discourse I might go for Discourse.

It's awesome to see your enthusiasm for creating a forum about personal development. It sounds like a great space for people to connect over different interests like yoga and work.

Regarding your question about Flarum and SEO, it’s true that Discourse has some strong out-of-the-box advantages. That said, Flarum can do well with the right extensions, but you'll need to put in some work to optimize it fully. If you're comfortable with a bit of tweaking, there are a ton of community resources and guides that could help you improve its SEO capabilities.

As for the support and the size of the Flarum community, it can be a bit hit or miss. Since it's developed by a smaller team, responses to issues might not be as quick as you'd hope. However, dedicated users often step up to help each other out in forums and discussions, so it’s worth diving into the community.

If you really love Flarum's design, maybe give it a shot and see how it goes! You can always switch to Discourse later if you find it's not meeting your needs. Ultimately, it’s all about what feels right for you and your forum! Good luck!

 

[Steptoe]

What do the bots do?

Discourse seems to be a bit better in that aspect. I already set up a Flarum forum so I hope it will be as easy to set up a Discourse one even though I dont have programming skills.

Best regards
Juliani

I meant bots to sign up and post 'helpful content' for both of those platforms

From my own limited use of both platforms as an end user, I'd still go for Discourse over Flarum.

 

[factory24]

Either, I've got bots written for both platforms

But out of the two, use and functionality wise I'd go with Discourse - usage seems to be a lot more extensive and so you'll have better luck with community support. There's still nothing wrong with XenForo for running a big, healthy, thriving forum though!

I will be having my dev build a bot to to have ai write posts and comments.

Do you have any tips as we build ours?