Forums.net

What Forums.net is

Forums.net is a cloud-hosted discussion platform for organizations and businesses that want to run online communities. It provides boards, threads, private messaging, polls, a shoutbox, custom pages, themes and plugins, with access on the web, Android and iOS. The service runs without customer installation or server maintenance, and communities can use a custom domain. Owners can apply granular permissions, make boards private or require guests to log in. They can also export a complete database copy from the Admin Panel.

Named integrations include single sign-on, Tapatalk, video embedding from YouTube and Vimeo, and VigLink support. Mobile access is available through the mobile web version and Tapatalk apps for iOS and Android. The product page describes SSL-secured traffic, round-the-clock internal monitoring and off-site backups. Support is offered by ticket, phone and screen-sharing, and subscriptions include personalized onboarding. Each plan includes a 100% uptime guarantee with compensation for unscheduled downtime. Plans set monthly pageview tiers and overage rates, while attachment bandwidth limits depend on the plan. Forums.net was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Who it suits

Forums.net suits organizations and businesses building communities for superfans, friends or employees. It is a fit for owners who want hosted operations, access controls and database export alongside discussion tools.

Limits

Essential includes 100,000 pageviews per month, with extra pageviews charged at $0.08 per 100. Complete includes 500,000 pageviews at $0.05 per 100 extra, and VIP includes 1,000,000 at $0.04 per 100 extra. Attachment bandwidth limits vary by plan.

Getting started

1. Visit https://www.forums.net/.
2. Choose a subscription plan: Essential, Complete or VIP.
3. Use the cloud-hosted service without installing software or maintaining a server.
4. Contact support by ticket, phone or screen-sharing if you need assistance; subscriptions include personalized onboarding.

Verdict

Choose Forums.net if your organization needs a hosted community with discussion features, access controls and support options. The included uptime guarantee and database export are useful provisions for community owners. Look elsewhere if you need a free plan or trial, or if the listed paid plans do not suit your traffic needs.