How We Integrated our WordPress Blog and SMF Forums

By Greg | Category: Webmaster Tips |

Integrating various website components into one another can be a bit of a chore and a challenge. There are many things to consider when deciding how you want to integrate your components, or if you can accomplish what you hope to do. There are various scripts and methods you can use such as portal scripts and bridge scripts.

A bridge script usually lets you share some of the same information from two seperate databases. For example you might use a bridge to connect a forum script and a gallery script so your site members would only have to log in once and they’d be connected to both components.

A portal script is like having a basic shell design wrapped around your website components so you get a cohesive look. While no two portal scripts are identical, they tend to have the same basic functionality. Using a portal lets you keep the same header, footer, and sidebars while the middle of the page holds the main content pages and components. So you can use the same navigation system etc. A portal usually has some ‘bridging’ capabilities too.

Now those two paragraphs are very generalized descriptions of how these types of scripts work. There is, of course more to them than that in many cases. Sometimes it can be hard to find a portal or a bridge that fits your needs. Sometimes you can use two seperate scripts to accomplish your goals too.

Multiple Options for Integrating Your Forums

Of course there are other ways to integrate websites. For example using external js files, frames or iframe pages, etc. There’s not always a straight and forward answer to the questions about integrating websites. To reach your goals you really have to come to terms with what your wants and needs are and then do some rather time consuming research. Then once you’ve chosen options to try - always conduct multiple tests on a non-live site.

No matter which choice you go with, there will be someone who thinks you made the wrong decision and others who will be perfectly happy with your choices. Both sides of the fence will also have really good pros and cons for their arguments too! So like most other things in the world of business, you’re best bet is to test your results. If you aren’t happy with the way things went, then simply switch it up a bit again.

Our WP and SMF Integration

After we experimented with several options, we finally settled on using an iframe on a stand along page in our blog. It was super easy and so far we aren’t seeing any drop in our SEO standings either. Unlike in earlier versions of popular browsers, iframes are now fully supported in almost every case and we tested our thoroughly in the two browsers most of our blog visitors use (Fire Fox and Internet Explorer). But just to be on the safe side, on our blog page we also embedded our iframe into a table with a description and external link to the forums in the left cell and the iframed forums in the right cell. That way if someone didn’t see the window produced by the iframe, they could still quickly access our forums with the simply mouse click. You can see an example of our integrated forums by clicking the “networking forums” link in the menu up top. Or click this link to see the results in a new window.

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

As I’m sure you’ve already know - experimenting is a way to challenge yourself and make new discovers. Sometimes those discoveries will improve the situation and sometimes it turns out to be a lesson in what not to do in the future

Things to keep in mind when weighing your options would include:

SEO considerations
Browser Combatibility
Use of Server Resources
User Comfort and Education Level
Cohesive look and feel

IFrames Are Easy

You can quickly get a handle on iframes by running a search in your favorite search engine and then checking out most any iframe tutorial you find. And yes — I’ve included a quick tutorial with an iframe example in our networking forums so our associates can get a closer look at how it’s done. If you have any questions about the exact code syntax or how to use the attributes just give me a shout and I’ll answer your questions straight away.