In summary you need to
Install the plugin
Set up some test forums or import a forum
Create a WordPress page for your forum display
Amend any other settings
Hidden vs. public forums – decide which or a mixture suits you
Decide on registration/user logins – automatic or manual?
Manually adding users to your forum – if you have chosen this route.
Make sure bbPress uses the page template we want
Add a custom sidebar or use existing sidebar with conditional logic
So let’s get started.
1. Installing the plugin
So we’ll assume you have a site with wordpress installed
Go to dashboard>plugins>add new
You will see bbPress part of the featured plugins then install and activate.
You can also type ‘bbpress’ into the search bar , and that should lead you to the latest version then install and activate from there.
2. Set up some test forums
Go into Dashboard>forums>add new
Add a forum and name it whatever you want, but you need at least one to get the forum page going (you can always delete it later).
Now go into the dashboard>topics and create a new topic. Again you can trash this later, but you’ll want to see what one looks like.
Okay, so now we have bbPress with one forum and one topic, but we’ll need to show it somewhere, so go to 3 below.
2. Alternative – Import a forum !
If you’re planning on migrating from a different forum