In this post, Sarah Chima walks us through how we can work with browser events, such as clicking, using JavaScript. There’s a ton of great info in here! If JavaScript isn’t your strong suit, I think this is the best explanation of event handling that I’ve read in quite some time.
When an event occurs, the browser creates an event object and passes it as an argument to the event handler. This event object contains details of the event. For instance, you might want to know which button was clicked or which key was pressed or the mouse coordinates when the event occurred. You can get all of these from the event object.
Sarah also links to this really good primer on bubbling and capturing that’s worth checking out, too.
The Uncensored Library – The digital home of press freedom. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) opens “The Uncensored Library” – Within a computer game. In many countries, free information is hard to access. Blogs, newspapers and websites are censored but Minecraft is still accessible. RSF used this backdoor to build “The Uncensored Library”. A library filled with books, containing articles that were censored in their country of origin. These articles are now available again for young people around the world – hidden from government surveillance technology inside a computer game. Visit the uncensored library: uncensoredlibrary.com
We use the six numbers of the geolocation coordinates in Google Earth, to invite people to discover the incredible places that 6 numbers could take them, the same numbers of our ballots.
More and more people are considering going electric with their next car purchase. Whilst some people might not be ready to make the leap to full electric, BMW offers a range of Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) cars, which combine a combustion petrol engine and an electric motor to offer the driver the benefit of both petrol and electric.
BMW Plug-in Hybrids (PHEV) are available on many of existing models in the range, from a saloon to an SUV. A PHEV is every inch a BMW, so they look, feel and drive exactly as you would expect the ultimate driving machine to.
This ground-breaking range of cars needed a show-stopping campaign. Creative agency FCB Inferno was briefed to create a campaign that clearly communicated how PHEVs offer the performance of petrol, with the efficiency of electric, in one BMW.
The campaign idea is strikingly simple. In the films, each time a BMW PHEV switches from petrol to electric, it glows with pure white light. When it changes back to petrol, the light disappears. In other words, the car is ‘Sometimes electric. Always BMW.’
Achieving this effect in a way that felt realistic was much harder than it looked, and the BMW PHEV shoot included a lot of firsts. A pioneering LED lighting rig was custom built specifically for the campaign, to give a real illumination effect rather than relying on special effects. An anamorphic camera normally used for IMAX movies gave a more cinematic feel. Add in flying drone shots through a working city, and a cameraman on rollerblades who used to skate at the X Games, and you get a sense of the level of craft that went into creating the campaign.
The result is an elegant visual metaphor that brings to life the PHEV range’s hidden yet innovative functionality. The film forms the first part of a wider programme that will be running throughout the year with the aim of helping consumers understand better the PHEV technology and the positive realities of living with it every day.
Brent Jackson says CSS utility libraries failed somewhat:
Eventually, you’ll need to add one-off styles that just aren’t covered by the library you’re using, and there isn’t always a clear way to extend what you’re working with. Without a clear way to handle things like this, developers tend to add inconsistent hacks and append-only styles.
I have a feeling Tailwind people would disagree. I have no particular opinion here, I’m just noting that Tailwind seems to have a more fervent fanbase than those early days of Basscss/Tachyons.
Brent goes on to say that CSS-in-JS solves the same problem, but in a better way:
CSS-in-JS libraries help solve a lot of the same issues Utility-based CSS methodologies were focused on (and more) in a much better way. They connect styles directly to elements without needing to name things or create abstractions in class selectors. They avoid append-only stylesheets with encapsulation and hashed classnames. These libraries work with existing build tools, allowing for code splitting, lazy loading, and dead code elimination with virtually zero effort, and they don’t require additional tools like Sass or PostCSS. Many libraries also include CSS performance optimizations, such as critical CSS, enabled by default so that developers don’t need additional tooling or even need to think about them.
No wonder people have been raving about this.
The one-step-back refers to the fact that CSS-in-JS is more open-ended and doesn’t encourage consistency as much. I’m not sure about that. Seems like if you’re building in a component-based way already, consistency kind of comes along for the ride, even before using design tokens and the like — which a CSS-in-JS approach also encourages.
As a digital marketer, you are sometimes a jack of all trades.
Not only do you have to create fresh content for your website, but you also have to manage various social media outlets, or even manage a remote team.
But let me ask you this: Who is building your landing pages, sales funnels, or membership sites? Because running an online business requires that, too.
Hiring a web developer is one option, but that would cost a fortune. But fortunately, there is an alternative, a tool called OptimizePress.
So, in this OptimizePress review, we check whether you should invest in this product or not.
What is OptimizePress 3.0?
In short, OptimizePress is a content builder plugin for WordPress. At the basic level, it comprises three components:
OptimizePress Dashboard: Through the dashboard, you manage the OptimizePress products, integrations, templates, and general settings.
OptimizeBuilder: The plugin, which helps you to build conversion-optimized content with drag-and-drop functionality.
SmartTheme v3: A theme that is built, especially with conversion in mind. However, you can use the OptimizePress plugin without it.
Where the other page builders focus primarily on formatting blog posts and pages, OptimizePress is different. While you can format posts and pages with it, its focus is on building things like:
Landing pages
Sales pages
Launch pages
Membership sites
Sales funnels
Checkouts when selling products and services
As you can see, OptimizePress can build versatile content, and that’s what makes the product so exciting.
Getting Started with OptimizePress
Once you have purchased OptimizePress 3.0, you can access your account in the member portal:
The dashboard is easy to use. You’ll immediately see how to get started with the plugin and what steps to do next.
Once you have purchased the membership, download both the dashboard and page builder plugins. You need them to run OptimizePress on your website.
You can also install the SmartTheme v3 if you wish. However, you don’t need the theme to run OptimizePress on your website.
Once you have installed the dashboard and the builder, note this section on your WordPress admin panel:
The dashboard shows the components your OptimizePress plan includes. But what I found confusing was that I could also see features my plan didn’t include:
Naturally, the OptimizePress team wants you to upgrade to a higher plan with new neat features. But perhaps the dashboard should just show the items I had access to?
If you navigate to OptimizePress>Create New Page, you can access the page builder. From there, you can start building the elements that make up your online business.
The page templates are divided into categories. By clicking any of the category names, you can see a list of templates in that category:
Next, you have the integrations section. In this part, you can integrate OptimizePress with external systems.
Finally, you have the settings and the help sections.
The settings part is simple, giving you only a few options to configure your plugin. This is a good thing because the user experience stays simple and decluttered.
The help section gives you the documentation on how to set up and use OptimizePress. It links directly to the knowledge base.
Building Your First Landing Page
The heart and soul of OptimizePress 3.0 is the builder. You can use this tool to create landing pages, sales pages, and other essential bits of your online business.
Let’s assume that I had just written an eBook, and I wanted to create a catchy landing page for it. I would first go to OptimizePress3 > Create New Page section in WordPress. I would then pick the template for my project, like this one:
The tool then asks to give my new page a name. Once I have done that, it takes me straight to the editing mode. I can then tweak the template according to my needs.
Tweaking Your Landing Page
The editor’s user interface looks clean. This is a pleasant surprise since I have used other landing page builders where I’d expected more from the user experience.
At the top, you have a toolbar. It comprises 11 icons and one button.
The menu bar is decluttered. I was still worried about seeing an avalanche of options when I clicked any of the icons. So this happened after clicking the Elements icon first:
Although I saw a list of 30+ layout elements, the selection was cleanly organized. I could just pick one and drag it to the page.
This same decluttered effect existed throughout other menu options, such as Globals, Sections, Settings, and Pop Overlays.
Whenever I wanted to drag something to the page, the builder showed me the designated areas where I could drop the selected element.
When I hovered my mouse pointer over the page elements, I saw various boxes with dashed lines. These dashed lines helped me to see the areas I could edit.
While I loved the dashed line indicators, they should have been easier to spot. That would have made the editing experience even better.
Finally, I worked on a copy of the page. Fortunately, this feature was well-thought-out, too. Once I chose the part of the page for editing, I saw a context-based menu popping up:
I could then format the content based on the context menu:
Working with Sections
OptimizePress divides content into sections. They are nothing more than just pre-built parts of the page that make building content faster.
Naturally, I wanted to learn more about this feature and see if they would be useful in my eBook landing page project. So I clicked the Sections icon first:
And like the Elements, I saw a list of ready-made sections I could use on my page:
Using the sections was easy: I just had to pick the one I wanted and place it on the page. I could then edit the section and edit it.
I didn’t use sections in this project, but I loved them because they can be potential timesavers. But why can’t I build custom sections? That would be nice to see in the next version of OptimizePress.
Pop Overlays
OptimizePress also supports a special opt-in form type. It’s called PopOverlays.
These overlays react to user interaction with the page. For instance, when a user clicks a button, an opt-in form appears on top of the page.
Designing a pop overlay occurred with the same workflow as when working with other components in OptimizePress.
So, if I wanted to add an overlay to my eBook landing page, I could just choose Create New Overlay in the Pop Overlay menu:
The editing experience was simple. Yet, I’d say that the design options felt more crowded when compared to the rest of the application.
Also, finding some essential actions took a little searching, like how to delete an existing overlay. But once you get more comfortable with the overlay workflow, the building process becomes faster.
Adding an overlay on top of my current landing page would have been a user experience nightmare. Yet, I realized that this functionality would become handy in future projects.
Responsive Layouts
Ok, so if someone came to my landing page with a mobile device, would the page be unusable? Also, would this factor cause me to lose subscribers?
It turned out that my worries were unjustified.
If I wanted to see how my content looked with various devices, I could just click the device menu icon on the top-right, pick the desired device, and see the outcome:
Performance
One thing that worries me with any WordPress plugin is how much it will affect my site’s performance. This concern makes sense since page load speed is one of Google’s ranking factors.
So when you install OptimizePress, the performance question is valid. And that’s why I wanted to run some tests with a brand new website.
At first, the results were what I expected:
This website didn’t have any plugins. But once I installed OptimizePress, GTMetrix gave me these results:
Now, you may think: “Oh my … OptimizePress slows down my site!” But this is not true.
The images provided on the landing page template were unoptimized. However, when you look at the other factors on the speed test, they looked good.
So as a starting point, 3.5 seconds for a page load time is not bad, considering that you can shave off time when you properly optimize the images.
Integrations and Extendibility
OptimizePress supports over 20 integrations to various systems, including webinar platforms or email services.
But the question with integrations is, is it difficult to implement?
Fortunately, it’s not.
I wanted to hook up the landing page to MailChimp to capture email leads. Luckily, this was a quick operation, and the integration happened with just a couple of clicks.
I didn’t run any issues when doing the integration. If you do, you can always refer to the product’s comprehensive step-by-step instructions or contact the support.
Customer Support
OptimizePress provides various support options, depending on which plan you have subscribed to.
First, there is the Help Center, which is free and accessible to everyone.
But when you become a paying customer, you get premium support.
At the Essential level, you get email support directly from the OptimizePress team. And if you upgrade to the Business plan, you get priority email support.
What’s unclear, though, is what “priority email support” means. I’m assuming that you get faster response times regarding your tickets. But how much faster, that’s impossible to say.
It’s also unclear whether the support operates 24/7, 24/5, or some other schedule.
Finally, I hoped the chat would have been one of the support options.
Usually, the absence of this channel is not an issue, but it becomes one if something goes sideways on your production site. Getting support in a matter of minutes versus hours makes a big difference.
Plans and Pricing
OptimizePress provides three pricing levels.
The Essential plan is the first premium level you can subscribe to. For $99 per year (one site license), you get the basic functionality of OptimizePress, including 100+ templates, 20+ integrations, and email support.
The Business plan sells $149 per year for five personal sites. It includes all the features of the Essential plan but also adds things like OptimizeUrgency. With this component, you can add scarcity elements to your pages.
Finally, we have the Suite, which is the ultimate version of OptimizePress.
For $199 per year, you can use it on 25 personal sites. It also includes OptimizeFunnels for building sales funnels, OptimizeCheckouts for accepting payments, and OptimizeLeads for collecting emails.
Even with the most expensive plan, the monthly price is only $199/year (that’s roughly $17 per month).
OptimizePress FAQ
Your head is probably full of questions right now. I hope I can tackle a few of them in this section.
Is OptimizePress easy to use?
Considering that I could create a landing page (with a template) in a matter of minutes, then yes, it is easy to use. But if you run into issues, you can browse the knowledgebase articles, or get support from the OptimizePress team.
Every product will have a learning curve, but with OptimizePress, it’s not the steepest one!
Is OptimizePress expensive compared to its competitors?
It is, of course, a subjective matter, but let’s put things into perspective.
You may think the Suite, $199/year, costs a lot, but you have to put things in comparison.
For instance, the competitors of OptimizePress, like ClickFunnels, charge $97/month for their basic plan, while LeadPages, another competitor, costs $37/month.
There are differences between all the mentioned products. Still, I think OptimizePress has excellent value for money.
Can I test OptimizePress before I buy it?
No, you can’t. But if you are still unsure about the product, watch a webinar recording to learn more about it.
Can you build traditional pages and posts with OptimizePress?
With OptimizePress, you can build landing pages or membership sites. But you can also use it as a traditional page builder, like Elementor.
Can you edit the content created with OptimizePress 2.0?
You can edit OptimizePress 2.0 content only with the version 2.0. Therefore, you need to keep both version 2.0 and 3.0 on your computer to edit the content.
Once you have migrated the version 2.0 content to version 3.0, it’s safe to remove OptimizePress 2.0.
Is there a money-back guarantee if I don’t like the product?
You have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I’m planning on using OptimizePress on my client sites. Is there a licensing option for me?
You can purchase the Agency license. You can also ask your clients to buy a copy of OptimizePress through your affiliate link.
OptimizePress Pros and Cons
Pros
The product can build versatile content.
You can also use it as a traditional page builder.
There are over 100 landing page templates to choose from.
Templates and predefined sections make the page building faster.
It can create mobile-responsive landing pages and other elements by default.
The product integrates to over 20 systems.
It is inexpensive.
It’s easy to use.
Cons
OptimizePress 3.0 can’t edit content created with OptimizePress 2.0. Therefore, you may have to migrate the 2.0 content to version 3.0. This migration may take some effort.
It’s a subscription-based service (renewed annually).
Not a real drag-and-drop solution. You can drag any element only on the designated areas on the page.
You can’t make custom sections.
Is This the Right Tool for You?
The product gave me a pleasant surprise.
I have always thought that this kind of software is difficult to use and setup. But fortunately, I was wrong. For instance, I could create a landing page in a matter of minutes.
So my verdict: Yes, get OptimizePress today! Not only is it easy to use, but it’s affordable, too.
As a digital marketer, you are sometimes a jack of all trades.
Not only do you have to create fresh content for your website, but you also have to manage various social media outlets, or even manage a remote team.
But let me ask you this: Who is building your landing pages, sales funnels, or membership sites? Because running an online business requires that, too.
Hiring a web developer is one option, but that would cost a fortune. But fortunately, there is an alternative, a tool called OptimizePress.
So, in this OptimizePress review, we check whether you should invest in this product or not.
What is OptimizePress 3.0?
In short, OptimizePress is a content builder plugin for WordPress. At the basic level, it comprises three components:
OptimizePress Dashboard: Through the dashboard, you manage the OptimizePress products, integrations, templates, and general settings.
OptimizeBuilder: The plugin, which helps you to build conversion-optimized content with drag-and-drop functionality.
SmartTheme v3: A theme that is built, especially with conversion in mind. However, you can use the OptimizePress plugin without it.
Where the other page builders focus primarily on formatting blog posts and pages, OptimizePress is different. While you can format posts and pages with it, its focus is on building things like:
Landing pages
Sales pages
Launch pages
Membership sites
Sales funnels
Checkouts when selling products and services
As you can see, OptimizePress can build versatile content, and that’s what makes the product so exciting.
Getting Started with OptimizePress
Once you have purchased OptimizePress 3.0, you can access your account in the member portal:
The dashboard is easy to use. You’ll immediately see how to get started with the plugin and what steps to do next.
Once you have purchased the membership, download both the dashboard and page builder plugins. You need them to run OptimizePress on your website.
You can also install the SmartTheme v3 if you wish. However, you don’t need the theme to run OptimizePress on your website.
Once you have installed the dashboard and the builder, note this section on your WordPress admin panel:
The dashboard shows the components your OptimizePress plan includes. But what I found confusing was that I could also see features my plan didn’t include:
Naturally, the OptimizePress team wants you to upgrade to a higher plan with new neat features. But perhaps the dashboard should just show the items I had access to?
If you navigate to OptimizePress>Create New Page, you can access the page builder. From there, you can start building the elements that make up your online business.
The page templates are divided into categories. By clicking any of the category names, you can see a list of templates in that category:
Next, you have the integrations section. In this part, you can integrate OptimizePress with external systems.
Finally, you have the settings and the help sections.
The settings part is simple, giving you only a few options to configure your plugin. This is a good thing because the user experience stays simple and decluttered.
The help section gives you the documentation on how to set up and use OptimizePress. It links directly to the knowledge base.
Building Your First Landing Page
The heart and soul of OptimizePress 3.0 is the builder. You can use this tool to create landing pages, sales pages, and other essential bits of your online business.
Let’s assume that I had just written an eBook, and I wanted to create a catchy landing page for it. I would first go to OptimizePress3 > Create New Page section in WordPress. I would then pick the template for my project, like this one:
The tool then asks to give my new page a name. Once I have done that, it takes me straight to the editing mode. I can then tweak the template according to my needs.
Tweaking Your Landing Page
The editor’s user interface looks clean. This is a pleasant surprise since I have used other landing page builders where I’d expected more from the user experience.
At the top, you have a toolbar. It comprises 11 icons and one button.
The menu bar is decluttered. I was still worried about seeing an avalanche of options when I clicked any of the icons. So this happened after clicking the Elements icon first:
Although I saw a list of 30+ layout elements, the selection was cleanly organized. I could just pick one and drag it to the page.
This same decluttered effect existed throughout other menu options, such as Globals, Sections, Settings, and Pop Overlays.
Whenever I wanted to drag something to the page, the builder showed me the designated areas where I could drop the selected element.
When I hovered my mouse pointer over the page elements, I saw various boxes with dashed lines. These dashed lines helped me to see the areas I could edit.
While I loved the dashed line indicators, they should have been easier to spot. That would have made the editing experience even better.
Finally, I worked on a copy of the page. Fortunately, this feature was well-thought-out, too. Once I chose the part of the page for editing, I saw a context-based menu popping up:
I could then format the content based on the context menu:
Working with Sections
OptimizePress divides content into sections. They are nothing more than just pre-built parts of the page that make building content faster.
Naturally, I wanted to learn more about this feature and see if they would be useful in my eBook landing page project. So I clicked the Sections icon first:
And like the Elements, I saw a list of ready-made sections I could use on my page:
Using the sections was easy: I just had to pick the one I wanted and place it on the page. I could then edit the section and edit it.
I didn’t use sections in this project, but I loved them because they can be potential timesavers. But why can’t I build custom sections? That would be nice to see in the next version of OptimizePress.
Pop Overlays
OptimizePress also supports a special opt-in form type. It’s called PopOverlays.
These overlays react to user interaction with the page. For instance, when a user clicks a button, an opt-in form appears on top of the page.
Designing a pop overlay occurred with the same workflow as when working with other components in OptimizePress.
So, if I wanted to add an overlay to my eBook landing page, I could just choose Create New Overlay in the Pop Overlay menu:
The editing experience was simple. Yet, I’d say that the design options felt more crowded when compared to the rest of the application.
Also, finding some essential actions took a little searching, like how to delete an existing overlay. But once you get more comfortable with the overlay workflow, the building process becomes faster.
Adding an overlay on top of my current landing page would have been a user experience nightmare. Yet, I realized that this functionality would become handy in future projects.
Responsive Layouts
Ok, so if someone came to my landing page with a mobile device, would the page be unusable? Also, would this factor cause me to lose subscribers?
It turned out that my worries were unjustified.
If I wanted to see how my content looked with various devices, I could just click the device menu icon on the top-right, pick the desired device, and see the outcome:
Performance
One thing that worries me with any WordPress plugin is how much it will affect my site’s performance. This concern makes sense since page load speed is one of Google’s ranking factors.
So when you install OptimizePress, the performance question is valid. And that’s why I wanted to run some tests with a brand new website.
At first, the results were what I expected:
This website didn’t have any plugins. But once I installed OptimizePress, GTMetrix gave me these results:
Now, you may think: “Oh my … OptimizePress slows down my site!” But this is not true.
The images provided on the landing page template were unoptimized. However, when you look at the other factors on the speed test, they looked good.
So as a starting point, 3.5 seconds for a page load time is not bad, considering that you can shave off time when you properly optimize the images.
Integrations and Extendibility
OptimizePress supports over 20 integrations to various systems, including webinar platforms or email services.
But the question with integrations is, is it difficult to implement?
Fortunately, it’s not.
I wanted to hook up the landing page to MailChimp to capture email leads. Luckily, this was a quick operation, and the integration happened with just a couple of clicks.
I didn’t run any issues when doing the integration. If you do, you can always refer to the product’s comprehensive step-by-step instructions or contact the support.
Customer Support
OptimizePress provides various support options, depending on which plan you have subscribed to.
First, there is the Help Center, which is free and accessible to everyone.
But when you become a paying customer, you get premium support.
At the Essential level, you get email support directly from the OptimizePress team. And if you upgrade to the Business plan, you get priority email support.
What’s unclear, though, is what “priority email support” means. I’m assuming that you get faster response times regarding your tickets. But how much faster, that’s impossible to say.
It’s also unclear whether the support operates 24/7, 24/5, or some other schedule.
Finally, I hoped the chat would have been one of the support options.
Usually, the absence of this channel is not an issue, but it becomes one if something goes sideways on your production site. Getting support in a matter of minutes versus hours makes a big difference.
Plans and Pricing
OptimizePress provides three pricing levels.
The Essential plan is the first premium level you can subscribe to. For $99 per year (one site license), you get the basic functionality of OptimizePress, including 100+ templates, 20+ integrations, and email support.
The Business plan sells $149 per year for five personal sites. It includes all the features of the Essential plan but also adds things like OptimizeUrgency. With this component, you can add scarcity elements to your pages.
Finally, we have the Suite, which is the ultimate version of OptimizePress.
For $199 per year, you can use it on 25 personal sites. It also includes OptimizeFunnels for building sales funnels, OptimizeCheckouts for accepting payments, and OptimizeLeads for collecting emails.
Even with the most expensive plan, the monthly price is only $199/year (that’s roughly $17 per month).
OptimizePress FAQ
Your head is probably full of questions right now. I hope I can tackle a few of them in this section.
Is OptimizePress easy to use?
Considering that I could create a landing page (with a template) in a matter of minutes, then yes, it is easy to use. But if you run into issues, you can browse the knowledgebase articles, or get support from the OptimizePress team.
Every product will have a learning curve, but with OptimizePress, it’s not the steepest one!
Is OptimizePress expensive compared to its competitors?
It is, of course, a subjective matter, but let’s put things into perspective.
You may think the Suite, $199/year, costs a lot, but you have to put things in comparison.
For instance, the competitors of OptimizePress, like ClickFunnels, charge $97/month for their basic plan, while LeadPages, another competitor, costs $37/month.
There are differences between all the mentioned products. Still, I think OptimizePress has excellent value for money.
Can I test OptimizePress before I buy it?
No, you can’t. But if you are still unsure about the product, watch a webinar recording to learn more about it.
Can you build traditional pages and posts with OptimizePress?
With OptimizePress, you can build landing pages or membership sites. But you can also use it as a traditional page builder, like Elementor.
Can you edit the content created with OptimizePress 2.0?
You can edit OptimizePress 2.0 content only with the version 2.0. Therefore, you need to keep both version 2.0 and 3.0 on your computer to edit the content.
Once you have migrated the version 2.0 content to version 3.0, it’s safe to remove OptimizePress 2.0.
Is there a money-back guarantee if I don’t like the product?
You have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I’m planning on using OptimizePress on my client sites. Is there a licensing option for me?
You can purchase the Agency license. You can also ask your clients to buy a copy of OptimizePress through your affiliate link.
OptimizePress Pros and Cons
Pros
The product can build versatile content.
You can also use it as a traditional page builder.
There are over 100 landing page templates to choose from.
Templates and predefined sections make the page building faster.
It can create mobile-responsive landing pages and other elements by default.
The product integrates to over 20 systems.
It is inexpensive.
It’s easy to use.
Cons
OptimizePress 3.0 can’t edit content created with OptimizePress 2.0. Therefore, you may have to migrate the 2.0 content to version 3.0. This migration may take some effort.
It’s a subscription-based service (renewed annually).
Not a real drag-and-drop solution. You can drag any element only on the designated areas on the page.
You can’t make custom sections.
Is This the Right Tool for You?
The product gave me a pleasant surprise.
I have always thought that this kind of software is difficult to use and setup. But fortunately, I was wrong. For instance, I could create a landing page in a matter of minutes.
So my verdict: Yes, get OptimizePress today! Not only is it easy to use, but it’s affordable, too.
As a digital marketer, you are sometimes a jack of all trades.
Not only do you have to create fresh content for your website, but you also have to manage various social media outlets, or even manage a remote team.
But let me ask you this: Who is building your landing pages, sales funnels, or membership sites? Because running an online business requires that, too.
Hiring a web developer is one option, but that would cost a fortune. But fortunately, there is an alternative, a tool called OptimizePress.
So, in this OptimizePress review, we check whether you should invest in this product or not.
What is OptimizePress 3.0?
In short, OptimizePress is a content builder plugin for WordPress. At the basic level, it comprises three components:
OptimizePress Dashboard: Through the dashboard, you manage the OptimizePress products, integrations, templates, and general settings.
OptimizeBuilder: The plugin, which helps you to build conversion-optimized content with drag-and-drop functionality.
SmartTheme v3: A theme that is built, especially with conversion in mind. However, you can use the OptimizePress plugin without it.
Where the other page builders focus primarily on formatting blog posts and pages, OptimizePress is different. While you can format posts and pages with it, its focus is on building things like:
Landing pages
Sales pages
Launch pages
Membership sites
Sales funnels
Checkouts when selling products and services
As you can see, OptimizePress can build versatile content, and that’s what makes the product so exciting.
Getting Started with OptimizePress
Once you have purchased OptimizePress 3.0, you can access your account in the member portal:
The dashboard is easy to use. You’ll immediately see how to get started with the plugin and what steps to do next.
Once you have purchased the membership, download both the dashboard and page builder plugins. You need them to run OptimizePress on your website.
You can also install the SmartTheme v3 if you wish. However, you don’t need the theme to run OptimizePress on your website.
Once you have installed the dashboard and the builder, note this section on your WordPress admin panel:
The dashboard shows the components your OptimizePress plan includes. But what I found confusing was that I could also see features my plan didn’t include:
Naturally, the OptimizePress team wants you to upgrade to a higher plan with new neat features. But perhaps the dashboard should just show the items I had access to?
If you navigate to OptimizePress>Create New Page, you can access the page builder. From there, you can start building the elements that make up your online business.
The page templates are divided into categories. By clicking any of the category names, you can see a list of templates in that category:
Next, you have the integrations section. In this part, you can integrate OptimizePress with external systems.
Finally, you have the settings and the help sections.
The settings part is simple, giving you only a few options to configure your plugin. This is a good thing because the user experience stays simple and decluttered.
The help section gives you the documentation on how to set up and use OptimizePress. It links directly to the knowledge base.
Building Your First Landing Page
The heart and soul of OptimizePress 3.0 is the builder. You can use this tool to create landing pages, sales pages, and other essential bits of your online business.
Let’s assume that I had just written an eBook, and I wanted to create a catchy landing page for it. I would first go to OptimizePress3 > Create New Page section in WordPress. I would then pick the template for my project, like this one:
The tool then asks to give my new page a name. Once I have done that, it takes me straight to the editing mode. I can then tweak the template according to my needs.
Tweaking Your Landing Page
The editor’s user interface looks clean. This is a pleasant surprise since I have used other landing page builders where I’d expected more from the user experience.
At the top, you have a toolbar. It comprises 11 icons and one button.
The menu bar is decluttered. I was still worried about seeing an avalanche of options when I clicked any of the icons. So this happened after clicking the Elements icon first:
Although I saw a list of 30+ layout elements, the selection was cleanly organized. I could just pick one and drag it to the page.
This same decluttered effect existed throughout other menu options, such as Globals, Sections, Settings, and Pop Overlays.
Whenever I wanted to drag something to the page, the builder showed me the designated areas where I could drop the selected element.
When I hovered my mouse pointer over the page elements, I saw various boxes with dashed lines. These dashed lines helped me to see the areas I could edit.
While I loved the dashed line indicators, they should have been easier to spot. That would have made the editing experience even better.
Finally, I worked on a copy of the page. Fortunately, this feature was well-thought-out, too. Once I chose the part of the page for editing, I saw a context-based menu popping up:
I could then format the content based on the context menu:
Working with Sections
OptimizePress divides content into sections. They are nothing more than just pre-built parts of the page that make building content faster.
Naturally, I wanted to learn more about this feature and see if they would be useful in my eBook landing page project. So I clicked the Sections icon first:
And like the Elements, I saw a list of ready-made sections I could use on my page:
Using the sections was easy: I just had to pick the one I wanted and place it on the page. I could then edit the section and edit it.
I didn’t use sections in this project, but I loved them because they can be potential timesavers. But why can’t I build custom sections? That would be nice to see in the next version of OptimizePress.
Pop Overlays
OptimizePress also supports a special opt-in form type. It’s called PopOverlays.
These overlays react to user interaction with the page. For instance, when a user clicks a button, an opt-in form appears on top of the page.
Designing a pop overlay occurred with the same workflow as when working with other components in OptimizePress.
So, if I wanted to add an overlay to my eBook landing page, I could just choose Create New Overlay in the Pop Overlay menu:
The editing experience was simple. Yet, I’d say that the design options felt more crowded when compared to the rest of the application.
Also, finding some essential actions took a little searching, like how to delete an existing overlay. But once you get more comfortable with the overlay workflow, the building process becomes faster.
Adding an overlay on top of my current landing page would have been a user experience nightmare. Yet, I realized that this functionality would become handy in future projects.
Responsive Layouts
Ok, so if someone came to my landing page with a mobile device, would the page be unusable? Also, would this factor cause me to lose subscribers?
It turned out that my worries were unjustified.
If I wanted to see how my content looked with various devices, I could just click the device menu icon on the top-right, pick the desired device, and see the outcome:
Performance
One thing that worries me with any WordPress plugin is how much it will affect my site’s performance. This concern makes sense since page load speed is one of Google’s ranking factors.
So when you install OptimizePress, the performance question is valid. And that’s why I wanted to run some tests with a brand new website.
At first, the results were what I expected:
This website didn’t have any plugins. But once I installed OptimizePress, GTMetrix gave me these results:
Now, you may think: “Oh my … OptimizePress slows down my site!” But this is not true.
The images provided on the landing page template were unoptimized. However, when you look at the other factors on the speed test, they looked good.
So as a starting point, 3.5 seconds for a page load time is not bad, considering that you can shave off time when you properly optimize the images.
Integrations and Extendibility
OptimizePress supports over 20 integrations to various systems, including webinar platforms or email services.
But the question with integrations is, is it difficult to implement?
Fortunately, it’s not.
I wanted to hook up the landing page to MailChimp to capture email leads. Luckily, this was a quick operation, and the integration happened with just a couple of clicks.
I didn’t run any issues when doing the integration. If you do, you can always refer to the product’s comprehensive step-by-step instructions or contact the support.
Customer Support
OptimizePress provides various support options, depending on which plan you have subscribed to.
First, there is the Help Center, which is free and accessible to everyone.
But when you become a paying customer, you get premium support.
At the Essential level, you get email support directly from the OptimizePress team. And if you upgrade to the Business plan, you get priority email support.
What’s unclear, though, is what “priority email support” means. I’m assuming that you get faster response times regarding your tickets. But how much faster, that’s impossible to say.
It’s also unclear whether the support operates 24/7, 24/5, or some other schedule.
Finally, I hoped the chat would have been one of the support options.
Usually, the absence of this channel is not an issue, but it becomes one if something goes sideways on your production site. Getting support in a matter of minutes versus hours makes a big difference.
Plans and Pricing
OptimizePress provides three pricing levels.
The Essential plan is the first premium level you can subscribe to. For $99 per year (one site license), you get the basic functionality of OptimizePress, including 100+ templates, 20+ integrations, and email support.
The Business plan sells $149 per year for five personal sites. It includes all the features of the Essential plan but also adds things like OptimizeUrgency. With this component, you can add scarcity elements to your pages.
Finally, we have the Suite, which is the ultimate version of OptimizePress.
For $199 per year, you can use it on 25 personal sites. It also includes OptimizeFunnels for building sales funnels, OptimizeCheckouts for accepting payments, and OptimizeLeads for collecting emails.
Even with the most expensive plan, the monthly price is only $199/year (that’s roughly $17 per month).
OptimizePress FAQ
Your head is probably full of questions right now. I hope I can tackle a few of them in this section.
Is OptimizePress easy to use?
Considering that I could create a landing page (with a template) in a matter of minutes, then yes, it is easy to use. But if you run into issues, you can browse the knowledgebase articles, or get support from the OptimizePress team.
Every product will have a learning curve, but with OptimizePress, it’s not the steepest one!
Is OptimizePress expensive compared to its competitors?
It is, of course, a subjective matter, but let’s put things into perspective.
You may think the Suite, $199/year, costs a lot, but you have to put things in comparison.
For instance, the competitors of OptimizePress, like ClickFunnels, charge $97/month for their basic plan, while LeadPages, another competitor, costs $37/month.
There are differences between all the mentioned products. Still, I think OptimizePress has excellent value for money.
Can I test OptimizePress before I buy it?
No, you can’t. But if you are still unsure about the product, watch a webinar recording to learn more about it.
Can you build traditional pages and posts with OptimizePress?
With OptimizePress, you can build landing pages or membership sites. But you can also use it as a traditional page builder, like Elementor.
Can you edit the content created with OptimizePress 2.0?
You can edit OptimizePress 2.0 content only with the version 2.0. Therefore, you need to keep both version 2.0 and 3.0 on your computer to edit the content.
Once you have migrated the version 2.0 content to version 3.0, it’s safe to remove OptimizePress 2.0.
Is there a money-back guarantee if I don’t like the product?
You have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I’m planning on using OptimizePress on my client sites. Is there a licensing option for me?
You can purchase the Agency license. You can also ask your clients to buy a copy of OptimizePress through your affiliate link.
OptimizePress Pros and Cons
Pros
The product can build versatile content.
You can also use it as a traditional page builder.
There are over 100 landing page templates to choose from.
Templates and predefined sections make the page building faster.
It can create mobile-responsive landing pages and other elements by default.
The product integrates to over 20 systems.
It is inexpensive.
It’s easy to use.
Cons
OptimizePress 3.0 can’t edit content created with OptimizePress 2.0. Therefore, you may have to migrate the 2.0 content to version 3.0. This migration may take some effort.
It’s a subscription-based service (renewed annually).
Not a real drag-and-drop solution. You can drag any element only on the designated areas on the page.
You can’t make custom sections.
Is This the Right Tool for You?
The product gave me a pleasant surprise.
I have always thought that this kind of software is difficult to use and setup. But fortunately, I was wrong. For instance, I could create a landing page in a matter of minutes.
So my verdict: Yes, get OptimizePress today! Not only is it easy to use, but it’s affordable, too.
As a digital marketer, you are sometimes a jack of all trades.
Not only do you have to create fresh content for your website, but you also have to manage various social media outlets, or even manage a remote team.
But let me ask you this: Who is building your landing pages, sales funnels, or membership sites? Because running an online business requires that, too.
Hiring a web developer is one option, but that would cost a fortune. But fortunately, there is an alternative, a tool called OptimizePress.
So, in this OptimizePress review, we check whether you should invest in this product or not.
What is OptimizePress 3.0?
In short, OptimizePress is a content builder plugin for WordPress. At the basic level, it comprises three components:
OptimizePress Dashboard: Through the dashboard, you manage the OptimizePress products, integrations, templates, and general settings.
OptimizeBuilder: The plugin, which helps you to build conversion-optimized content with drag-and-drop functionality.
SmartTheme v3: A theme that is built, especially with conversion in mind. However, you can use the OptimizePress plugin without it.
Where the other page builders focus primarily on formatting blog posts and pages, OptimizePress is different. While you can format posts and pages with it, its focus is on building things like:
Landing pages
Sales pages
Launch pages
Membership sites
Sales funnels
Checkouts when selling products and services
As you can see, OptimizePress can build versatile content, and that’s what makes the product so exciting.
Getting Started with OptimizePress
Once you have purchased OptimizePress 3.0, you can access your account in the member portal:
The dashboard is easy to use. You’ll immediately see how to get started with the plugin and what steps to do next.
Once you have purchased the membership, download both the dashboard and page builder plugins. You need them to run OptimizePress on your website.
You can also install the SmartTheme v3 if you wish. However, you don’t need the theme to run OptimizePress on your website.
Once you have installed the dashboard and the builder, note this section on your WordPress admin panel:
The dashboard shows the components your OptimizePress plan includes. But what I found confusing was that I could also see features my plan didn’t include:
Naturally, the OptimizePress team wants you to upgrade to a higher plan with new neat features. But perhaps the dashboard should just show the items I had access to?
If you navigate to OptimizePress>Create New Page, you can access the page builder. From there, you can start building the elements that make up your online business.
The page templates are divided into categories. By clicking any of the category names, you can see a list of templates in that category:
Next, you have the integrations section. In this part, you can integrate OptimizePress with external systems.
Finally, you have the settings and the help sections.
The settings part is simple, giving you only a few options to configure your plugin. This is a good thing because the user experience stays simple and decluttered.
The help section gives you the documentation on how to set up and use OptimizePress. It links directly to the knowledge base.
Building Your First Landing Page
The heart and soul of OptimizePress 3.0 is the builder. You can use this tool to create landing pages, sales pages, and other essential bits of your online business.
Let’s assume that I had just written an eBook, and I wanted to create a catchy landing page for it. I would first go to OptimizePress3 > Create New Page section in WordPress. I would then pick the template for my project, like this one:
The tool then asks to give my new page a name. Once I have done that, it takes me straight to the editing mode. I can then tweak the template according to my needs.
Tweaking Your Landing Page
The editor’s user interface looks clean. This is a pleasant surprise since I have used other landing page builders where I’d expected more from the user experience.
At the top, you have a toolbar. It comprises 11 icons and one button.
The menu bar is decluttered. I was still worried about seeing an avalanche of options when I clicked any of the icons. So this happened after clicking the Elements icon first:
Although I saw a list of 30+ layout elements, the selection was cleanly organized. I could just pick one and drag it to the page.
This same decluttered effect existed throughout other menu options, such as Globals, Sections, Settings, and Pop Overlays.
Whenever I wanted to drag something to the page, the builder showed me the designated areas where I could drop the selected element.
When I hovered my mouse pointer over the page elements, I saw various boxes with dashed lines. These dashed lines helped me to see the areas I could edit.
While I loved the dashed line indicators, they should have been easier to spot. That would have made the editing experience even better.
Finally, I worked on a copy of the page. Fortunately, this feature was well-thought-out, too. Once I chose the part of the page for editing, I saw a context-based menu popping up:
I could then format the content based on the context menu:
Working with Sections
OptimizePress divides content into sections. They are nothing more than just pre-built parts of the page that make building content faster.
Naturally, I wanted to learn more about this feature and see if they would be useful in my eBook landing page project. So I clicked the Sections icon first:
And like the Elements, I saw a list of ready-made sections I could use on my page:
Using the sections was easy: I just had to pick the one I wanted and place it on the page. I could then edit the section and edit it.
I didn’t use sections in this project, but I loved them because they can be potential timesavers. But why can’t I build custom sections? That would be nice to see in the next version of OptimizePress.
Pop Overlays
OptimizePress also supports a special opt-in form type. It’s called PopOverlays.
These overlays react to user interaction with the page. For instance, when a user clicks a button, an opt-in form appears on top of the page.
Designing a pop overlay occurred with the same workflow as when working with other components in OptimizePress.
So, if I wanted to add an overlay to my eBook landing page, I could just choose Create New Overlay in the Pop Overlay menu:
The editing experience was simple. Yet, I’d say that the design options felt more crowded when compared to the rest of the application.
Also, finding some essential actions took a little searching, like how to delete an existing overlay. But once you get more comfortable with the overlay workflow, the building process becomes faster.
Adding an overlay on top of my current landing page would have been a user experience nightmare. Yet, I realized that this functionality would become handy in future projects.
Responsive Layouts
Ok, so if someone came to my landing page with a mobile device, would the page be unusable? Also, would this factor cause me to lose subscribers?
It turned out that my worries were unjustified.
If I wanted to see how my content looked with various devices, I could just click the device menu icon on the top-right, pick the desired device, and see the outcome:
Performance
One thing that worries me with any WordPress plugin is how much it will affect my site’s performance. This concern makes sense since page load speed is one of Google’s ranking factors.
So when you install OptimizePress, the performance question is valid. And that’s why I wanted to run some tests with a brand new website.
At first, the results were what I expected:
This website didn’t have any plugins. But once I installed OptimizePress, GTMetrix gave me these results:
Now, you may think: “Oh my … OptimizePress slows down my site!” But this is not true.
The images provided on the landing page template were unoptimized. However, when you look at the other factors on the speed test, they looked good.
So as a starting point, 3.5 seconds for a page load time is not bad, considering that you can shave off time when you properly optimize the images.
Integrations and Extendibility
OptimizePress supports over 20 integrations to various systems, including webinar platforms or email services.
But the question with integrations is, is it difficult to implement?
Fortunately, it’s not.
I wanted to hook up the landing page to MailChimp to capture email leads. Luckily, this was a quick operation, and the integration happened with just a couple of clicks.
I didn’t run any issues when doing the integration. If you do, you can always refer to the product’s comprehensive step-by-step instructions or contact the support.
Customer Support
OptimizePress provides various support options, depending on which plan you have subscribed to.
First, there is the Help Center, which is free and accessible to everyone.
But when you become a paying customer, you get premium support.
At the Essential level, you get email support directly from the OptimizePress team. And if you upgrade to the Business plan, you get priority email support.
What’s unclear, though, is what “priority email support” means. I’m assuming that you get faster response times regarding your tickets. But how much faster, that’s impossible to say.
It’s also unclear whether the support operates 24/7, 24/5, or some other schedule.
Finally, I hoped the chat would have been one of the support options.
Usually, the absence of this channel is not an issue, but it becomes one if something goes sideways on your production site. Getting support in a matter of minutes versus hours makes a big difference.
Plans and Pricing
OptimizePress provides three pricing levels.
The Essential plan is the first premium level you can subscribe to. For $99 per year (one site license), you get the basic functionality of OptimizePress, including 100+ templates, 20+ integrations, and email support.
The Business plan sells $149 per year for five personal sites. It includes all the features of the Essential plan but also adds things like OptimizeUrgency. With this component, you can add scarcity elements to your pages.
Finally, we have the Suite, which is the ultimate version of OptimizePress.
For $199 per year, you can use it on 25 personal sites. It also includes OptimizeFunnels for building sales funnels, OptimizeCheckouts for accepting payments, and OptimizeLeads for collecting emails.
Even with the most expensive plan, the monthly price is only $199/year (that’s roughly $17 per month).
OptimizePress FAQ
Your head is probably full of questions right now. I hope I can tackle a few of them in this section.
Is OptimizePress easy to use?
Considering that I could create a landing page (with a template) in a matter of minutes, then yes, it is easy to use. But if you run into issues, you can browse the knowledgebase articles, or get support from the OptimizePress team.
Every product will have a learning curve, but with OptimizePress, it’s not the steepest one!
Is OptimizePress expensive compared to its competitors?
It is, of course, a subjective matter, but let’s put things into perspective.
You may think the Suite, $199/year, costs a lot, but you have to put things in comparison.
For instance, the competitors of OptimizePress, like ClickFunnels, charge $97/month for their basic plan, while LeadPages, another competitor, costs $37/month.
There are differences between all the mentioned products. Still, I think OptimizePress has excellent value for money.
Can I test OptimizePress before I buy it?
No, you can’t. But if you are still unsure about the product, watch a webinar recording to learn more about it.
Can you build traditional pages and posts with OptimizePress?
With OptimizePress, you can build landing pages or membership sites. But you can also use it as a traditional page builder, like Elementor.
Can you edit the content created with OptimizePress 2.0?
You can edit OptimizePress 2.0 content only with the version 2.0. Therefore, you need to keep both version 2.0 and 3.0 on your computer to edit the content.
Once you have migrated the version 2.0 content to version 3.0, it’s safe to remove OptimizePress 2.0.
Is there a money-back guarantee if I don’t like the product?
You have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I’m planning on using OptimizePress on my client sites. Is there a licensing option for me?
You can purchase the Agency license. You can also ask your clients to buy a copy of OptimizePress through your affiliate link.
OptimizePress Pros and Cons
Pros
The product can build versatile content.
You can also use it as a traditional page builder.
There are over 100 landing page templates to choose from.
Templates and predefined sections make the page building faster.
It can create mobile-responsive landing pages and other elements by default.
The product integrates to over 20 systems.
It is inexpensive.
It’s easy to use.
Cons
OptimizePress 3.0 can’t edit content created with OptimizePress 2.0. Therefore, you may have to migrate the 2.0 content to version 3.0. This migration may take some effort.
It’s a subscription-based service (renewed annually).
Not a real drag-and-drop solution. You can drag any element only on the designated areas on the page.
You can’t make custom sections.
Is This the Right Tool for You?
The product gave me a pleasant surprise.
I have always thought that this kind of software is difficult to use and setup. But fortunately, I was wrong. For instance, I could create a landing page in a matter of minutes.
So my verdict: Yes, get OptimizePress today! Not only is it easy to use, but it’s affordable, too.
These days, social media can play a significant role in community building. But there is also another way that existed way before Facebook or other platforms.
Yes, I’m talking about forums.
The easiest way to build a forum around your WordPress website is to use a plugin. But there’s a problem. There are too many potential candidates that can be a good solution for you.
The purpose of this post is to show you the solutions you should consider. So let’s get started!
What to Look for in a WordPress Forum Plugin?
Take a strategic approach when choosing a plugin for your WordPress website. Instead of picking any plugin you can find, make sure to pay attention to at least these seven factors.
1. Price
Both free and paid plugins exist. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages.
While a free plugin doesn’t cost you anything, it may lack the support options that the paid version offers.
2. The usage
Do you intend to use the plugin only as a forum, or in some other ways, too?
For instance, certain plugins work better as a Question and Answer (Q&A) site. Then again, some solutions are more flexible, and you can use them in many ways.
3. Support
I’ve already touched on this area in point number 1, but let me elaborate further.
So when you are picking a forum for your website, make sure it also offers proper support options.
For instance, if technical issues come up, do you know where to find help, and how? Find out all the support options in advance so that you get help if you need i.
4. Extensibility
I know it sounds a bit confusing, but it’s true: forum plugins can have their own plugins. These plugins extend the functionality of the forum by adding new useful features to it.
While most of the forum solutions can be extended, some are not. So make sure to learn in advance whether your forum supports add-ons or not.
5. Integration
How well does the forum plugin support the custom branding of your website? Also, is it possible to integrate the forum into other systems?
6. Development
Plugin development is an ongoing process. But is your product updated and developed frequently?
For instance, if the plugin was updated a year ago, should you consider using another solution instead.
7. Basic Functionality
What features you value depends on your needs. But as a general guideline, I would make sure that:
The forum is easy to set up and maintain.
The user interface, both for the user and the admin, is simple to use.
The end-user can format the posts easily.
You can secure your site from spam and bots.
You can optimize the SEO of your forums.
The solution contains all the essential features. These include creating new threads, replying to comments, or editing your posts.
The forum is optimized for mobile devices.
The Top 8 WordPress Forum Plugins for 2020
Now that you know what to look for in a forum, let’s go through the top-8 WordPress plugins.
1. bbPress
bbPress is probably the most popular forum plugin for WordPress. It’s an open-source solution, and it comes from the same folks who develop WordPress.
The guiding principles behind bbPress are simplicity, web standards, flexibility, and speed. The forum integrates well with WordPress, and you can also extend it via plugins.
The plugin supports 11 languages. It’s easy to set up and simple to use.
Pros
Light-weight forum solution.
Fast setup.
The solution integrates well with WordPress.
The forum can be translated into many languages.
Flexible layout options.
Active community forums.
Free to download.
Cons
Adding new forum categories is a bit inconvenient at first.
Plugins are developed by many people, which means that the support options may vary, depending on the developer.
wpForo Forums is another fully-featured forum plugin for WordPress. While the core version is free, you can also extend your forum with premium add-ons.
The solution is light-weight and easy-to-use. You can quickly manage your current forum structure through the forum’s admin panel.
The forum has four layout options: Extended, Simplified, Q&A, and Threaded. Each layout option provides features that make your forums unique.
wpForo Forums also integrates well with systems like BuddyPress or Ultimate Members.
Pros
Free to download and use.
The plugin comes with five premium add-ons.
You can drag and drop the forums and categories into any order you wish.
SEO-friendly forum solution.
The forum can be easily translated into other languages.
Cons
The forum configuration may not be intuitive at first. So be prepared to visit wpForo’s support forum frequently.
If you deactivate the plugin, you’ll have to submit a feedback form to the developer first.
Price
Free to download and use. You can also extend the forum with premium add-ons.
3. DW Question & Answer Pro
DW Question & Answer is a light-weight WordPress forum plugin by DesignerWall. It helps you to build a site like StackOverflow, where the visitors can vote for each other’s answers.
The plugin provides a clean interface for the forum visitors. From the administrator’s perspective, the setup and maintenance tasks are also easy to do.
The plugin contains Default, Flat, and HelpDesk themes. Each of these options adds their nuance to the forum layout.
The forum integrates with the Akismet spam solution. The plugin also supports two different types of captchas, FunCaptcha and Google captcha.
Finally, the plugin includes six different add-ons. For instance, you can use the DW Q&A Markdown for editing forum posts without HTML language. Or with DW Q&A Leaderboard, you can list great forum contributors. You can also provide competitions for the community.
Pros
Clean user interface.
Quick to setup and configure.
Various captcha options.
Cons
Custom styling should be easier.
It has limited options as a discussion forum.
Price
The plugin costs $29. There is also a free version
4. CM Answers Pro
CM Answers is another elegant solution if you want to build a Q&A site, like Yahoo Answers or Quora.
The solution lets users vote for their favorite answers. Administrators can customize forum layout or localize the community to their preferred language.
You can also replace the default WordPress comment system with a Q&A discussion forum. With this feature, you can turn your website into a real community.
You can also integrate the plugin with Facebook, LinkedIn, or BuddyPress.
Pros
You can turn WordPress comments as part of a discussion board.
Users can vote for their favorite answers.
Users can add many attachments to questions or answers.
Ultimate Edition has the payment and micropayment support.
Cons
The user guide section (in the admin panel) looks messy.
You’ll find a link to the ticket system on the plugin’s home page after digging around a bit. Yet, the support options should be more easily available.
Price
Premium versions: Pro: $39. Pro Anonymous: $59. Ultimate: $99. There is also a free version
During the installation, the plugin creates three pages:
A login-in page.
A page for posting new topics.
A page for viewing existing topics.
These pages act as the backbone of your forum. And once the forum is live, users can register their user account through your website’s front-end.
The forum includes features like user management, which defines who can see it and who can post to it. You can also reduce the spam by blocking specific email addresses or domains.
The forum is mobile-responsive and works with any theme.
Pros
It integrates well with your website.
The plugin is easy to set up and configure.
A simple solution that adds a forum to your website without extra hassles.
It can be used in many ways, such as a community forum, a Q&A site, or as a job board.
Cons
It would be nice to see a comparison table between the free and the premium versions. That would make the selection between the free and the paid version easier.
Price
Versions: Basic: $49 per year (one site). Pro: $89 per year (unlimited sites). The free version is also available.
6. BuddyPress
Would you like to run a social network hub on top of your WordPress website? If so, you should consider using BuddyPress.
With BuddyPress, you can build a website with social network features. These features include things like user profiles, activity streams, or internal messaging. You can also create user groups to build mini-communities.
Contributors to WordPress also build BuddyPress. It integrates well with WordPress, Akismet, and even with bbPress.
Pros
Active development community.
It has plenty of plugins that extend the core plugin functionality.
It is continuously developed and maintained.
Cons
You need to do more configuration than with some other forum plugins.
Simple:Press has a long history behind it. It’s over 12 years old, and it now spans over 70 modules.
The free version includes features like great support for SEO or a spam protection tool. The premium version gives you private messaging and a TinyMCE editor for post formatting.
The forum is mobile responsive, so you can use it with your desktop, mobile phone or tablet.
Pros
Plenty of features already in the free version.
The forum developer creates all the add-ons, not a third-party. This factor makes it easier to get support for any questions.
Cons
Premium version prices can be too much for some people.
Price
Premium versions: Silver Bundle: $99 per year (one site). Gold Bundle: $149 per year (one site). Platinum Bundle: $199 per year (one site). The free version is also available.
8. Asgaros Forums
Asgaros Forums is a light-weight and forum-rich forum solution coming from Germany.
The forum is easy to set up. It creates a page titled Forum on your WordPress during the installation. The page includes a shortcode, and you can also place the shortcode on another page if you wish.
The forum is SEO-friendly, and it supports uploads, polls, and activity feeds. Forum users can also earn reputation points based on their activity on the forums.
Pros
Free (developer accepts optional donations).
Loads fast.
Easy to set up.
Cons
No plugins are available.
Can’t migrate from other forum systems (at least without coding).
So there you have it: 8 WordPress forum plugins, which each promise to be the perfect fit for you. But the hot question is: which one should you pick for your WordPress website?
Remember the seven factors I talked about in the beginning about what to look for in a forum? When I think about all the plugins against these factors, there are two forums that you should consider: Simple:Press and wpForo.
Simple:Press
Price: There are both free versions and paid versions available.
Usage: The plugin can only be used as a community forum. But if you invest into other premium Simple:Press components, you can create various types of websites.These include helpdesk sites, membership sites or donation sites.
Support: The free version gives you community support. The premium versions provide access to standard or premium support. You also get all the add-ons and support from one vendor, instead of from many.
Extensibility: Premium versions include over 70 add-ons. These include anonymous posting, polls and surveys, or profanity filter.
Integrations: Integrates with WordPress dashboard, logins, and registrations. The premium version adds integration to BuddyPress or WooCommerce.
Development: New features are continuously developed. Also, the old code is kept up-to-date.
Technical Features: The forum solution is easy to use, and it is mobile responsive. It has proper SEO functionality and has security features to protect you from forum spam.
Try the free version first. If you like what you see, then upgrade to the premium one. This way, you’ll learn if the solution is a good fit for you. You can also access the Simple:Press demo site to learn more about the solution.
wpForo
Price: Free to download. This is great if you want to have a forum solution, but are on a budget.
Usage: The main usage of the plugin is to use it as a forum. However, you can also use it as a Q&A/support site.
Support: You get the support through wpForo’s support forums.
Extensibility: You can extend the solution with 10 premium plugins. The prices range between $11 and $125. The premium plugins include ad manager or polls.
Integrations: wpForo integrates with BuddyPress and with Ultimate
Members plugins.
Development: The forum is actively developed and old code is kept up-to-date.
Technical Features: The forum is mobile responsive, and it supports various forum layouts. It also provides great SEO support, and has tools for user management.
Like Simple:Press, give a forum a test drive first. You can also visit the vendor’s website to see how the forum looks in action.
I hope you enjoyed our blog post on the best WordPress forum plugins. Next, you may want to check out our comprehensive article on the best list building plugins for WordPress.
