This isn’t one of those “Top X” list posts, because I hate those, but thought I’d share something the web is sorely missing: A list of free, responsive, bbpress-compatible WordPress themes. I tend to favor the clean look, so if you’re looking for something with a bunch of frills, none of these is probably for you. With that:
Top Free Themes:
- StanleyWP: Clean, simple, fully responsive. While this theme offers no frills (no sidebar/widget areas), it is one of the only themes I’ve ever seen that works flawlessly in every browers, resolution, and in mobile.
- Everal: Full featured, but clean theme. Some issues with avatar size/location on forum posts in mobile, but otherwise a great option. They offer a pro version, but if you can edit colors in CSS, there’s no need to upgrade.
- MH Purity Lite
- Patus
- Cannyon
Top Free Plugins:
- bbpress enhancers:
- bbp style pack: I use this plugin for one purpose, and one purpose alone: the forum template. bbpress, in my opinion, is unusable as a traditional forum because of it’s horrible layouts.
- bbP private groups: Very effictively handles custom groups for permissioning purposes.
- bbp Style Pack offers a simple click-to-select option to make your site look a regular forum!
- bbP topic count: Pretty basic counter for posts/replies. Options for individual or combined totals.
- GD bbPress Attachments: Adds a simple button to allow users to attach files. You can limit file size.
- bbPress Enable TinyMCE Visual Tab
- Shoutbox (Guest Book):
- Simple Ajax Shoutbox: Cleanest look as a widget, with easy configuration, including noise notifications. A few cosmetic things may need adjusting.
- Schreikasten: Probably the best-functioning option right now, but not pretty. If you’re up for writing some CSS, this could be your best option.
- Simple Ajax Chat: Still pretty new, but shows promise as another good free option
- More to come…
