[TH] Article and Forum Connect: XenForo and WordPress v1.2.1

Article and Forum Connect

WordPress and XenForo - two extensive softwares, integrated simply with Article and Forum Connect. Sync comments between XenForo and WordPress allowing users to post and view on either platform and choose the method that works best for your community. Easily connect comments/posts utilizing session cookies or linking WordPress & XenForo accounts without requiring the forum and blog to be on the same server.

Article and Forum Connect Plus

Article and Forum Connect Plus includes more options giving you the flexibility to connect posts/comments between XenForo and WordPress by either session cookies, connected WP/XF users, or an Iframe. It is only available through our Resource subscription. To learn more about our Audentio Community Select add-ons and our subscription plan, find more information here.

Features for both the free and premium option:

• Sync comments between WordPress and XPress - WordPress comments will be posted to the XenForo thread, and XenForo posts will be posted as WordPress comments
• Supports the sites being on different servers
• Flexibility in configuring the integration and how user authentication is performed
• Set default forums to post to based on the post category, and default users, as well as override these settings for individual posts
• Utilize the XenForo API

The zipped file included within the resource is a WordPress plugin, not a XenForo addon.



How does the free and premium version compare?


* If the blog and forum are on the same domain but different sub-domains (e.g. the blog is on www.domain.com and the forum is on forum.domain.com), the cookie domain on the forum will need to be changed to “.domain.com” to allow the cookie to be accessible across all subdomains. This will have a one-time knock-on effect of logging all users out of the forum.

** Depending on whether the forum and blog are on different domains, or other security settings that are set up for the forum to stop it being embedded on other websites, additional configuration may be required to allow the forum to be embedded in an iframe, such as an exemption to an x-frame-options header or a CSP (Content Security Policy).

***Requires additional WP Oauth plug-in.

Curious about what makes Article and Forum Connect unique from its other counterpart XPress? Check out this article here.



The methods that allow comments to be synced

Session Cookies
This standard method is easy to setup and utilizes session cookies to determine the logged in XenForo user so they can comment on WordPress articles without needing a WordPress account. It is not affected by ad blockers. WordPress comments would include posts pulled directly from XenForo and be displayed seamlessly based on the WordPress theme. This option requires the forum and blog to be on the same domain*.

Iframe
This method embeds the entire XenForo thread on WordPress, like a window to the forum. The design in the Iframe would be determined by the XenForo theme or a specified custom theme from XenForo. Commenting/posting in the Iframe would utilize the user’s XenForo account. This option does not require the forum and blog to be on the same domain but does require the WordPress domain to be allowed to embed the XenForo domain and potentially other configurations needed as well.

Connected WordPress and XenForo Users
If you require your users to have a WordPress account, then this is the best option for you. Your members would link their separate WordPress account to their XenForo account to determine who is commenting on WordPress articles. WordPress comments would include posts pulled directly from XenForo and be displayed seamlessly based on the WordPress theme. This option does not require the forum and blog to be on the same domain.

Have a look at our documentation for more on how to set up Article and Forum Connect here.