Best Online Community Platforms
Written by Casey Botticello
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In our increasingly digital world, the phrase “no man is an island” takes on a new, profound meaning. The internet, once a hub of information, has evolved into a bustling marketplace of ideas, experiences, and most importantly, connections.
As we navigate our way through the 21st century, one thing has become abundantly clear – online communities are more than just digital hangouts; they’re the lifeline that binds us together in a vast sea of digital information. These platforms serve as a critical foundation for collective action, shared learning, and social interaction, effectively transforming the way we learn, work, and engage with one another.
In this article, we’ll explore the best online community platforms that creators have to choose from. Whether it’s a professional networking forum, a shared hobby group, or a support community, one of the online community tools on this list will meet your needs!
Importance of Online Communities
What does it mean to be part of an online community, and why are they important? To understand the relevance of people coming together in web-based groupings, one only has to observe human nature.
People are naturally social beings and generally like to interact with others who share similar beliefs, ideas, and interests.
In the past, communities were only thought of as those found in the physical world, such as the town someone lives in, the religious organization they belonged to, or educational institutions attended. However, internet penetration and the creation of various tools and websites have resulted in people forming communities online as well.
Today, these communities allow not just friends, family members, and colleagues to communicate with each other; total strangers from all parts of the globe are able to connect with like-minded individuals as well.
Many internet users are part of several communities, from LinkedIn groups geared at bringing professionals together, to online forums where people can share their opinions on topics that pique their interest.
Additionally, many brands have figured out the power of online communities in terms of building customer relationships, providing varying degrees of help and support, and driving engagement with their target audiences.
In fact, one recent report found that over 60% of brands reported increased revenues as a result of direct engagement within online communities. Moreover, a whopping 77% of companies reported that online communities were important for their ability to increase brand exposure, credibility, and awareness.
Best Online Community Platforms in 2023
1. Higher Logic
Higher Logic is a company that creates online platforms to help organizations build and manage their own online communities. Founded in 2007, Higher Logic focuses on making it easier for people to connect, share ideas, and work together using their software.
With Higher Logic’s tools, organizations can set up online forums, plan events, and track user engagement. These features help organizations communicate more efficiently, create useful content, and make their online communities better for users. This can lead to happier members or customers and help the organization grow.
Higher Logic works with many types of organizations, such as businesses, non-profits, and associations. Its flexible and easy-to-use platform makes it a popular choice for organizations looking to improve their online community experience.
2. Ning
Ning is an online platform that enables users to create their own custom social networks and communities. Launched in 2005 by Gina Bianchini and Marc Andreessen, Ning was designed to provide individuals, organizations, and businesses with the tools and resources needed to build and manage their own unique online communities.
Ning offers a variety of features, such as customizable templates, forums, blogs, photo and video sharing, and event planning. These features allow community creators to tailor their social networks to suit their specific needs and interests, facilitating engagement and interaction among members.
Ning has been used to create a wide range of online communities, catering to various niches, interests, and industries. By providing an accessible and user-friendly platform, Ning empowers people to connect, collaborate, and share ideas with like-minded individuals or groups, fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie in the digital world.
3. Tribe
Tribe is a modern and customizable online community platform designed to help businesses, organizations, and individuals create engaging, branded communities around their products or services. The platform aims to enhance customer engagement, support, and loyalty by offering a space where users can interact, share ideas, and collaborate with one another.
With Tribe, community creators can easily integrate various features, such as discussion boards, Q&A sections, polls, and content-sharing options like articles, photos, and videos. The platform also supports customizable themes and widgets, allowing businesses to create a unique look and feel that aligns with their brand identity.
One of Tribe’s strengths is its ability to seamlessly integrate with other popular tools and services, such as CRM systems, analytics tools, and messaging apps. This integration helps businesses create a cohesive ecosystem around their community and streamline various processes.
4. Mighty Networks
Mighty Networks is a versatile online platform that enables individuals, businesses, and organizations to create and manage their own branded communities, online courses, and membership sites. Founded by Gina Bianchini in 2017, Mighty Networks aims to empower community builders to bring people together around shared interests, passions, or goals.
With a variety of features and tools, Mighty Networks allows community creators to design a unique, customizable space where members can connect, learn, and collaborate. The platform offers options for creating discussion forums, hosting live events, organizing groups, and even building and selling online courses or digital subscriptions.
Mighty Networks places a strong emphasis on fostering meaningful connections and engagement among members. The platform’s algorithm encourages interaction by showing content and recommendations based on each user’s interests and connections within the community.
5. PlushForums
PlushForums is an online community platform designed to provide a modern and user-friendly forum experience for organizations, businesses, and interest groups. The platform aims to streamline the process of setting up and managing online forums with a focus on simplicity, ease of use, and responsiveness.
With PlushForums, community creators can benefit from a range of features, such as real-time discussions, private messaging, notifications, and content-sharing options like photos and videos. The platform also offers a customizable design, enabling organizations to tailor the look and feel of their forums to align with their brand identity.
One of the key advantages of PlushForums is its emphasis on performance and user experience. The platform is built to be fast-loading and mobile-friendly, ensuring that users can seamlessly engage with the community across various devices.
6. WildApricot
Wild Apricot is a comprehensive, cloud-based membership management and community platform designed specifically for non-profit organizations, associations, clubs, and other member-based groups. The platform offers a wide range of tools and features to help organizations manage their memberships, events, website, and online communities with ease and efficiency.
With Wild Apricot, community creators can build and maintain a customizable website that integrates seamlessly with their membership database, event registration system, and email marketing campaigns. The platform also provides tools for creating and managing online forums, discussion boards, and blogs, fostering engagement and collaboration among members.
One of the key strengths of Wild Apricot is its extensive set of features designed to simplify membership management. These include automated membership renewals, online payment processing, member directories, and customizable member profiles. The platform also offers event management tools, such as online event registration, calendar integration, and attendee tracking.
7. vBulletin
vBulletin, also known as vB, is a popular and robust forum software and online community platform that allows organizations, businesses, and individuals to create and manage their own discussion forums. Developed by Jelsoft Enterprises and first released in 2000, vBulletin has been widely adopted for its flexibility, extensive features, and strong user base.
Built using PHP and MySQL, vBulletin provides a wide range of functionalities, such as customizable forum templates, user groups, private messaging, moderation tools, and search capabilities. The platform also supports various content types, including text, images, videos, and polls, allowing users to create and engage in diverse discussions.
vBulletin places a strong emphasis on security and performance, offering features like spam prevention, user authentication, and database optimization to ensure a safe and efficient forum experience for users and administrators.
8. inSided
inSided is a customer engagement platform designed to help businesses and organizations create and manage online communities, support forums, and knowledge bases. The platform’s primary focus is on empowering companies to improve customer support, foster brand loyalty, and drive customer success through engaging community experiences.
With inSided, community creators can benefit from a range of features and tools, such as customizable community templates, discussion forums, Q&A sections, and content-sharing options like articles, photos, and videos. The platform also offers advanced moderation and management tools, ensuring that the community stays safe, relevant, and on-brand.
One of the key strengths of inSided is its ability to seamlessly integrate with various customer support and CRM systems, like Salesforce and Zendesk. This integration helps businesses create a cohesive customer support ecosystem, providing a unified experience for both customers and support agents.
9. Khoros
Khoros, formerly known as Lithium Technologies and Spredfast, is a customer engagement platform that enables businesses and organizations to create and manage online communities, social media marketing, and digital customer care. The platform’s primary focus is on helping companies build strong relationships with their customers, improve customer satisfaction, and drive brand loyalty through effective engagement across multiple digital channels.
Khoros offers a wide range of features and tools, such as community forums, Q&A sections, knowledge bases, and content-sharing options like articles, photos, and videos. It also provides advanced moderation and management capabilities, ensuring that communities remain safe and on-brand.
One of the key strengths of Khoros is its ability to integrate with various social media platforms and customer support systems. This integration allows businesses to manage and monitor customer interactions across multiple channels from a single, unified platform. This comprehensive approach to customer engagement helps companies maintain a consistent brand voice and improve overall customer experience.
10. Jive Software
Jive Software is an enterprise-level collaboration and communication platform designed to help businesses and organizations improve productivity, streamline internal communication, and foster teamwork among employees. Acquired by Aurea in 2017, Jive Software has been widely adopted by organizations of various sizes and industries for its comprehensive suite of tools and features.
At its core, Jive Software is a social intranet and collaboration hub that enables employees to communicate, share knowledge, and collaborate on projects in real-time. The platform offers a range of features, such as discussion forums, blogs, document sharing, and task management. These tools allow users to create and manage content, work together on projects, and find information more efficiently.
One of the key strengths of Jive Software is its ability to integrate with various enterprise applications and systems, such as Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and Salesforce. This seamless integration helps organizations create a cohesive and unified digital workplace, streamlining workflows and processes.
11. Discourse
Discourse is an open-source, modern, and feature-rich discussion platform designed to foster community engagement and promote productive, civil conversations. Founded in 2013 by Jeff Atwood, Robin Ward, and Sam Saffron, Discourse was created with the goal of improving the way people interact, share ideas, and collaborate online.
As a discussion platform, Discourse offers a variety of features that enable users to create and participate in discussions, such as customizable forum templates, user groups, private messaging, moderation tools, and support for various content types like text, images, videos, and polls. The platform has a strong focus on usability, performance, and adaptability, making it suitable for both small and large communities.
Being open-source, Discourse allows for extensive customization and the development of plugins or integrations to extend its functionality. This flexibility makes Discourse a popular choice for organizations and individuals looking to create and manage online discussion forums or communities that foster high-quality interactions and promote positive user behavior.
Conclusion
There are many great options when it comes to creating and managing online community platforms. Before choosing which platform to use, it is a good idea to spend some time determining what the intent of your online community is. Many of the communities featured above are designed for a specific use-case or type of niche community.
