CMS Made Simple is an open source content management system (CMS) built with PHP and designed for small to medium sized corporate, organization, and club websites. It gives developers full control over layouts and templates while letting non-technical editors manage content with ease. Like most CMS platforms, it doesn't include a built-in community forum or discussion feature.
That's where Website Toolbox comes in. You can add a fully featured discussion forum to your CMS Made Simple website, or simply link to your forum from your site's navigation. Either way, you get user accounts, moderation tools, and real-time conversations.
This works really well for:
- Customer support forums
- Member and association communities
- Feedback and feature request boards
- Club and organization discussions
- Product documentation Q&A
- Private member groups
This step-by-step guide walks you through the process:
Step-by-Step: Add Your Forum
Option A: Embed the Forum
- Log in to your Website Toolbox account or create a new forum if you don't already have one.
- Go to Integrate → Embed → Embed your forum, and copy the embed code.
- Visit your CMS Made Simple website and log in to the admin console by adding /admin to your site's URL.
- Go to Content → Global Content Blocks.
- Click Add Global Content Block.
- Enter a name for the block (for example, "Forum").
- Paste your Website Toolbox embed code into the content area.
- Click Apply, then Submit.
- Go to Content → Pages and open the page where you want the forum to appear.
- In the Main tab, click into the Content area and switch to source view. If your page uses the WYSIWYG editor and you don't see a source button, open the Options tab and check Disable WYSIWYG editor on this page, then return to the Main tab.
- Paste
{global_content name='Forum'}into the content where you want the forum to appear. - Click Submit to save the page.
- Make sure the page is Active in the Options tab and set to Show in Menu in the Navigation tab, then visit the published page.
- Copy the URL of your published forum page.
- Go to your Website Toolbox embed settings and paste the URL into the Forum URL field to complete the configuration.
Option B: Link to the Forum
- Log in to your Website Toolbox account or create a new forum if you don't already have one.
- Copy your forum URL from the Integrate → Embed page.
- Visit your CMS Made Simple website and log in to the admin console by adding /admin to your site's URL.
- Go to Content → Pages and click Add Page.
- Under Content Type, select Redirecting Link.
- Enter a Title for the page (for example, "Forum").
- Paste your forum URL into the External URL field.
- In the Navigation tab, check Show in Menu so the link appears in your site's navigation, and set Target to _blank to open the forum in a new tab.
- Click Submit, then visit your published site and click the Forum link to verify it works.
Single Sign On
To set up Single Sign On between your CMS Made Simple website and your Website Toolbox forum, go to your Single Sign On settings, select Other from the Your Website Builder dropdown, and follow the prompts to purchase the custom SSO integration for $199. The Website Toolbox team will handle the integration.
What Your Members Can Do
Members
- Create discussion topics
- Reply to existing threads
- Like and react to posts
- Search the forum
- Receive notification alerts
- Edit and delete their own posts
Admins
- Moderate all content
- Ban or suspend users
- Create and manage categories
- Customize the forum appearance
- Set user permissions
- Access analytics and reports
Frequently Asked Questions
Does CMS Made Simple have a built-in forum feature?
No, CMS Made Simple does not currently have a native forum feature. However, you can easily add a forum to your website using Website Toolbox, either by embedding it on a page or by linking to it from your navigation.
Should I embed the forum or link to it?
Both work well. Embedding keeps the forum on your CMS Made Simple site and integrates it into your page layout. Linking is simpler to set up and opens the forum in its own page, which can be a better experience on mobile devices. Choose whichever fits your workflow.
Can I customize the look of my embedded forum?
Yes. Website Toolbox provides a theme editor with a variety of themes you can choose from to match your CMS Made Simple website's design. You can customize colors, fonts, layout settings, and more to create a seamless look.
Can I make the forum private or members-only?
Absolutely. You can restrict forum access to logged-in users, create invite-only communities, or charge for access with subscription plans. Combined with the SSO integration, you can seamlessly connect your CMS Made Simple website's user system with the forum.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You paste the Website Toolbox embed code into a Global Content Block and insert the {global_content} tag into your page. Website Toolbox handles the rest. Linking to your forum requires no code at all.
Will the forum work on mobile devices?
Yes. Website Toolbox forums are fully responsive and work great on phones, tablets, and desktops. If you embed the forum, the iframe adapts to the container size automatically. Website Toolbox also offers a mobile app so your members can participate from their phones.