Payhip is an e-commerce platform that lets you sell digital products, memberships, courses, and coaching services directly to your audience. It includes a store builder for creating professional storefronts, but it doesn't include a built-in community forum or discussion feature.
That's where Website Toolbox comes in. You can embed a fully featured discussion forum directly into your Payhip store, or simply link to your forum from your store's navigation. Either way, you get user accounts, moderation tools, and real-time conversations.
This works really well for:
- Digital product communities
- Online course discussions
- Membership and subscription communities
- Customer support forums
- Feedback and feature request boards
- Creator and hobby communities
- Private member groups
This step-by-step guide walks you through the process:
Step-by-Step: Add Your Forum
- Visit payhip.com and log in to your account. If you don't have one, click Get Started to create a free account.
- From the dashboard, click Store in the top navigation bar, then click Launch Your Store Builder (or go to Account → Store Builder).
- Navigate to the page where you want to add the forum.
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You can either embed the forum directly into the page or link to it. Both approaches start the same way. You'll need your Website Toolbox forum URL or embed code:
- Log in to your Website Toolbox account or create a new forum if you don't already have one.
- Copy your forum URL. You'll need this for the linking approach.
- For the embedding approach, go to Integrate Embed → Embed your forum , and copy the embed code.
- Option A: Link to the forum: In your Payhip store builder, add a new section or button that links to your forum URL. You can use a text link or button that opens the forum in a new tab.
- Option B: Embed the forum: In the store builder, click Add and scroll down to Embed Code. Select the option, then paste your Website Toolbox embed code into the Embed Code field. Embedded code cannot be previewed in the store builder, so you'll need to visit your live store to see the forum.
- Click Publish to deploy your changes. Your forum will now appear on your Payhip store.
- If you chose the embedding approach, copy the URL of the page where you added the forum. You can find it by visiting your published store and navigating to that page.
- If you chose the embedding approach, go back to the Website Toolbox Integrate → Embed → Embed Your Forum section and paste your Payhip store page URL into the Where is the forum embedded? field.
Single Sign On
Website Toolbox offers a custom SSO integration service starting at $199.
How to purchase custom SSO integration:
- Log in to your Website Toolbox account.
- Go to Integrate → Single Sign On.
- Under Your Website Builder, select Other from the dropdown.
- Follow the prompts to complete your purchase.
What Your Members Can Do
Once your forum is connected, your members get a full-featured community experience. Website Toolbox includes many more features beyond what's listed here. Visit the Features Tour to see everything that's available.
💬 For Members
- Create and reply to discussion threads
- Like posts
- Upload images and files
- Receive email notifications
- Customize their profile
🛡️ For Admins
- Moderate posts and comments
- Ban users
- Create categories and pin topics
- Customize the forum's appearance
- Manage member permissions
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Payhip have a built-in forum feature?
No, Payhip does not currently have a native forum feature. However, you can easily add a forum to your store using Website Toolbox, either by embedding it directly into a page or by linking to it from your navigation.
Should I embed the forum or link to it?
Both work well. Embedding keeps users on your Payhip store and integrates the forum seamlessly 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 Payhip store'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 Payhip store's user system with the forum.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Payhip's store builder makes it easy to add custom HTML. Simply paste the Website Toolbox embed code into the Embed Code section, and your forum will appear on your store. No coding required.
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.