uSkinned Site Builder is a powerful drag-and-drop website builder for the Umbraco CMS. It lets agencies and businesses create professional websites without writing code, using pre-built components and themes. While uSkinned provides a wide range of content components, 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 uSkinned 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:
- Client communities
- Internal team discussions
- Customer support forums
- Knowledge base discussions
- Membership site communities
- Association and organization forums
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.
- Log in to your Umbraco CMS admin panel.
- Navigate to the page where you want to add the forum, or create a new page.
- In the page editor, click Add content under the Main content area.
- In the slide-out panel, choose the Embed Code component.
- Paste your Website Toolbox forum embed code into the embed code field.
- Click Save and publish to deploy your changes.
- 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.
- Log in to your Umbraco CMS admin panel.
- Navigate to the page or navigation menu where you want to add the forum link.
- Edit the content block or navigation element.
- Type the link text (e.g., "Join Our Forum") and add a hyperlink pointing to your forum URL.
- Click Save and publish to deploy your changes.
Single Sign On
To set up Single Sign On between your uSkinned/Umbraco 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 uSkinned have a built-in forum feature?
No, uSkinned Site Builder does not include a native forum feature. However, you can easily add a forum to your Umbraco site 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 uSkinned site 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 uSkinned site'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 Umbraco user system with the forum.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. uSkinned uses a visual drag-and-drop editor. You just paste the embed code into the Embed Code component and uSkinned handles the rest.
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.