What is a web forum app?
A web forum application is a web-based application that enables users to create and participate in online discussions. Forum applications typically include features such as user registration, user profiles, messaging between users, bookmarking of topics or posts, voting on topics or posts (up-voting/down-voting), notifications when new content becomes available, and the ability to create custom profiles for individual authors.
Web forum apps are similar to other social networking apps like professional networking apps, meetup apps, and event planning apps. Reddit is the most popular example of a web forum app.
Examples of web forum apps built with Crowdbotics:
- An online platform built to help train and certify swim teachers so that they can run their own swim classes at swimming pools that people and businesses can offer up in an Airbnb-like capacity.
What is the typical cost to build a web forum app?
A web forum app usually costs about $35,000 to build. However, the total cost can be as low as $30,000 or as high as $40,000. A web forum app with a low number of features (also known as a minimum viable product, or MVP) will be more affordable than an app that includes all intended functionality.
For example, here are some previous web forum app price quotes from Crowdbotics:
How long does it take to build a web forum app?
A web forum app usually takes 333 hours to build. However, a web forum app can be built in as few as 400 hours, or in as many as 533 hours. The exact timeline mostly depends on how complicated your specific app is. As a general rule, it will take longer if you require highly custom designs, niche features, complex logic, or non-standard release platforms.
For example, some previous web forum apps build with Crowdbotics received the following hourly estimates:
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Crowdbotics has quoted and built hundreds of applications for teams of all sizes. Browse our historical estimates by industry and app type to understand possible costs and considerations.
How to successfully grow your web forum application
A discussion forum can grow by encouraging users to share their questions and answers with a larger audience. In order to do this, the app needs to provide a platform for discussion that is easy to use and accessible on all types of devices. Discussion forums also need to offer an incentive for users to participate in the forum by providing feedback on who is getting the most attention, or by offering prizes for participation in the community.
Risks and challenges of building a web forum application
A web forum app, or a forum-based website, may be subject to issues related to defamation, obscenity, and hate speech laws. Before creating this type of app, you should take the time to review both federal and state law to determine whether your platform is legal in the jurisdictions in which it will operate. It is also important to carefully review your content moderation policies and invest in robust mechanisms for protecting your users from harassment and abuse.
