LifterLMS and bbPress

The LifterLMS bbPress integration, included in the LifterLMS core, adds the features to bbPress:

• Forum and Topic Membership Restriction Settings: Enable forums to be restricted to LifterLMS Memberships just like posts and pages
• Course Forums: Link forums directly to a course to enable targeted course discussion within the forum
• Topic and Reply Engagement Triggers: Reward your students for contributing to forums with these new triggers

To enable these features, you must have bbPress installed and activated. You can then enable the integration:

• Visit LifterLMS -> Settings -> Integrations
• Locate the bbPress settings box
• Check the box for “Enable / Disable”
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Save Changes”

Once enabled, bbPress forms can be restricted to one or multiple LifterLMS Memberships.

Visit the forum on the WordPress Admin panel and locate the “Membership Access” box. Check “Restrict this Forum” and then select one or more membership levels to restrict the forum to.

When visitors attempt to access the forum (or any topics within the forum) they will be redirected according to the restriction settings of the associated membership.

To add a forum to a course:

1. Head to your course and click the bbPress tab
2. In the Private Course Forums area, search for and select the forum(s) for the course
3. Click the Update or Publish button to save

Course forums will be available only to students currently enrolled in the course.

In order to best display the course forum(s) to your students we recommend using the Course Forums Widget which can be added to your course sidebar.

Note: If you are using a block theme, full site editing theme, or a page builder such as Elementor or Divi, the forum may not appear automatically on the course page. In these cases, use the [bbp-single-forum] shortcode to display the forum manually. See the section “When to Use the Shortcode Instead of Course Forums” for full instructions.

In most cases, selecting a forum in the Course Forums panel will display it automatically on the course page.
Some themes and page builders prevent this from working. You’ll need the shortcode method if:

• You’re using a block theme or full site editing theme
• The course page or lesson page has been edited in Elementor, Divi, or another page builder
• The theme overrides bbPress templates and the forum output does not appear
• The forum tab displays a blank area rather than the expected forum content

Why this happens

Block themes and page builders often replace the standard WordPress template that bbPress uses for forum output. When this template is bypassed, the Course Forums feature can’t inject the forum in the expected location.

In these cases, adding the forum manually using the shortcode ensures it displays correctly to students.

You can embed any bbPress forum directly into a course or lesson using the [bbp-single-forum] shortcode.

Step 1: Find the forum ID

• Go to Forums in the WordPress dashboard.

• Hover your cursor over the forum you want to embed.

• Look at the bottom-left of your browser. You’ll see a URL preview containing something like:
  post=2236
  The number is your forum ID.

Step 2: Add the shortcode to your course or lesson

• Open the course or lesson where you want the forum to appear

• Add a Shortcode block (block theme) or a Shortcode widget (page builder)

• Insert the shortcode:

[bbp-single-forum id=”123″]

(Replace 123 with the ID of your forum.)

Step 3: Save and test

Update or publish the course or lesson. Visit the page as an enrolled student to confirm the forum displays as expected.

Troubleshooting

The forum appears twice

If a theme or builder displays the forum automatically and you added the shortcode, remove the shortcode.

Topics load but return a 404

Permalinks may need refreshing. Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save.

The forum layout looks broken

Page builders and FSE themes sometimes conflict with bbPress styling. Try placing the shortcode in a full-width container or disabling theme blocks on that section.

You can configure LifterLMS engagements triggered by events that take place by students in bbPress forums.

Student creates a new forum topic

This action will be triggered when a student creates a new forum topic.

Student creates a new forum reply

This action will be triggered when a student creates a new forum reply.