Are Niche Forums Dead in the Age of Reddit and Facebook Groups?

Most forums are niche, right?

But aside from forums about forums and really specific niches that don't exist on Facebook groups or Reddit, do you think most niche forums are dead because of these platforms?

If not, why not? Do you think they are thriving on social/Reddit?

Shawn Gossman said:

Most forums are niche, right?

But aside from forums about forums and really specific niches that don't exist on Facebook groups or Reddit, do you think most niche forums are dead because of these platforms?

If not, why not? Do you think they are thriving on social/Reddit?

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Some niches, yes. However, many niches may have subreddits set up on facebook groups and/or reddit, but these particular areas are dead in the water. These platforms are a lot bigger than ours, but we can still thrive even competiting against them.

For example, there are 3-5 different subreddits that cater to the same niche that VPL does, and we're a lot bigger & more active.

Cpvr said:

For example, there are 3-5 different subreddits that cater to the same niche that VPL does, and we're a lot bigger & more active.

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It's all about building that community!

Once you establish a community, loyal relationship building is pretty easy.

I like to think forums will make a comeback as people tire of social media. I'm tired of it, at least!

ruscoe said:

I like to think forums will make a comeback as people tire of social media. I'm tired of it, at least!

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I hope you're right, but I feel like something other than forums will be the next outlet.

I feel like forums are like Msn Chat, the old tech. I foresee SaaS platforms winning as the next outlet.

Of course, everything will be mobile, too. Forums lack the mobile innovation that most everything else is capable of.

Shawn Gossman said:

I hope you're right, but I feel like something other than forums will be the next outlet.

I feel like forums are like Msn Chat, the old tech. I foresee SaaS platforms winning as the next outlet.

Of course, everything will be mobile, too. Forums lack the mobile innovation that most everything else is capable of.

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I think forums are fine. They just need actual mobile apps that are included in the app stores and are easily to install for some instead of the normal PWA apps.

Maybe some users find it too confusing to install the simple PWA apps that we have now. The SAAS forum options offer similar features but cater to those selling courses like Mighty networks and circle. Substack is basically a forum as well and they have a large user base.

Forums are also easy to browse on mobile so I don’t necessarily see what they’re missing from the mobile interface itself. Responsive design? Most of them have it.

ruscoe said:

I like to think forums will make a comeback as people tire of social media. I'm tired of it, at least!

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Unfortunately, what I've noticed happening is users jumping from one social media platform to another once they are fed up with the one they are using. With this pattern, social media platforms will always be ahead in the mix.

Cpvr said:

I think forums are fine. They just need actual mobile apps that are included in the app stores and are easily to install for some instead of the normal PWA apps.

Maybe some users find it too confusing to install the simple PWA apps that we have now. The SAAS forum options offer similar features but cater to those selling courses like Mighty networks and circle. Substack is basically a forum as well and they have a large user base.

Forums are also easy to browse on mobile so I don’t necessarily see what they’re missing from the mobile interface itself. Responsive design? Most of them have it.

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I agree.

Platforms need a better way of serving mobile users.

Responsive themes are better than nothing but they're not as good as what you get on social and that's why social will always stay ahead,

Shawn Gossman said:

I agree.

Platforms need a better way of serving mobile users.

Responsive themes are better than nothing but they're not as good as what you get on social and that's why social will always stay ahead,

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Exactly! Forums have just been doing a lot of catch up with social media platforms which is sad because it doesn't look like there's any chance of what's obtainable in forums to match what's available on social media sites.

A lot of people don't want to see forums favor social media looks and features but that's the kind of platform that gets used, used way more than forums ever will.

I think forum software needs a BIG facelift.

Shawn Gossman said:

A lot of people don't want to see forums favor social media looks and features but that's the kind of platform that gets used, used way more than forums ever will.

I think forum software needs a BIG facelift.

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There's always a way to revamp your designs if you'd like to. Hire a theme designer and have them make a forum look like a social media site.

That's a thing here. If forum software's want to do it, then they will. Forums aren't supposed to be like social media sites. They birthed social media.

ruscoe said:

I like to think forums will make a comeback as people tire of social media. I'm tired of it, at least!

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Until forums can advance into the era of 2025 and offer users what they are used to on other platforms.. not gonna happen.
The same "hope" was there with BBS sites when the internet started becoming a thing. Even those BBS scripts that looked forward and offered certain internet access abilities died an agonizingly slow death.
The simple fact is, WAY to many forum script developers are stuck in the era of "what was" and can't deal with the reality of "what is".
Some of us have been around for 4+ decades and involved in the "tech" and watched the landscape evolve.

Tracy said:

Until forums can advance into the era of 2025 and offer users what they are used to on other platforms.. not gonna happen.
The same "hope" was there with BBS sites when the internet started becoming a thing. Even those BBS scripts that looked forward and offered certain internet access abilities died an agonizingly slow death.
The simple fact is, WAY to many forum script developers are stuck in the era of "what was" and can't deal with the reality of "what is".
Some of us have been around for 4+ decades and involved in the "tech" and watched the landscape evolve.

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Exactly. Forums back then still did well for what they had and look at them now. They were just simple scripts back then, but now they've since evolved. The thing is we're forum owners, we not social media site owners.

We cater to a different crowd. If we want those numbers, we chase them and go after that crowd. However, the forum landscape will always remain the same in its structure and foundation. I don't see anything changing with its appeal and features. Some things may come into friction soon, but not a whole lot.


I remember the days of simple "guest books", which was basically forums at the time. This was cool too. I'll always enjoy running forums as it's something that I know and love. I'm not worried about what's hot in "social media" or competiting against them, cuz I'm building something different. We offer different things that social media doesn't have. That's the community atmosphere, long form content.

It's been about 20+ years now for me in the forum industry and i'm sure i'll be here another 60+. Forums will always be better than social media to me as we're different. The industry can be dying, but as long as we keep going with our hobbies, our love will never change.

Are forums supposed to copy social media? If so, in what way exactly?

To me, when a forum tries too hard to be like social media, it kind of loses what makes it a forum. It just turns into another social platform.

Funny thing is, a lot of forums want to act like social media, and social media keeps
adding "groups" to feel more like forums. So which way are we really going?

What I’ve always loved about forums is that you choose what you want to read and talk about.
Social media throws content at you non-stop, based on what it thinks you should care about.

Now don’t get me wrong, forums can borrow a few features from social platforms. But if you try
to copy everything, it becomes a mess. On social media, good luck finding
a post from a month ago, it’s buried under endless noise.
Forums threads stick around. You can come back any time.

Whenever I go on social media, it feels like I’m racing through stuff I didn’t ask for. On forums, it’s way more chill. I decide
what I want to see, and I take my time. And I don't think forums are for old timers, it's for those that got tired of getting content pushed on us and got fed up with noise.

And honestly, I’ve seen some niche forums that are way more active than big Facebook groups. When a forum hits the right topic, it doesn’t need to compete with social networks, it is the place to be.

Mike30 said:

Now don’t get me wrong, forums can borrow a few features from social platforms. But if you try
to copy everything, it becomes a mess.

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And this is a big issue. Sadly, the "forum is the best" defenders go out of their way to try to make out like what is wanted is for the forum format to become social media like FB/X/BlueSky/Truth Social. When in reality, what is usually asked for is for the forum script developers to look at what is the draw to social media and emulate some of the better features of that. There are a few developers (both paid and free) working on trying to adapt this philosophy into their script, but then you have others that listen to a very small vocal base that chants "all you need is forums" (with the music chorus soundtrack of "All you need is love" playing in the background) and think all is right with the world. And I think most know which paid script I speak of. And sadly, those developers appear to also follow that philosophy. It will end up a dead end for those that continue to walk that trail.

Societies needs and wants change over time. What worked well in 2000, 2005, 2010 does not necessarily equate to what works well in 2025.
Sadly, there are many running a forum that are afraid of getting out of their "comfort zone" and think because what they have works OK for them, it is fine for everyone else. They choose to ignore that very fact that society changes and their wants/needs/desires also change. One simply has to look back to the world of the BBS and how it morphed into forums. But some of those very folks that fixate on how forums are fine as they are now were never around when that change occurred so they choose to ignore it since they had no first hand exposure to it. Back in the BBS day those same type were saying that the BBS did not need to innovate. And we all see where the BBS ended up as I mentioned. History does repeat itself for those who refuse to learn from it.

Mike30 said:

And honestly, I’ve seen some niche forums that are way more active than big Facebook groups. When a forum hits the right topic, it doesn’t need to compete with social networks, it is the place to be.

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This is where the forum format can remain strong.. but even with it it is going to take in many cases more than just a basic forum offering. More and more want a more fully encompassing site to visit that not only has posts, but media (either images or video), well laid out articles, well laid out reviews, classifieds and similar (depending again on the niche). Those folks that think "all you need is a forum" in todays age are fighting an uphill battle.

Tracy said:

Those folks that think "all you need is a forum" in todays age are fighting an uphill battle.

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But what about folks who just want to run a forum?

I will agree that all the extra pages and features on your forum are cool. But you'll get people who just want to run a forum and not have to figure out how to do all that extra stuff,

Shawn Gossman said:

But what about folks who just want to run a forum?

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They can run one... but unless it has hard to find content, odds are that there are not going to be masses flocking to them that most new admins hope for.
But they need to have reasonable expectations as to the limitations of a site based around posts.

For those users that just want to find a place to post, there are generally more popular sites already around. Reddit is one simple example. You have a singular app with a singular sign in and tons of subs to subscribe to/participate in. So what extra does a forum only based site bring to the table over what Reddit currently offers with their wider exposure and larger existing user base?
There are some exceptions... but usually those are sites that have been around for years and were popular already. But even those type of sites are having issues with keeping a steady stream of regular users visiting. I know of several that I participate in that the posting has dropped of drastically over the last few years and it's usually a core set of people posting regularly.

And yes, there are folks that run a site just because they enjoy playing with either a particular script or scripts in general to learn from (I am one of those). But the most of them are very realistic in that they run their site for their benefit and do not have high expectations of it growing.

Of course, it also depends on the niche. If the site is just a chat type site then a forum only solution makes sense. But we are back to the fact that there are already tons of other sites of that type around so what does another one bring to the table that differentiates it from all those others.
Now, if it a more technical niche, having those other features are usually needed.

This is just a snapshot from GA recent traffic to my primary site.



As you can see, the forum link is listed, but it is also where you have to go to to access the other parts of the site. You see no threads or posts listed.

I’m intentionally holding off on expanding my forum too quickly, not because I can't get it active (I can, and have), but because I'm thinking long-term.

The real problem with forums today isn't that they're "dying." It's that many expect to build and grow one without spending money.
This is Business 101, every real business requires investment and creativity.

Instead of throwing money at themes, scripts, and trendy features, invest in your community. Pay your moderators. Support your early users. Create reasons for people to stay. When you do that, you won't need to copy social media features.

It’s strange to see people spending hundreds on themes and plugins, then expecting staff to work for free. And when that fails, they blame the entire forum industry? That’s like starting a company, refusing to pay employees, and blaming the market when it flops.

The same, when you see a forum with thousands of registered users and there are just a few online,(sometimes none) That's not a problem with the
forums in general, that's a signal of that forum not doing a good job as a community. (it says it all)

Mike30 said:

The same, when you see a forum with thousands of registered users and there are just a few online,(sometimes none) That's not a problem with the
forums in general, that's a signal of that forum not doing a good job as a community. (it says it all)

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I'm not so sure about that. As I pointed out, a lot of folks hit the resources on my site. And I guess because other sites force you to be a member to access resources on those sites they think theymust do the same on my site.
Never mind that the first time you go to the resources link you see this



But I am also somewhat a different breed of admin. I run my site for my benefit and welcome others to drop by if they want to. I won't lie and say I would not enjoy folks posting, but it's not that big of a thing to me.
I'm not like some admins that I know that will remove or ban a users account because they might not post a set number of posts in a day/week/month (yes, I know a few admins that really are like that).

Tracy said:

I'm not like some admins that I know that will remove or ban a users account because they might not post a set number of posts in a day/week/month (yes, I know a few admins that really are like that).

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They definitely exist... I am one of those. When you pay your people/team, you can require few things, that's how life works. Like any business does with their employees. The more you pay, the more you can require.

There is no wrong/right. It all depends what you goals are as admin or as a user. You set your expectation and you go from there.. And that's the beauty of forums, each admin set their rules and their own terms. Isn't it? And I am very happy we all don't do things exactly the same way.