This has been available from the start. Currently through API or just sending me a message for the data. This will later be made possible inside the ACP as stated previously.
ForumSpark Development
- Thread starter Cedric
- Start date
Super awesome you were able to convert a Xenforo forum in just 10 minutes too! This is awesome news for those who can no longer afford to pay for hosting, or for license renewals.
Greetings everyone!
Happy to announce we've just upgraded the server with double the resources as before. Along with a new fresh breath of air, I've also released 1.3.7 which in short gives the following:
Our Widget Manager can now be found in the ACP and the user menu dropdown under Theme Editor.
Our docs will soon be updated with the new widget manager. As always, feel free to leave some feedback and help shape ForumSpark's next version! 😊
Happy to announce we've just upgraded the server with double the resources as before. Along with a new fresh breath of air, I've also released 1.3.7 which in short gives the following:
- Widget system: full sidebar/content widget framework with 13 built-in widgets, drag-and-drop management, per-user dismissal, context-aware placement, widget creation, etc.
- Theme editor: panel corner radius setting, dropdown menu colors in color palette
- Avatar settings: configurable max width, height, and file size per board in ACP
Our Widget Manager can now be found in the ACP and the user menu dropdown under Theme Editor.
What's the Widget Manager you may ask?
The Widget System lets board admins customize their forum's layout by placing configurable content blocks (widgets) into different areas of the page - no coding required.Widget Areas
Widgets can be placed in 5 page zones:- Header Banner: Right area at the very top of the page
- Above Board: Between the header and the forum listing
- Sidebar: Right column alongside the main content
- Below Board: Under the forum listing
- Footer: Bottom of the page
Built-in Widgets (13 total)
| Widget | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Announcement | Displays a styled banner with a message and optional call-to-action button. Choose from 4 styles: Info (blue), Warning (amber), Success (green), or Primary (indigo). Works in both light and dark mode. |
| Board Statistics | Shows your forum's numbers at a glance - total posts, topics, members, newest member, and record online users. Two display styles: Cards (icon grid) or Inline (compact bar). |
| New Topics | Displays the latest topics as rich cards with author avatars, content previews, last reply info, and view/reply counts. |
| Recent Activity | Shows the most recently active discussions - topics that just received new replies. |
| Images Carousel | Display a rotating slideshow of images with smooth fade transitions, dot navigation, and optional per-image links. Also supports a static grid layout. |
| Online Users | Lists currently online members. Two modes: Usernames (classic list) or Avatars (stacked profile pictures with online indicator rings). |
| Top Posters | Ranks your most active members by post count with their avatars and badges. |
| Upcoming Birthdays | Shows members with birthdays today, complete with a cake icon. Respects members' privacy settings. |
| Tell a Friend | Share buttons for your forum - Copy Link, post to X (Twitter), share on Facebook, or send via Email. One-click sharing. |
| Welcome | A simple welcome message for visitors - great for first impressions. |
| Shoutbox | Real-time chat box for quick conversations (powered by Livewire). |
| Raw HTML | Insert custom HTML code directly - for advanced users who want full control. |
| WYSIWYG | A rich text content block - write formatted content without touching HTML. |
Per-Widget Settings
Every widget supports:- Visibility Rules: Show to everyone, guests only, members only, or specific user groups
- Device Targeting: Show on desktop only, mobile only, or both
- Dismissable: Let users hide widgets they don't want to see (restorable from profile settings)
- Custom CSS: Add your own styling tweaks per widget
- Custom Padding: Fine-tune spacing (top/right/bottom/left)
- Wrap in Panel: Choose whether the widget gets a titled card wrapper or renders standalone, great if you want to style it yourself
Custom Theme Compatible
Widgets work on all themes, including fully custom themes that don't inherit the default stylesheet. Every widget includes fallback styling so it renders correctly regardless of theme configuration.Our docs will soon be updated with the new widget manager. As always, feel free to leave some feedback and help shape ForumSpark's next version! 😊
The work you've done has been quite impressive. Bringing this service to market for those who want a free service to start up a forum, without it being stuck in a 2010 era, is really cool.
Would you be looking to do integrations with other software, like WordPress, down the road?
Would you be looking to do integrations with other software, like WordPress, down the road?
Appreciate that. There are no immediate plans to do so. But feel free to suggest anything in the feedback forum. If I see value in it, chances are it gets implemented.
There are some hosting problems with the new Postloop site. Sometimes it doesn't load. I would assume that has to do with traffic surge it's probably getting (because money is being promised) and the hosting.
How strong is the hosting on Forum Spark and can people order premium versions with more power? How do you get domains on the hosting (vs. a subdomain), as with Postloop.net?
How strong is the hosting on Forum Spark and can people order premium versions with more power? How do you get domains on the hosting (vs. a subdomain), as with Postloop.net?
I've just upgraded the server yesterday. We're running 50% memory, so the loading might be on your end. Not saying it couldn't be, just going off the statistics, it doesn't show me any errors which I receive when we hit memory and boards are offline. All boards have the same power and features, there is no premium yet.
Domains work via a CNAME record, and you're able to add them in a domain manager which then verifies automatically. Once verified, you can primary the domain.
You might be right because one of my own forums (not run on Forum Spark) runs fast from this library computer.
I'm pleased to announce our newest version: 1.4.0. I've bumped this version up a bit because there are some pretty major changes under the hood.
We’ve moved from Laravel 10 to 12 and Livewire 2 to 3.7. These updates give us a much more stable and future-proof base to build on, while we wait for newer versions to mature properly. On top of that, ForumSpark is now running on PHP 8.4.
There’s a lot that has changed in the core, so if you run into anything unusual, please report it in the support forum.
This version includes:
New: ForumSpark Premium
Conversations enhancements
New: Blogs
Multi-Account Aliases Improvements
More minor improvements
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The ForumSpark Developer Portal is Live
Greetings everyone,I've been working on this one for a while, and it's finally ready to talk about properly.ForumSpark now has a full Developer Portal. It's a place where anyone can build extensions - themes, widgets, and scripts - and publish them for the entire platform. Every board gets access to...
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If you need something deleted instantly, PM me.
That's fine I'm asking if there's a timeframe to allow members to be able to do it themselves?
Some future release, but low priority and no ETA to be honest.
Our first official extension has been released: Credits & Shop
Add a complete virtual currency economy to your forum.
This is now available in your ACP Extensions Directory => Browse Extensions => Install Credits & Shop
This marks our first initial credits & shop release. More is coming soon! 🙂
Add a complete virtual currency economy to your forum.
Features
- Earning Triggers: Award credits for posting, creating topics, receiving reactions, daily logins, and more
- Item Shop: Sell cosmetic items like username styles, titles, and group access
- Gifting: Let members send credits to each other with optional tax
- Leaderboard: Show top earners across your community
- Group Multipliers: Reward VIP groups with bonus earning rates
- Admin Controls: Full settings panel, shop manager, and transaction log
- Widgets: Including 5 widgets
This is now available in your ACP Extensions Directory => Browse Extensions => Install Credits & Shop
This marks our first initial credits & shop release. More is coming soon! 🙂
A glimpse on ForumSpark 2.0
I'll keep this one relatively short, because I don't want to give too much away just yet - but there's enough to talk about that it felt wrong to stay quiet any longer. And I can't contain my excitement personally.ForumSpark 2.0 is in active development.As most of you know, Mace has recently joined...
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