Forum settings

Forum settings give owners and admins control over how a forum looks, who can see it, and how it behaves by default.

Branding and identity

Depending on your setup, you can configure:

The forum name and short description.
Basic branding elements (for example, logo or accent colour) where supported.

These settings shape how the forum appears in navigation, dashboards, and links shared with members.

Visibility and access

At the forum level you can decide:

Whether the forum is public or private by default.
Who is allowed to join (open signups vs invite-only).
Whether non-members can see anything beyond the public landing page.

These settings interact with board-level visibility and roles to produce the final experience for each member.

Default behaviours

Forum-level settings may also include:

Default notification preferences for new members.
Which boards are highlighted or suggested first.
Whether certain experimental or advanced features are enabled.

You can adjust these settings over time as you learn how members actually use the forum.

Safe iteration

When changing settings that affect visibility or access:

Make one change at a time and review the member experience.
Use test or staff accounts to verify how things look from different roles.
Communicate major changes in a public board or announcement so members are not surprised.

Forum settings are powerful, but small, thoughtful changes usually beat large, sudden redesigns.

Custom domain, export

Two more settings live on this page: custom domain lets a Pro forum serve its public pages at your own domain, and export and import covers downloading your forum's data or bringing in an existing phpBB forum.

Settings vs. structure: which decision goes where

A common point of confusion for new admins: some decisions belong in settings, others in structure. The rough split:

Settings handle forum-wide policy: who can sign up, what the brand looks like, what is on by default. These usually apply across every category and board.
Structure handles the organisation of content: which categories exist, which boards are inside them, what each board is for. These shape the day-to-day reading experience.

If you find yourself going to settings to fix something that is really about "which board does this belong in", the answer is usually in structure instead.

Common starting points

If you are setting up a brand-new forum, three settings usually matter on day one:

Visibility: do you want anyone to read, or only members? Public is the right default for most communities; private fits cohorts, paying customers, and internal teams.
Membership: open signup vs invite-only. Open signup grows faster but invites in noise; invite-only is slower but produces higher-trust spaces.
Default notifications: too noisy and new members mute everything; too quiet and they forget the forum exists. A moderate default is usually best, with per-thread subscription options available.