The WordPress plugin for Discourse keeps user accounts separate by default. To use the plugin, site admins and authors who publish posts to Discourse need accounts on both platforms. However, for users to comment on Discourse and have those comments appear in WordPress, no WordPress account is necessary.
The plugin supports multiple WordPress sites publishing to the same Discourse instance, including WordPress multisite networks. The Discourse API key can be configured at the network level to avoid exposure to all sites.
Hi, just curious, does the WordPress plugin require all WP and Discourse accounts to exist on both platforms or does it keep them separate?
I have tens of thousands of members on a forum I’m looking to move to Discourse and integrate with WP. Not sure if I want to have them all show up in WP though.
Is there a way to only sync the accounts that are publishing content in WP? i.e. Admins, Editors, Contributors, etc. vs. bringing everyone over as Subscribers?
By default it keeps the accounts separate. To configure the plugin, a site admin needs an account on both WordPress and Discourse. Any authors who are publishing posts to Discourse should have accounts on both sites so that their posts can be published to Discourse and linked to their Discourse user.
The WordPress plugin can be configured to have a WordPress site act as the Single Sign On provider for a Discourse site, but this doesn’t sound like something that you need for your case.
Thanks @simon. That sounds perfect. So users can still comment on Discourse and the comments will show up in WordPress without an account in the WP database being necessary?
Yes. All comments are created on Discourse, so no WordPress account is required to comment.
So, theoretically, could multiple Wordpress websites use the plugin and connect to the same Discourse instance?
Yes, multiple WordPress sites can publish posts to the same Discourse instance. This will also work with a WordPress multisite network. The plugin can be configured at the network level, so the Discourse API key doesn’t need to be exposed to all sites in a network.
Awesome! Thank you @simon. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my questions.