I’ve done a couple of these implementations now and think I have a decent handle of all the moving cogs, so I figure I might as well offer help in this department.
What I Can Do
Single Sign On (SSO)
When a user logs into WordPress, they will also be logged into Discourse, seamlessly.
Username will be checked for Discourse validity on WordPress registration.
Will also set the WordPress login cookie to remain valid indefinitely like the Discourse cookie (normally the WP cookie expires after 2 weeks).
User Data Sync
Email and display name will be consistent across WordPress and Discourse. Avatar from Discourse can be sent to WordPress and saved as user meta (which can then be used in templates). I can also clean up the WordPress user profile pages to remove extraneous fields to make them more user-friendly.
Group Sync
This is important if you have a membership site. I can add/remove users to groups in Discourse depending on their permissions in WordPress. I’ve worked with gravity+ and WishList Member, and I should be able to accommodate most other membership plugins as well. Discourse group access will be gained and lost immediately (no delay or requiring user to log out and log in again).
Other Cool Stuff
I can probably do small assorted requests too. For example, on my site a PM will automatically start between our editors and the contributor whenever a new post is submitted for review. I also have a sidebar widget displaying the latest topics from Discourse along with user notifications and PMs. Little helpful functions like that.
The Implementation
The code I create for you will be saved as a WordPress plugin file, so you’ll be able to activate/deactivate it, change themes without worry, etc. The plugin will not come with a settings page; the code will all be configured in the plugin file itself. Each instance of integration is going to be unique and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to even attempt to make an options page for this type of job. I will comment the code as best I can so it’s clear if you ever need to go in and change anything.
Pricing
Send me a private message detailing exactly what you want done and I’ll be able to give you an estimate, but for reference I recently did a fairly elaborate membership site integration from scratch (I installed Discourse, helped make sure the WordPress membership plugin itself was configured properly, then did SSO, group syncing, and all that integration jazz) for $1,000. For smaller projects I charge $50/hour.
I just saw this, since I am subscribed to Adam’s posts here. And I wanted to add my two cents from the experience I had from working with Adam. He was very fast with the implementation. I had hired one or two other coders for this before, and they told me they’d need months. That aside, they gave up after a week. I had been looking for someone to integrate Discourse into my paid membership site for almost a year. Adam turned out to be the only one who had any experience in this field. Adam has a running members-only forum on his own website. Every setup is different, and AFAIK Adam wasn’t experienced with the membership plugin that I am using on my site. Still, he built me the integration I wanted. So his solution was really “bespoke” to my particular setup. I’m really happy that I found Adam. Working with him has been a pleasure, and I do recommend him to anyone who’s trying to integrate a Discourse forum into a WordPress membership site.
I just finished working with Adam and I wanted to share what a positive experience it was.
I came to Adam asking for help with Single Sign On with my WordPress site and Discourse forum. I’m incredibly knew to coding and working with themes and templates, so I felt rather lost. I contacted Adam out of desperation and frustration and I’m so glad I did. He was wonderful to work with. His responses were fast, concise, and always in a friendly, helpful tone. Once we established what needed to be done, we had SSO on our forum within 24 hours (if not less). He was able to create a custom plugin for us within about an hour and a half (the aspect I was charged for). He installed everything for me and did a little testing. From first contact to implementation of SSO, the entire process took maybe three days max, so if you’re looking for timely, quality work, Adam is the best. I’d recommend Adam to anyone who is looking to integrate Single Sign On for Discourse and their WordPress site. As my forum expands, I plan to to turn to him first for his quality work.
My project came under Other Cool Stuff I believe. Installed the categories code to hook WP blog posts into relevant Discourse categories and set a Gravity Form up to send contact emails from my website to a closed category on Discourse.
Adam is very prompt and a sharp and clear thinking guy and got me on track with a few things. He is very straight forward to deal with and upfront - he knows where he is value for money and told me where I would be better served by a Magento specialist who already knew what he would have to try learn from scratch. Can’t say fairer than that.
Sounds like you’re the man for the job. I’m using Discourse for my back end discussion and Wishlist member for my course management.
I would love a simple patch to make them work together automatically, sending people a Discourse invite upon their registration at my WordPress site through Wishlist.
I did not see an email for you, but please feel free to send me one at brad (at) makemoremarbles (dot) com so we get this worked out.