Kunena is a Joomla forum component, which has made it easy for forums to be integrated into Joomla. Furthermore, it is a discussion and forum solution that is open source, community-driven, and comes with documentation Wiki, GitHub, and public self-help forums.
Also, Kunena is a community-driven tool, where users can assist one another. Clearly, the moderators of the forum have made it easy for users to find answers to their questions by pointing them in the right direction.
Contributors
People who support the advancement of Kunena are enthusiasts, hobbyists or expert web developers who dedicate their time to the development of the solution. The developers of Kunena have a goal to restructure the application in order to take complete advantage of Joomla and what it can offer.
Furthermore, the developers of this forum solution want to make it the most robust, scalable, reliable, and durable Joomla forum component in order to give users the perfect solution that will meet their forum needs.
History
Kunena is a Swahili word which means, “to speak”. The name was formed by new and old developers (Joomla core developers) from the previous Fireboard forum. Also, Kunena was created because developers wanted a solution that will address issues like security and reliability. As a result, the first version of Kunena (K 1.0.6) was published on the 10th of January 2009.
Benefits of using Kunena
The major purpose of Kunena is to develop an easy-to-use forum for web professionals and amateur to operate. Having said that, below are advantages of using Kunena.
- Non-Commercial Extension
Kunena extension is absolutely free and it offers you outstanding functionalities that will simplify your forum management.
- Automated Upgrade
With Kunena, you can upgrade your forums effortlessly when there is a new version release. All you need to do is make few clicks with your mouse and the upgrade process will run automatically.
- Convenient and Accurate Grouping
With Kunena, you can fix a forum as a read-only, private or public. You can group your forum members into guests, administrators, registered users, or moderators.
- Website Integration
Setting up your forum site with a website is very easy with Kunena. The application is completely integrated with a content management system. Also, you can create an extended web project like an online store, blog, and forums.
- Robust Categorizing
Kunena has an improved category system that aids the development of nested categories. Also, you can organize your topics and posts in the tree of sections.
Features
Some Front-end features of Kunena include:
- Video support and HTML5 audio
- Avatars
- Submenu items and Icons on Kunena menu
- Hide E-mail (only shown to registered users)
- Add option to disable social and personal message
- 2 editors including BBCode and Wysiwyg
- Smart URL autolinking
- Microdata
- Username display (optional)
- Open graph support for twitter, facebook, and more.
Back-end features include
- Blue Eagle Template
- Plugins and Modules
- Donations
Kunena Plugins and Modules
Aside from the features of Kunena, there are additional plugins and modules that add other functionalities to websites that make use of Kunena.
- Akismet for Kunena
Akismet is Compatible with Kunena 3.x and it is free. The plugin is written by JoomlaWorks and secures the site without redundant forum activity.
- Kunena signature
The add-on is Compatible with Kunena 3.x and it is free. Kunena signature lets users to enter forum signature in a profile form.
- Kunena mobile Joomla extension
The add-on is Compatible with Kunena 3.x, however, it is not free. Also, the mobile extension allows users to access Kunena forum on mobile devices like smartphones, iPhone, and iPad.
Tips on choosing a web hosting for Kunena
Kunena is an excellent forum solution, nonetheless, to get started, here is what you need to know before choosing the best web hosting for Kunena.
- Support for several databases
Choose a web host that lets you use different databases on a server. This way you can differentiate development and live websites into distinct databases and alleviates errors.
Therefore, you need a web hosting service that comes with several databases so you can select the best database for your Kunena website.
- Unlimited Domain Options
Select a web host that offers more than one domain. It is time-efficient and economical because you only need to pay for one account and oversee the domains from a specific location. A web host that supports multiple domains signifies that your Kunena websites will be hosted on just one account.
- Excellent support system
Kunena has an unswerving community of supporters, which include users and developers. For this reason, the application has a professional support system for issues and queries.
While the community provides great support, you still need a web hosting that offers 24/7 web host support for Kunena. Always go for a web hosting solution with committed Kunena professionals that provides support and solutions when the need arises.
- Server Package
Even though Kunena is not a heavy application, you need a web host provider that is optimized for Kunena. If you select a web host solution that doesn’t make use of the necessary technologies, your Kunena website will not function well. So choose a web host that provides the right framework and caching mechanism.
- Security
Before choosing a web host provider, check to see if they provide firewalls, isolated accounts, firewalls and automatic updates. If they do, the safety of your website is guaranteed.
- Reliability
A web host provider with a server that runs and functions consistently is best. While technology is applicable, you should also choose a reliable web hosting provider. Also, read customer reviews to check if a web host provider. If the reviews are not encouraging, choose another provider.
Furthermore, before selecting a web hosting services choose a host that has the ability to handle the improvements of your website’s substructure. If such web host cannot do all these, do not use their services.
10 Best Kunena Hosting Reviews and the Top Kunena Hosting Companies
1) A2 Hosting
2) HostGator
3) BlueHost
4) SiteGround
5) InterServer
6) InMotion
7) DreamHost
8) GreenGeeks
9) HostPapa
10) iPage