Best Forums for SEO and Web Development

by Scott Allen

Don’t Be a Hermit — Be Active in the Web Community

When you are a web designer or search engine optimization specialist, it may be tempting at times to be anonymous or keep a low profile. However, this limits your ability to grow and connect with others in the industry. I highly encourage you to become an active part of the web community. An easy way to do this is to pick two or three forums in the area you are interested in, and become an active member. Forums are a great place to learn new skills and ask questions, get feedback on a design, share your expertise, network with other professionals, and make some new friends! I’ve put together a list of some of the best forums in the SEO and Web Development communities.

(The number in parenthesis is the number of members at the time of this post — to give some perspective on the scope of each forum.)

Web Development and SEO Forums
These forums have great resources not only for webmasters, but also for those interested in or involved with SEO.

1. Digital Point Forums (63,056) - A great all-around forum, that is growing quickly. One of the most active forums. There is a wide variety of topics to choose from, including in-depth webmaster, web development, and SEO discussions. The site also features a handy suite of free webmaster tools. In general the community is very friendly.
2. V7 Network Forums (22,902) - Another great forum featuring a variety of web development and SEO topics. John Scott started this SEO forum. He is known to challenge some of the “norms” and publish information that sometimes challenges accepted ideas. However, sometimes it’s refreshing to have a different perspective.
3. WebmasterWorld.com - A huge forum with a multitude of resources for both webmasters and SEO’s. The mother of all webmaster forums. There is a lot of good information to be found here, but be forewarned that the posting policy is very strict.
4. Cre8asite Forums (10,639) - This forum has a member list that includes some of the most well respected and skilled search engine marketing professionals. Many of the administrators and moderators are well known in the industry and have years of experience and history in the SEM field.
5. iWebTool Forums (4,108) - A smaller forum, but very friendly.
6. WebProWorld (54,521) - A busy forum where web professionals can exchange ideas and discuss topics in web development and SEO.

Forums Focusing on Web Development
These forums are focused on web development and webmastering.

1. DevShed Forums (201,729) - A large and popular forum covering a wide range of in-depth web development topics, including coding, site development, site management, databases, hosting, and more.
2. SitePoint Forums (165,857) - A popular hub for web professionals worldwide, with discussions on hundreds of topics daily. Largely focused on coding and site development.
3. WebDev Forums (17,766) - A forum about web development, web design, and web hosting.

Forums Focusing on SEO
These forums are focused on Search Engine Optimization.

1. SEO Chat Forums (33,182) - A great forum for both novices and professionals alike.
2. Search Engine Watch Forums (15,103) - A leading Search Engine Marketing forum.
3. High Rankings Forums (13,401) - An SEO forum focusing on content (on-page) optimization. Targeted mainly toward newer SEO’s.
4. SEO Guy Forums (13,505) - A newer SEO forum, but that hasn’t stopped it from having some great discussions.

Not a Forum, But Still an Awesome SEO Community
This may not technically be a forum, but is an awesome SEO community nonetheless and deserves mention.

• SEOmoz - This perhaps my favorite online SEO community, and I spend a lot of time here. A very friendly and well informed staff has created an awesome community through a daily blog written by staff members and a user-generated content blog written by community members. Users are free to comment on these and give them a thumbs up or thumbs down, much like Digg. Combined with great SEO articles and a suite of killer SEO tools, this site comes highly recommended.

That should get you started! Join some forums (er, uh, communities), start discussing ideas, and get your name out there!

Tags:
forums | seo | web development | web design | webgeek

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