Installing/Integrating bbPress and a a script-install of WordPress into the same database, for sharing users

I found significant problems with the bbPress documentation on integrating bbPress into a WordPress site, which had me puzzling for well over an hour. Here is what I did in the end:

1) Not at all clear from the documentation that bbPress should be installed in the same database as WordPress. Get WP database parameters from the WordPress wp-config.php, and enter these on the first page of the bbPress install page:

define(’DB_NAME’, ‘warriord_wrdp7′);
/** MySQL database username */
define(’DB_USER’, ‘warriord_wrdp7′);
/** MySQL database password */
define(’DB_PASSWORD’, ‘xxxxxx’);

2) Fantastico and other automated scripts generate very long AUTH_KEY etc, that typically contain “escaped characters” within a PHP “define” statement (ie. \’ and \\). Copying these from the wp-config.php into page 2 of the bbPress installer is problematic. Rather than trying to figure this out, I just copied them myself from wp-config.php (in WordPress) to bb-config.php (in bbPress).

3) Install the bbPress integration plugin to your WordPress blog, as described in the documentation, and follow the instructions.

Other than this, it was pretty straightforward and now works like a charm.

If you enjoyed this article, did you know that you can access a ton of additional free content, including the eBook WordPress 101 Quick Start: Your first site in 2 hours, by joining this site?
Registration is free and takes 15 seconds.

Do you know you can have a private coaching call with Marc for as little as $30, and sometimes immediately? Consider the benefits of having an expert solve a problem in 5 minutes that might take you frustrating hours of time messing with stylesheets, WordPress options and PHP