Num7

Depending what forum software you’re using, your threads will have a different number of posts per page. XenForo has 20 by default while vBulletin 5 Connect has 15.

What about your forum? Should you change that setting? How many posts per page should you have and why?

10 Posts Per Page

If you’re attempting to generate as many page views as possible, you should definitely go with 10 posts per page. It’s that simple. Fewer messages per page mean your visitors will have to view more pages in order to keep reading a discussion. It’s a great way to maximize your revenues if you’re monetizing your forum with CPM ads for instance.

Additionally, on mobile devices, shorter pages are usually preferred to long ones.

The only downside? Your visitors will have to click Next Page more often in order to read all of your content. Not a major issue in my opinion.

10 posts per page is pretty much the minimum you can go, otherwise it would look silly. Ever seen a forum showing 5 posts per page? Me neither.

15 – 20 Posts Per Page

This is the average. It’s a good fit between short and long pages. Like I said earlier, XenForo defaults to 20, vBulletin at 15. If you don’t have any special reason to change it, stick to it.

20 + Posts Per Page

I don’t think that forums with such a higher number of posts per page (30 for instance) are that common right now. Not because it can’t be done, but because there’s no point in fitting that many posts in a single page.

How many posts per page does your forum have? Let us know below in the comments!