A forum authenticating against the site's own user database

The forum needed to check logins against the main site's database rather than keeping its own separate set of accounts.

The objective

The client ran phpBB alongside a main site that had its own user table. Out of the box phpBB keeps its own accounts, which means members have two logins and the two sets of records slowly drift apart.

They wanted login credentials checked against their database, not phpBB's, so the forum was one more part of the site instead of a separate system.

The styling had to match the site the forum sat inside, too.

What I did

I wrote the authentication against their database so phpBB checks credentials there.

I handled the account records phpBB still needs on its own side, so permissions and posting kept working.

And I styled the board to match the site it was attached to.

The result

Members use one login for the site and the forum, and the user records stay in one place.