Every term defined

Reign glossary.

Every word, plugin, and platform you will see on this site - in plain English. Read this if you are confused about what a "kit" is, what BuddyPress does, or whether LearnDash and the Reign LearnDash add-on are the same thing (they are not).

Reign-specific terms Community platforms (the social engine) Plugins Reign styles (third-party extensions) General WordPress terms Community shapes (what you build) Licensing terms

Reign-specific terms

Words you only see on reigntheme.com. If you are trying to work out what you actually pay for, read the first four terms and you have the whole model.

Reign Theme: The Reign design system - 5 header layouts, 30+ page templates, member directory styles, activity feed styling, dark mode. The only product you have to buy, at $99/year or $249 lifetime for one site.
Piece: One of the Wbcom plugins a Reign community is built from: BuddyNext for the community engine, Learnomy for courses, Jetonomy for forums, Eventonomy for events, WP Career Board for jobs, WP Sell Services for a services marketplace, Listora for directories, MediaVerse for media, WB Gamification for points. Almost every piece installs free.
Free version: The no-cost edition of a Wbcom plugin. Not a trial: there is no time limit and no feature countdown, and it keeps receiving updates. Downloaded from your Wbcom Designs account rather than WordPress.org.
Pro plan: The paid upgrade for ONE Wbcom plugin, bought on its own from $59/year. Upgrading one plugin does not change the price of any other, and there is no bundle you must buy to unlock a single feature.
Add-on: A plugin that styles ONE third-party plugin (LearnDash, Dokan, GeoDirectory and similar) so it looks native inside Reign. Sold separately at $39/year or $79 lifetime each, and it activates on top of the Reign theme. Wbcom's own plugins do not need an add-on because the theme already styles them.
Kit: A bundle of the Reign theme plus the add-on for one third-party stack, sold as one purchase from $129/year or $249 lifetime. Useful when you already know you are building on LearnDash, Dokan or similar; it saves 15-30% against buying the theme and add-on separately.
StoreMate: The kit family for multi-vendor marketplaces. Three variants: StoreMate Dokan, StoreMate WC Vendors, StoreMate WCFM. Each pairs Reign + the matching marketplace add-on + the Pro marketplace plugin.
LearnMate: The kit family for course communities. Two variants: LearnMate LearnDash and LearnMate LifterLMS. Each pairs Reign + the matching LMS add-on + the Pro LMS plugin.
JobMate: The kit family for job boards. Single kit. Pairs Reign + the WP Job Manager add-on + WP Job Manager Pro.
Reign Demo Installer: A free add-on that one-click imports any of 30+ pre-built demo sites. Saves you from configuring BuddyPress + page templates manually. Available to all Reign theme owners.
Reign Addons Bundle: A premium bundle that includes the Reign theme + every Reign add-on. Heaviest discount vs buying separately. Best for agencies or buyers who know they will use 4+ add-ons.
Setup package: The flat $699 done-for-you service. Wbcom team installs Reign + the kit you pick + your branding + Stripe + onboarding emails in 5 business days.

Community platforms (the social engine)

Reign is a theme, not a community engine. You need one of these plugins installed alongside Reign to get activity feeds, profiles, groups, and messages. BuddyNext is ours and free; the others are third-party and equally well supported.

BuddyNext: Wbcom's own community engine, free to install from your Wbcom account. Member profiles, activity feeds, groups, messages, and notifications, built by the same team as the theme, so Reign styles it with no configuration. A Pro plan adds advanced moderation and analytics from $149/year.
BuddyPress: The free WordPress community plugin. Open source, made by Automattic, in active development since 2008. Provides activity feeds, member profiles, groups, friends, and messages. Reign's default pairing - free and stable.
BuddyBoss Platform: A paid commercial alternative to BuddyPress, by BuddyBoss. Adds nested replies, reactions, polls, and better mobile UX out of the box. Free version available; Pro is $228+/year. Reign supports it as a peer platform.
PeepSo: A paid commercial alternative to BuddyPress, by PeepSo. Lighter footprint than BuddyBoss, faster default UI, Facebook-style feed. Reign supports it via a separate "Reign PeepSo" theme variant.
bbPress: A WordPress forum plugin (also by Automattic). Reign theme has bbPress styling included. Use if your community is forum-shaped rather than activity-feed-shaped.

Plugins Reign styles (third-party extensions)

These are independent WordPress plugins from other vendors. Reign add-ons style their pages so they look native inside your community: you buy the plugin from its vendor and the Reign add-on from Wbcom. Wbcom also makes a free plugin for most of these jobs (Learnomy for courses, WP Sell Services for marketplaces, WP Career Board for jobs, Listora for directories), so this path is for people who already run, or specifically want, the third-party tool.

LearnDash: The most popular WordPress course plugin. Sold separately by LearnDash ($199+/year). The Reign LearnDash add-on styles its course pages, student dashboards, and quiz screens.
LifterLMS: A WordPress course plugin focused on memberships + courses. Open-core (free base, paid add-ons). The Reign LifterLMS add-on styles its catalog, course pages, and membership wrappers.
Tutor LMS: A WordPress course plugin focused on instructor + student dashboards. Free + Pro. The Reign Tutor LMS add-on styles both dashboards + course player.
Sensei: A WordPress course plugin by Automattic. The Reign Sensei add-on styles its course catalog + lesson layouts.
Dokan: The most popular WordPress multi-vendor marketplace plugin. Sold by weDevs. The Reign Dokan add-on styles vendor stores + product pages so they match your Reign community.
WC Vendors: A multi-vendor marketplace plugin (WooCommerce extension). The Reign WC Vendors add-on styles its marketplace surfaces.
WCFM: WooCommerce Frontend Manager - another multi-vendor marketplace plugin. Strong on commission rules + vendor dashboards. The Reign WCFM add-on styles those dashboards.
WP Job Manager: The most popular WordPress job board plugin. The Reign WP Job Manager add-on styles the job board, employer pages, and listing forms.
GeoDirectory: A WordPress business directory + listings plugin. The Reign GeoDirectory add-on styles listings + member submission forms.
MemberPress: The most popular WordPress paid membership plugin. Not a Reign add-on - Reign + MemberPress pair on the same install for paid community sites.
Paid Memberships Pro: A free + paid alternative to MemberPress. Also pairs with Reign.
WooCommerce: The WordPress ecommerce plugin. Reign's marketplace + membership stacks layer on top of WooCommerce.
GamiPress: A WordPress gamification plugin - points, badges, ranks, achievements. Reign theme includes GamiPress styling for activity rewards.
Stripe: The default payment processor for paid memberships + course sales + marketplace payouts on Reign sites. Pairs with MemberPress, WooCommerce, LearnDash, etc.

General WordPress terms

Words from the broader WordPress ecosystem you will see in setup guides.

WordPress: The open-source content management system that powers ~40% of the web. Reign is a theme for WordPress; you need a WordPress install to run it.
Theme: A WordPress design package - controls how the site looks. Each WordPress install runs exactly one active theme. Reign is a theme.
Plugin: A WordPress feature package - adds functionality. You can install many plugins on one site. BuddyPress, LearnDash, MemberPress are all plugins. Reign add-ons are also plugins (lightweight, styling-only).
Hosting: The server your WordPress site runs on. Common hosts: Bluehost, Cloudways, WP Engine, SiteGround, Kinsta. Cost: $5-$30/mo on shared, $30-$100/mo on managed. You need hosting + a domain before installing Reign.
mu-plugin: "Must-use" plugins - a WordPress concept for plugins that auto-activate. Used in advanced setups. Not relevant for most Reign buyers.
Child theme: A WordPress mechanism for customizing a theme without modifying the parent. Reign ships with a child theme starter at github.com/wbcomdesigns/reign-child for custom code.
WP-CLI: The WordPress command-line tool. Used by developers + the Wbcom team for fast bulk operations. Not required for typical setup.
WP REST API: WordPress's built-in JSON API. Used by Reign sites that pair with mobile apps or external integrations. Most buyers do not interact with it directly.

Community shapes (what you build)

The eight community types Reign supports. Each maps to a specific add-on + kit combo.

Course community: A community where members take paid or free courses + interact around them. Built on Reign + LearnDash / LifterLMS / Tutor LMS + BuddyPress. Use LearnMate or Reign Tutor LMS kit.
Multi-vendor marketplace: A site where multiple sellers list products and the platform takes a cut. Built on Reign + Dokan / WC Vendors / WCFM + WooCommerce. Use a StoreMate kit.
Job board: A site where employers post jobs and members apply. Built on Reign + WP Job Manager + BuddyPress. Use JobMate kit.
Business directory: A site listing businesses, services, or locations. Built on Reign + GeoDirectory + BuddyPress. Use Reign GeoDirectory kit.
Membership site: A site behind a paywall. Built on Reign + MemberPress / PMP + BuddyPress for the community layer.
Enterprise intranet: A private community for employees. Built on Reign + BuddyPress + single sign-on plugin.
Private community: A members-only community (paid or invite-only). Built on Reign + BuddyPress in private mode.
Coaching platform: A site for solo coaches selling courses + 1:1 calls. Built on Reign + Tutor LMS + Amelia booking + BuddyPress.

Licensing terms

How Reign licenses work in plain English.

1 site license: You can run Reign on ONE production WordPress site. Staging + local dev sites do not count. Renews annually for the annual tier; one-time for lifetime.
5 site license (Pro): You can run Reign on up to 5 production sites. The "Most popular" tier - sized for agencies or buyers running a network of related communities.
Unlimited license (Agency): You can run Reign on unlimited production sites under your management. For agencies + integrators.
Annual: Renews every year at the same price. Includes 1 year of updates + support. Stops getting updates if you do not renew.
Lifetime: Pay once. Updates + support included forever. Roughly pays for itself in 2.5 years vs annual on the same tier.
Activation: The process of pasting your license key into the Reign theme settings. Unlocks updates + support. Done once per site.

Still confused?

If a term is missing from this glossary or the definition did not land, email support@wbcomdesigns.com. The Wbcom team adds entries based on real questions.

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