To add member profiles, groups and an activity feed to a WordPress site, install a community plugin and a theme that styles it. The quickest route with Reign is BuddyNext, our free community engine: it gives you member profiles, an activity feed and spaces (its word for groups), plus notifications and a moderation queue. BuddyPress, BuddyBoss Platform and PeepSo are the other well-known options.
WordPress alone publishes posts and pages and takes comments. It has no member profiles beyond the basic user screen, no groups and no feed. This tutorial shows the setup step by step, compares the main plugins, and covers what to do before you invite your first members.
Pick the community plugin first
Everything else follows from this choice, so spend a few minutes on it. All of the options below are self-hosted WordPress plugins: you run them on your own hosting, with no per-member fee from the plugin itself.
| Option | What it is | Good fit when |
|---|---|---|
| BuddyNext | Our community engine. Free: profiles, activity feed, spaces, notifications, moderation queue. Messages need WPMediaVerse. Pro adds paid plans, gated spaces and more. | You are starting fresh and want the free path that Reign is designed around |
| BuddyPress | The long-standing free plugin: extended profiles, activity streams, groups, friend connections, private messages, notifications. | You need its large ecosystem of third-party add-ons, or already run it |
| BuddyBoss Platform | A commercial platform built on BuddyPress ideas, sold with its own theme and app options. | You want one vendor for platform, theme and app |
| PeepSo | A social network plugin with its own interface and a set of paid extensions. | You prefer a self-contained social plugin |
| Ultimate Member | Built around user profiles, registration, login and member directories, plus content restriction. | You mainly need profiles and a directory, not a live feed |
Ultimate Member is the odd one out. It is a strong choice for sign-up, profile pages and a searchable directory, but a feed with groups is not its core job, so check its extensions before you count on one. For a deeper comparison, see best WordPress community plugins and Ultimate Member vs BuddyPress.
Reign styles BuddyNext, BuddyPress, BuddyBoss Platform and PeepSo, so you can start with any of them and keep the same theme. The steps below use BuddyNext, with notes on BuddyPress at the end.
What you need before you start
- A WordPress site on hosting you control, ideally a staging copy while you build.
- HTTPS on the domain. Members enter personal details and send messages, so the site should be served securely.
- A backup you can restore. Take one before you install anything.
- A rough idea of what the community is for, and who it is for. Write it in a sentence.
The system requirements change between plugin releases, so check the current requirements on the plugin page for your PHP and WordPress versions before you install.
Step 1: Install Reign and import a layout
Install and activate the Reign theme. Then open the free Reign Demo Installer, which imports a ready-made layout with a home page, menus and sample content. The Reign BuddyPress demo is the closest starting layout for a social community. Import it, then replace the sample content with your own. You can look at the layouts first on the demos page, and the installer is covered under Reign Demo Installer.
Doing this first means each community screen you create later appears inside a finished design. You will see how profiles and feeds look as you set them up, and not discover a styling problem on launch day.
Step 2: Install BuddyNext and plan profile fields
Install and activate BuddyNext. Its free version gives each member a profile. Before you invite anyone, decide which profile fields you will ask for. Changing them after a few hundred people have joined leaves you with a few hundred incomplete profiles.
Some guidance on fields:
- Ask for very little at sign-up: a name and one or two details that matter to your community.
- Let members add the rest later. Optional fields fill in over time as people get involved.
- Think about what other members will want to see. A professional network might show job title and location, a hobby community might show interests.
- Be careful with sensitive details. Collect only what you need, and tell members how it is used.
Then check how a profile looks on a phone as well as on a desktop. The profile is the page members visit most, so it should read clearly on a narrow screen.
Step 3: Create a small set of spaces
Spaces are BuddyNext’s groups. They give members a reason to return, because each one has a focused topic. Resist the urge to create many at once.
- Create a welcome space where you post news and greet newcomers.
- Create an introductions space so new members have an easy first post.
- Add one or two spaces for your real topics.
- Write a short description for each so people know what belongs there.
More empty spaces than active ones makes a community look abandoned. Add a new space only when a topic already has regular posters. If you plan to sell access to some spaces later, BuddyNext Pro adds paid plans and gated spaces, so you can start free and add that when you need it.
Step 4: Use the activity feed
The activity feed is the page that shows what members and spaces are doing. BuddyNext includes it in the free version. Your job is to make it feel alive from the start.
- Post first. Share the first few updates yourself so the feed has something in it.
- Pin the welcome post, or keep it visible in your main space, so newcomers see what the community is for.
- Ask a question. Questions get replies far more reliably than announcements.
- Encourage mentions. When one member mentions another, the second person gets a notification and a reason to come back.
Then test it. Sign up as a new member in a private browser window and go through the first ten minutes with no knowledge of the site. Can you find where to post? Does the welcome space make sense? Fix the confusing parts now.
Step 5: Add messages and media
BuddyNext’s direct messages run on WPMediaVerse, so install and activate MediaVerse if you want members to message each other. WPMediaVerse is also the plugin that adds member photo and video uploads, albums and privacy levels. Review its reporting and AI moderation settings before you open uploads to members.
If you also want threaded discussions that people will want to find months later, add Jetonomy for forums and Q&A. A feed moves fast, while a forum keeps answers where they can be found. See the BuddyNext community build guide for how these pieces fit together.
Step 6: Set up moderation before you launch
Do this before the first public member arrives, not after the first problem.
- BuddyNext includes a report-and-review queue. Members flag a post, and you check the flagged items from one list.
- Write a short code of conduct. Say what the community is for, how to ask for help and what you will remove.
- Decide who moderates. Add one or two trusted members as moderators when the community grows.
- Use a spam filter on registrations if your site attracts bots, such as Akismet or another anti-spam tool.
When volume outgrows one person reading everything, BuddyNext Pro adds auto and bulk moderation. Until then, the free queue is enough. Read our community moderation guide for more.
Step 7: Invite a founding group, then open up
An empty community teaches new members that posting is pointless. Invite people you know first and ask them to post in the first week. Give a few of them a small job, such as welcoming newcomers or starting a weekly thread. Open public sign-up when conversations are already running. Our guide on how to build an online community covers launch habits in more depth, and getting your first 100 members is useful at this stage.
If you use BuddyPress instead
The steps are almost the same. Install BuddyPress from the Plugins screen, open its settings under the Settings menu, and turn on the components you plan to use. Typical choices are extended profiles, activity streams, user groups, friend connections, private messaging and notifications. You can switch components off later. Then set up profile fields, create a few groups, and test the activity feed as a new member. Reign styles the BuddyPress screens, so the layout work in Step 1 still applies.
If photo and file uploads in activity posts are important, check which media plugin you will use and whether it is actively maintained. rtMedia, for example, is a media plugin for WordPress and BuddyPress with a listing on wordpress.org. Forums can come from bbPress, which many BuddyPress sites pair with groups. Always test a plugin on staging before using it on the live site.
Check it works on a phone
Many members will use their phone. Check the profile page, the feed, space pages and the member directory at a narrow width. Make sure buttons are easy to tap and that nothing scrolls sideways. Try posting a photo from a phone, and try replying to a notification. If the experience is awkward for you, it will be worse for a new member.
Launch checklist
- Backups are in place and you have tested a restore.
- Profile fields are decided and tested on a phone.
- Three or four spaces exist, each with a clear description.
- The feed has a few real posts, and a welcome post is visible.
- Messages and media are set up if you need them.
- Moderation, reporting and the code of conduct are ready.
- Notification emails are tested, and arrive in the inbox, not the spam folder.
- A founding group is invited and knows what to do.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add member profiles to WordPress without a plugin?
Not in any useful way. WordPress has basic user profiles for logged-in users, but no public member pages, groups or activity feed. A community plugin such as BuddyNext, BuddyPress, BuddyBoss Platform or PeepSo adds them.
What is the difference between spaces and groups?
Nothing in practice. BuddyNext calls its groups spaces, and BuddyPress and BuddyBoss call them groups. Each is a focused area with its own members and its own posts.
Do I need Reign to use BuddyNext?
No, but Reign is designed to style it. BuddyNext is a WordPress plugin and works with other themes, though you would have to do the styling work yourself. Reign has the layouts and templates already prepared.
Does BuddyNext include private messages?
Messages work with WPMediaVerse. Install and activate it and switch messages on. Without it, the messaging screen is not available.
Is BuddyNext free?
Yes, the core is free: profiles, activity feed, spaces, notifications and a moderation queue. A Pro version adds paid plans and gated spaces, Stripe checkout, broadcast email, push notifications, analytics, white-label and auto and bulk moderation.
Can I move from BuddyPress to BuddyNext later?
It is possible, because both run on WordPress and your content stays where it is. Plan the move on a staging copy and check your member data first. We describe the process in our migration guide, linked from the next steps.
Will Ultimate Member give me an activity feed?
Ultimate Member is built around profiles, registration and member directories. If you need a live activity feed and groups as the heart of the site, look at a dedicated community plugin instead, and check any extensions before you rely on them.
How many members can a WordPress community handle?
That depends mostly on your hosting and how active members are. Start on hosting that suits your size, test with realistic content, and move to a stronger plan as traffic grows. Our scale page shows how larger communities are run.
Next steps
Try the pieces together on the Reign demos, then follow the BuddyNext community build guide to set up your own. If you already run BuddyPress and want to move, read how to migrate a BuddyPress community to BuddyNext.