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How long it takes: Depends mostly on how many courses you rebuild; plan a side-by-side period

Migrate from Mighty Networks to Reign.

To move from Mighty Networks to your own WordPress site, download your member list as CSV, rebuild your spaces in BuddyNext and your courses in Learnomy on Reign, then run both sites side by side until members have moved. Members and content come across; course progress and paid subscriptions start fresh. You own the URL, the email list and the search traffic, and there is no monthly platform fee.

Leaving Mighty Networks does not mean settling for less. Reign is one theme for the whole site: a community, courses, a member directory, a marketplace or a job board, alone or together, on one login. It is a flat theme licence with no per-member fee and no share of your sales (see pricing), and it is the only thing you have to buy. BuddyNext runs members and spaces, Learnomy the courses, Jetonomy the forums and Q&A, MediaVerse the member media. 11 of our plugins install free, each with a Pro plan for when one part starts earning. No monthly platform fee replaces the one you are leaving.

See ready-made kits or what people build with Reign.

Key takeaways

  • Your member list comes across as a CSV. Course progress and paid subscriptions do not, so tell members that before you move.
  • Spaces become BuddyNext spaces and courses become Learnomy courses, both free to install, on one login.
  • Run both sites side by side and pick the cut-over for a natural break such as a new cohort.
  • You end up with your own domain, your own email list and pages search engines can index.

What it looks like on Reign

Screens from the live demos, with sample content. Open any of them and click around.

  • Reign BuddyPress demo home with login, activity feed, members and groups
    The home screen: sign-in, the activity feed and who is active, on one page. Open the demo
  • Reign members directory with member cards, search and sort
    The member directory: search, sort by activity, and a card for every member. Open the demo
  • Reign groups directory with public and private groups
    Groups: public and private spaces members can join or create. Open the demo

Set expectations before you start.

  • Member list and email addresses (Admin, Members, Member List, Download, as CSV).
  • Member profile basics: name, bio and avatar.
  • Public posts you choose to carry (copied across, best ones first).
  • Paid plans: BuddyNext Pro membership plans and gated spaces, or Learnomy memberships when courses are the product.
  • Courses, rebuilt in Learnomy, which installs free.
  • Space structure, recreated as BuddyNext spaces.
  • Welcome emails (BuddyNext Pro broadcast email, or your email tool).

The migration walkthrough.

1

Export members from Mighty

In the admin, go to Members, Member List and Download to get a CSV of your members. Do this first, before anything else changes.

2

Set up Reign and the plugins on staging

Buy the theme, then install BuddyNext for the community and Learnomy for the courses. Both install free. Import a starting layout with the free Reign Demo Installer. On a third-party stack instead, the BuddyPress Community Bundle and the LearnMate kits are the packaged routes.

3

Recreate your spaces

For each Mighty space, create a matching BuddyNext space with the same name, description and privacy.

4

Rebuild paid plans

Create plans that match your Mighty pricing with BuddyNext Pro membership plans and Stripe checkout, or with Learnomy memberships if the courses are what people pay for.

5

Run both for a few weeks

Announce the move. Invite existing members to set a password on the new site while Mighty stays live as the fallback.

6

Cut over

Point new signups at the new site, make Mighty read-only, and cancel it after a grace period.

What your members notice on day one, and how to brief them

The first thing a member notices is the login. They will be asked to set a password on a new site, and the page looks different from the one they know. Neither is a problem if they hear about it first. Send one short email before the move that says what is changing, why you are doing it and what stays the same, with a single button to the new site.

The second thing is the layout. Spaces are still spaces, because BuddyNext uses that word for what other tools call groups, so keep the names you already use. Members find their way faster when the room names match. Pin a welcome post in the main space that explains where to find the feed, the courses and their profile.

The third is what is missing. Course progress and subscriptions start fresh, and it is far better to say so in the announcement than to let members find out. Offer a small reason to move early, such as first access to a new lesson or a founding-member badge. People accept a restart when they can see what they get in return.

How to run both sites side by side and pick the cut-over

Keep Mighty Networks live while the new site fills up. Build the new site on staging first, rebuild one course, create the spaces and invite a small group of trusted members to try it. Their questions become your welcome guide.

Then open the new site to everyone and point new sign-ups at it. Existing members move in their own time, and you post in both places for a while. Watch where the conversation is happening. When most of your active members are posting on the new site, the cut-over is easy to call.

Choose the moment with the calendar in mind. A new cohort, a course launch or the start of a term is a natural break, because nobody is halfway through anything. Avoid the middle of a programme. When you cut over, make the old community read-only for a grace period and leave a pinned post that points to the new home.

What you gain on your own site

The biggest change is ownership. The member list is yours, in your own database, and you can email it with whatever tool you like. The pages are on your domain, so public posts and course landing pages can be found through search instead of staying inside a login.

The second is one login for everything. A member who joins for the community can also take a Learnomy course, ask a question in Jetonomy, upload to MediaVerse and, if you add them, browse a member directory or apply through a job board, all on one account. Messages work through WPMediaVerse. You add these when members ask for them, and you never ask anyone to register again.

The third is cost shape. Reign is a flat theme licence with no per-member fee and no share of your sales, and the plugins install free with Pro plans only for the parts that earn. See the pricing page for how each is priced.

Moderation and roles on the new site

On the new site, members can report a post and you review it from one queue in BuddyNext. Jetonomy has its own moderation queue for forum posts. Both are in the free plugins. Auto and bulk moderation are BuddyNext Pro, and are worth having once there is more to read than one person can manage.

Decide who your moderators are before you invite anyone. If you have members who already welcome newcomers and answer questions, ask them to take on that role on the new site. A short code of conduct linked from the footer and pinned in the welcome space gives them something to point to.

When staying on Mighty Networks is the right call

Moving is a project, and not every community needs it. If your members depend on features you cannot replace yet, or if the hosted platform is working and you have no wish to run a site, staying is a fair decision. A WordPress site also needs hosting, updates and someone who looks after it, and the hosting page explains what that involves.

The move makes most sense when you want to own the member list, show up in search, combine the community with courses and other features on one login, or stop paying a fee that grows with the community. If you are unsure, the guide to building an online community is a good place to compare the options before you decide.

Before you start.

Get the member export first and confirm what format courses come out in, because Mighty's export is not built to populate another platform and the answer changes your plan. Rebuild your most important course before announcing anything. Decide too whether you are carrying student progress, because the honest answer is usually no and it is much easier to say that up front than to promise it and fail.

What to check once it is live.

Check the course as a student, confirm enrolment and progress behave, and verify payments with a real transaction. Look at the community feed and make sure it does not look abandoned: seed it with content before members arrive. Then confirm your email is reaching people, since a migration announcement in a spam folder is how members get lost.

Where this one usually goes wrong.

Moving mid-programme. Members partway through a course who are asked to change platform, reset a password and find their progress gone will churn, and they will be right to. Time the move to a natural break: a new cohort, a course launch, the start of a term. The same migration at the right moment is barely noticed.

Migration questions.

How do I move from Mighty Networks to my own website?

Download your members as CSV, rebuild spaces in BuddyNext and courses in Learnomy on the Reign theme, rebuild your paid plans, then run both sites until members have moved. Plan a side-by-side period before you switch.

Is WordPress cheaper than Mighty Networks in the long run?

It can be, because there is no per-member or per-month platform fee growing with the community. On WordPress you pay for hosting and the Reign theme, a flat licence with no share of your sales, and the community and course plugins install free, with Pro plans only for the parts that earn. See the pricing page and try the community cost calculator with your own numbers.

Can I export my members from Mighty Networks?

Yes. The admin lets you download your member list as a CSV, with emails. Course progress is not exported as data, and paid subscriptions do not transfer.

What happens to course progress in Mighty?

Mighty does not export course progress as data, so members restart courses in Learnomy. Say so clearly in the announcement and most people accept it.

Will my members have to make a new account?

They set a password on the new site. You can import the member list so accounts already exist, then invite each person to set their own password. Keep the invitation short and link straight to it.

Can I keep my paying members?

Subscriptions do not move between platforms, so paying members re-subscribe on your site. Migrate the community first, then move billing once people have settled, and offer a small thank-you for switching.

Can I run both during the transition?

Yes, and you should. Keep Mighty live while the new site fills up, point new signups at the new one, and move existing members with a reason rather than an instruction.

One theme, the whole site

Rebuild what you had on Mighty Networks, then go further.

Reign is the WordPress theme for building a complete community site: social network, courses, member directory, marketplace and job board on one install. Start with one, add the others when you need them, and keep one login for every member. Open a live demo, or launch a sandbox and get a fresh WordPress site to click through in about a minute.

Add more when you need it

Not sure what moves from Mighty Networks? Ask us.

Tell us how big your community is and what you run on Mighty Networks today. The team that builds Reign replies with what moves, what to rebuild and how long it takes, before you buy anything.

Ask about my Mighty Networks move Email support@wbcomdesigns.com

Have us migrate you from Mighty Networks.

Our team can take the steps on this page off your hands: members brought across, billing set up on Stripe and welcome emails ready to send.

See the migration service See the free plugins Or pick a kit

What customers say on Trustpilot

Swift and expert coding!

Swift and expert coding by Kerit to apply a personalised display adjustment on the Reign Theme for a media plugin that was not fully supported at the moment.

RussellGB