Reign

Plain English explainer

What is Reign?

Reign is a WordPress theme for building online community sites. It pairs with one of three community platforms (BuddyPress, BuddyBoss, or PeepSo) to handle the social side - activity feeds, member profiles, groups, messages. Reign handles the design.

This page is the no-marketing answer. If you want to see Reign in action, try a live demo. If you want pricing, jump to /pricing/.

Quick facts

Built since
2013
Active installs
20,000+
Communities built
2,000+
Add-ons
10
Kits
10
Live demos
30+
Industry pages
35
Migration guides
8
Trustpilot rating
4.8 (90 reviews)
Theme price
$99/yr or $249 lifetime
Kit price
$129/yr or $249 lifetime
Done-for-you setup
$699 flat

Definitions

Eight questions. Direct answers.

What is Reign?

Reign is a WordPress theme built by Wbcom Designs since 2013. It turns a standard WordPress install into an online community site - the kind of site where members have profiles, post to activity feeds, join groups, message each other, take courses, sell on a marketplace, or apply to jobs. Reign supplies the design system. The community engine (BuddyPress, BuddyBoss, or PeepSo) supplies the social plumbing. They run together on the same WordPress install.

What does Reign include?

The Reign Theme is the design system - 5 header layouts, 30+ pre-built page templates, member directory styles, activity feed styling, group + profile templates, and dark mode. It ships with a free Reign Demo Installer add-on that one-click imports any of 30+ demo sites. Reign is sold separately from its 10 paid add-ons (LearnDash, LifterLMS, Tutor LMS, Sensei, Dokan, WC Vendors, WCFM, WP Job Manager, GeoDirectory) and 10 pre-packaged kits that bundle the theme + add-on + Pro plugins for one community shape.

What does Reign NOT do?

Reign is the theme, not the community engine. It does not, by itself, give you activity feeds or member profiles - it styles the ones that BuddyPress / BuddyBoss / PeepSo provide. Reign also does not include: a paid membership engine (use MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, or WooCommerce Subscriptions), a course platform (use LearnDash, LifterLMS, Tutor LMS, or Sensei), a marketplace engine (use Dokan, WC Vendors, or WCFM), a job board engine (use WP Job Manager), or a native mobile app.

How is Reign different from BuddyBoss?

BuddyBoss is two products: the BuddyBoss Platform (a community engine alternative to BuddyPress) and the BuddyBoss Theme (a design system for it). Reign is the theme half - it works with BuddyPress (free), BuddyBoss Platform, or PeepSo. Reign add-ons cost $39 each. BuddyBoss bundles add-ons into its $228+/year Pro license. Reign also ships 10 pre-packaged kits (BuddyBoss does not).

How much does Reign cost?

Reign Theme is $99/year or $249 lifetime for 1 site. Add-ons are $39/year or $79 lifetime each. Bundled kits (theme + add-on + Pro plugin) are $129/year or $249 lifetime. Site count tiers go from 1 site -> 5 sites -> unlimited, with a Most Popular Professional tier at 5 sites. A flat $699 done-for-you setup package installs everything in 5 business days. Real pricing comes from the EDD store at wbcomdesigns.com.

What WordPress + plugins do I need to run Reign?

You need: (1) a WordPress site on any standard host (Bluehost, Cloudways, WP Engine, SiteGround, Kinsta all work), (2) a domain, (3) one community platform - BuddyPress is free; BuddyBoss Platform and PeepSo are paid plugins, (4) the Reign theme. The free Reign Demo Installer add-on imports a full demo site in one click after the theme is activated.

Who builds with Reign?

Three buyer profiles. First, paid course community owners who want LearnDash or Tutor LMS courses + a community layer on the same site. Second, multi-vendor marketplace operators using Dokan, WC Vendors, or WCFM who want buyer + vendor profiles + community. Third, professional networks, alumni associations, and niche communities (real estate agents, dentists, coaches) where members need profiles, groups, and content discovery. Reign powers 20,000+ active WordPress installations and Wbcom Designs has shipped 2,000+ community projects on it since 2013.

What are Reign's alternatives?

Direct theme competitors: BuddyBoss Theme, BuddyX, Kleo, Boss.net. Hosted SaaS competitors: Mighty Networks, Circle.so, Skool, Bettermode, Hivebrite. Chat-based community alternatives: Slack, Discord. Reign on WordPress is the self-hosted option - the trade-off is more setup work in exchange for owning the URL, member data, payment relationship, and SEO equity.