Plugins are a great way to augment your WordPress site’s usage.
If you are looking to build your own private social network on WordPress platform, then there’s a fabulous plugin to help achieve your aim.
There are millions of webmasters using this great plugin called BuddyPress.
It enjoys a high reputation among webmasters around the world. Still there are many people who are not aware of BuddyPress and that’s the precise reason why I have come up with this review on BuddyPress. In this review, I am going to tell you all about BuddyPress that you want to know.
With BuddyPress, you go onto build your very own private social network on WordPress. It extends WordPress functionality allowing you to create your very own social network so as to rival Facebook.
It lets you build a social network for your company, school, sports team and also for a niche community. With BuddyPress installed on your WordPress site, users can sign up and can create their profiles. They can post messages, make connections, interact in groups and much more.
BuddyPress can be dubbed as a social network in a box. Having said that you actually want to know why at all you need to create your own private social network when there’s already the giant called Facebook to make things easy for you.
However, there are reasons galore which would entice you to use BuddyPress. There are times when you want the Facebook functions without the Facebook baggage. I am talking about the Ads, Trolls, none ownership of your content, and also no control over users. There are times when Facebook denies you for not following its terms and conditions. Then there are policy updates which make things hard for you.
For example, Facebook policy updates can limit users and can charge you for promoting content. So using Facebook makes little sense in this context. If you do not want to be dictated by Facebook, then the option you got is BuddyPress.
BuddyPress has a lengthy feature list to its credit. Its mission is plain and simple. BuddyPress brings people together. Once it is installed, you get the following functions such as User Profiles, private messaging, forums, facility for sharing text, video, images and audio. You can friend people; you get Activity steam just like Facebook Wall. Users can join groups, and you also get notifications of member interactions.
As for the downsides the documentation part is lacking. You don’t get the level of documentation as you get for WordPress and moreover, it is very technical.
As for the usage here are some tips getting your way to using BuddyPress.
It can be used as a focused social network for your new product. It can also be used as a campus wide social network for your school, college or University. The plugin can also be used as a niche social network for your interest topic. It can also be used as an internal communication tool for your company.
So if you are looking to create your niche social network then you should surely check out BuddyPress.