This article is going to take you through setting up BuddyPress for the first time. It is geared towards people trying to set up Social Networking sites with features similar to those available with Ning or other hosted Social Network providers, as such it assumes that you will want all of the features of BuddyPress, plus a few more (well, a whole bunch more!).
BuddyPress Restrict Group Creation is a plugin that allows site admin to be selective over who is able to create groups on their site.
BuddyPress Group Email Subscription does what it says. It gives your group members the option to be sent emails based on group activity. It allows group admin to set a default subscription level, which is applied to all new members and it also allows group members to set their own choice. This plugin provides a full range of options both to members and managers alike.
BP Create Group Type is a BuddyPress plugin that uses the new Group Types feature in order to create a range of admin defined group types for selection by the group creator. Once selected the group type is displayed in the group cover area of the groups pages.
BuddyPress Registration Groups is a plugin that adds a list of groups to the registration form so that new members can be introduced and join your groups. It means they don’t need to go looking for them to be instantly tied in to their preferred groups. Adding this kind or form to your registration can help you to build a profile for each new member.
Invite Anyone is a BuddyPress plugin that adds a widget allowing site members to invite friends to join the site via email. It also changes the behaviour of group invitations meaning group members can invite non-friends to join the group.
BuddyPress Group Reviews is a plugin that allows website users to submit reviews of groups, adding a vital feedback element for group owners. Reviews can be general or can include specific criteria.
BuddyPress Docs adds collaborative documents to BuddyPress. This means that a person can create a document that can be edited by multiple people.
BP Group Documents is a BuddyPress Groups plugin that creates within each group a document storage area which includes a list view of all documents and descriptions together with a category search feature. The plugin also includes Widgets that allow for the display of various aspects of your BP Group Documents install.
The combination of WordPress and BuddyPress is a powerful and complex mix, it will take you some time playing with all of the features in order for you to come up with your ideal site. In this article I would like to take you through the basics of getting to know your site and customising it for your purposes, in future articles I will cover adding additional features to your site in order to further customise your installation.
