BuddyNext - community engine for WordPress

Concept Glossary: BuddyPress and BuddyBoss Terms in BuddyNext

Free & Pro

If you already run a BuddyPress or BuddyBoss community, you know the vocabulary - Groups, Activity, xProfile, Friends, and so on. BuddyNext does the same jobs, sometimes under a friendlier name and usually with a more modern experience. This page is a quick translation table so you can find your way around fast.

Read it as "the thing you called X is now called Y, and here is what changed for the better."

Translation table

In BuddyPress / BuddyBoss In BuddyNext What is the same, and what is better
Groups Spaces Same idea: focused sub-communities with their own members and feed. Spaces add cleaner privacy types (open, request-to-join, and hidden), optional forum and media tabs, and the option to let members run their own spaces without you administering each one by hand.
Activity stream Feed Same idea: the running stream of what is happening. The BuddyNext feed feels like a modern social app - text, links, polls, and photos, with reactions, comments, share, bookmark, and a report button on every post.
Extended Profiles (xProfile) Profile fields Same idea: custom information on member profiles. BuddyNext adds per-field privacy each member controls (show to everyone, members only (logged-in members, the default), followers, connections, or no one) and, with Pro, advanced field types like date, location, and file.
Member Types Member types Same name, same purpose: categories like Student, Mentor, or Staff. BuddyNext can show each type as a colored badge and as a filter tab in the member directory.
Friends Connections Same idea: a mutual, two-way relationship that both people agree to. One member sends a request, the other accepts, and they are connected.
Follow Follows Same idea: a one-directional way to keep up with someone without needing them to follow back. Both Follows and Connections exist in BuddyNext, so members choose the level of relationship they want.
Members directory Member directory Same idea: the browsable list of everyone in the community, with search and filters. BuddyNext keeps it fast and readable whether you have fifty members or fifty thousand.
Private Messages Direct messages Same idea: private one-to-one conversations away from the public feed. In BuddyNext, messaging is powered by the free WPMediaVerse companion plugin, with message requests, mute, pin, archive, emoji reactions, and quoted replies.
Notifications Notifications Same name, same job: the bell with a live unread count that tells members about new followers, replies, mentions, and more. Each member can tune which events notify them and how.
Forums Discussions Same idea: threaded, topic-based conversation that lives longer than a feed post. In BuddyNext, discussions are powered by the Jetonomy companion plugin and can appear as a forum tab inside a space.
Photos and Albums Profile media and albums Same idea: members upload photos and organize them into albums. BuddyNext profile media and albums are powered by the WPMediaVerse companion, with private albums that stay hidden from everyone but the owner.
Gamification and Points Points and badges Same idea: reward members for taking part. In BuddyNext this is provided by the WB Gamification companion plugin, which awards points, badges, and levels for community activity.

Good to know

  • A few capabilities come from optional companion plugins. Messaging and media use WPMediaVerse, discussions use Jetonomy, and points and badges use WB Gamification. Each is free to add and stays off until you turn it on - you install only what your community needs.
  • Follows and Connections are both available. BuddyPress made you choose one relationship model site-wide. BuddyNext offers both at once, so a member can lightly follow some people and formally connect with others.
  • Privacy is set per field, by the member. Where BuddyPress field visibility was often an owner-level setting, BuddyNext lets each member decide who sees each field on their own profile.

What's next