How to Add Your Own Profile Fields in BuddyNext

How to add your own profile fields in BuddyNext, step by step. Under BuddyNext, then Members, then Directory, then Profile Fields, add a field to a group, pick its type, and set who sees it, whether it is required, searchable, asked at sign-up or shown in the profile header. Add a group for a new section of the profile.

Transcript

In this tutorial you will add your own profile fields in BuddyNext, so members can share the details your community cares about. You need BuddyNext, the free plugin. It takes about three minutes. There are five steps. Open Profile Fields. Add a field. Set who sees it and where it shows. Add a group. Then check a profile as a member. Step one. Open Profile Fields. In your WordPress admin, open BuddyNext, then Members, then Directory, and click the Profile Fields tab. Fields live in groups, and each group is a section of the profile. BuddyNext starts you with six: Basic Info, Social Links, Work Experience, Education, Skills and Interests. Each row is one field, with its type, and the audience it starts with. Step two. Add a field. On the group you want, click Add field. A panel opens under the group. Type the Field name. This is what members see on the form and on the profile. Then pick the Field type. Text, Paragraph, a web address, Email, Phone, Number, Date, Yes or No, and lists to choose from are all in the free plugin. The types marked plan-gated need BuddyNext Pro. Pick a type, and its own settings appear below. Dropdown, Radio and Multi-select open an Options box. Type one choice on each line. Step three. Set who sees it and where it shows. Visible to is where the field starts for every member. A new field starts on Members only, and each member can change their own. Make this field required, and a member cannot save their profile while it is empty. Include in search lets members find each other by typing its value. Show on the registration form asks for it at sign-up. Show in the profile header puts it under the member name. Then click Save changes. Step four. Add a group. For a new section of the profile, scroll to the end of the page and click Add group. Give the group a name, and choose Single entry, or Multiple entries for things like past jobs, where a member adds one entry after another. The audience of a group is a limit. No field in it can be seen more widely than the group allows. Step five. Check a profile as a member. Sign in as a member, open another member, and click About. Each group is a section, in the order you set. Only filled fields are shown, and only the ones this member has opened to you. A field with nothing in it is left off. That is all five. Profile Fields opened, a field added, its audience and placement set, a group covered, and a profile checked as a member. Your profiles now ask for what matters in your community. Next in this series: Get members to finish their profile.