How to Let Members Connect With Each Other in BuddyNext

How to let members connect with each other in BuddyNext, step by step. A connection is two way: one member clicks Connect, the other accepts. Choose which role can send requests under BuddyNext, then Members, then Roles & Capabilities, and whether a request asks for a note under BuddyNext, then Engagement, then Social. Requests wait under the Network tab of the member's own profile, with Accept and Decline.

Transcript

In this tutorial you will let members connect with each other in BuddyNext. A connection is two way. One member sends a request, and it counts only when the other accepts. You need BuddyNext, the free plugin. Connections are on from the start. It takes about three minutes. There are five steps. Choose who can connect. Decide on the note. Send a request. Answer a request. Then check your connections. Step one. Choose who can connect. In your WordPress admin, open BuddyNext, then Members, then Roles and Capabilities. Under Connections, find Send connection requests. It starts on All members, so every signed-in member can send a request. Raise it to Moderators and up, Admins only, or Off, and ordinary members can no longer send one. Step two. Decide on the note. Open BuddyNext, then Engagement, then Social, and scroll to Connections. Ask for a note when connecting is off to begin with, so one click sends a request. Switch it on, and the member is asked to add a short note first. The person receiving the request reads that note beside Accept and Decline. Writing one stays optional. Step three. Send a request. Sign in as a member, and open another member's profile. Click Connect. The other member gets a notification. Until they answer, the button reads Pending. Click Pending to take the request back. Step four. Answer a request. Requests sent to you wait on your own profile. Open the Network tab, then Connections. Each request has Accept and Decline. Accept, and you are connected to each other. Decline, and nothing is made. A decline is not for ever. The same member can ask again after about seven days. The same two buttons show on the profile of the person who asked. Step five. Check your connections. Below the requests, the Connections list shows everyone you are connected to. Each card reads Connected. Click Connected to end the connection for both of you. Connections are what make private sharing work. A post or a profile field set to Connections is seen by these people only. A member can hold up to five thousand connections. And each member can choose who may ask. In Settings, then Privacy, Who can send me connection requests is Everyone, My followers, or Nobody. That is all five. Who can connect chosen, the note decided, a request sent, a request answered, and your connections checked. Your members can now build a circle they trust. Next in this series: Block, mute or restrict a member.