How to Set Up Member Interests in BuddyNext

How to set up member interests in BuddyNext, step by step. The interests a member can pick are your space categories, under BuddyNext, then Spaces, then Directory, then Categories. Members tick them on Edit Profile, or in the welcome steps after sign-up. Each pick shows as a chip on the About tab, and the picks put matching spaces and people first in the suggestions.

Transcript

In this tutorial you will set up member interests in BuddyNext. Members tick the topics they care about, and the community suggests people and spaces to match. You need BuddyNext, the free plugin. Interests have no switch of their own. It takes about three minutes. There are four steps. Check your space categories. Pick interests as a member. See them on the profile. Then see what they change. Step one. Check your space categories. In your WordPress admin, open BuddyNext, then Spaces, then Directory, and click the Categories tab. The interests a member can pick are these categories, name for name. Add, rename or delete a category here, and the list members see follows. Step two. Pick interests as a member. Sign in as a member, open Edit Profile, and scroll to Interests. Every category is a box to tick. This member has picked Design and Photography. The small list beside the heading sets who can see the picks. It starts on Members. New members are also asked for their interests in the welcome steps, right after they sign up. Tick a box, and a bar appears at the bottom of the screen. Click Save changes there to keep the picks. Here nothing is saved. Step three. See them on the profile. Open the About tab of the profile. Interests has each pick as a small chip. Click a chip, and the Spaces page opens with that category already chosen. So an interest is one click away from the spaces about it. Step four. See what they change. On the Spaces page, the Suggested for you box puts spaces from the picked categories first. Photo Walks, a Photography space, leads the list for this member, who picked Photography. And in People to follow, members who share an interest with you are ranked higher. Interests only change the order of suggestions. Nothing in the community is hidden from a member who picks none. That is all four. The space categories checked, interests picked as a member, the chips seen on the profile, and the suggestions they change. Your members now see people and spaces that match what they care about. Next in this series: Choose who can do what.