How to Set Up Member Profiles in BuddyNext

How to set up member profiles in BuddyNext, step by step. Choose the default avatar style (Initials, Default image or Gravatar) and a default cover photo under BuddyNext, then Members, then Directory, then Avatar & cover. Members change their cover or picture in one click from their own profile, edit the rest from Edit profile, and choose who sees each field: Public, Members, Followers, Connections or Only me.

Transcript

In this tutorial you will set up member profiles in BuddyNext: the picture and cover a new member starts with, and the profile each member fills in. You need BuddyNext, the free plugin. It takes about three minutes. There are six steps. Choose the default avatar. Add a default cover photo. See a profile as a member. Change a picture in one click. Edit the profile. Then choose who sees each field. Step one. Choose the default avatar. In your WordPress admin, open BuddyNext, then Members, then Directory, and click the Avatar and cover tab. Default avatar style is what a member shows before they add a picture of their own. Initials is the starting choice: a coloured circle with their initials. Default image shows one picture, that you add, for all of them. Gravatar uses the WordPress fallback. A picture a member adds always wins over the default. Step two. Add a default cover photo. Scroll down to Default cover photo. It is the banner on every profile whose member has not added a cover. Pick a picture from the media library, or paste the address of one. It is empty until you add one. Then click Save changes at the foot of the page. Step three. See a profile as a member. Sign in as a member and open Profile. The cover runs across the top, with the picture, the name and a headline. Followers, following and connections are counted here, and the tabs below hold the posts, the About page and the rest. Step four. Change a picture in one click. On your own profile, the cover has a button, Edit cover. Click it, and the file picker opens. The small pencil on your picture does the same for the avatar. Pick a file, and it is saved at once. The profile reloads with the new picture. Step five. Edit the profile. For everything else, click Edit profile. Change cover and Change profile photo are here too, with a button to remove each picture. Display name is the name shown across the community, and it cannot be left empty. The fields below are grouped: Basic Info, Social Links, Work Experience, Education, Skills and Interests. A group with nothing filled in is left off the profile. Step six. Choose who sees each field. Beside each field is a small list that sets its audience. Public is everyone. Members is anyone signed in. Followers and Connections narrow it further, and Only me hides it from everyone else. A hidden field is left off the profile for people outside its audience. When you are done, click Save changes in the bar at the bottom. That is all six. The default avatar chosen, a default cover covered, a profile seen as a member, a picture changed in one click, the profile edited, and the audience of each field set. Every member now has a profile that looks cared for from the first day. Next in this series: Add your own profile fields.