Settings Reference: where to configure everything
Free & ProThis is the map for the question "where do I change that?" Every BuddyNext admin screen is listed by the menu group it lives under, with what it controls and the page that explains it in depth. Open the WordPress admin, look under the BuddyNext menu, and match the screen here.
If you would rather jump straight to a setting by name, the admin has a command palette - press the shortcut shown in Admin Overview and start typing.
Get Started
| Screen | What you configure | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Home | The admin dashboard: setup checklist, at-a-glance counts, quick links. | Admin Overview |
| License | Your license key, so updates and Pro features stay active. | Installing BuddyNext |
Members
| Screen | What you configure | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Directory | Browse, search, and manage members; open a member to edit their profile, role, email, avatar, membership, and labels. | Member Directory, Editing a Member from the Admin |
| Labels | The labels (Verified, Expert, Staff, and your own) you can assign to members. | Member Labels |
| Registration & Login | Who can register, the login and registration surfaces, email verification, and social login. | Registration, Login, Social Login |
| Roles & Capabilities | Community roles and what each one may do, separate from WordPress roles. | Roles and Permissions |
| Privacy & Data | Privacy defaults, the guest experience, and personal-data export and erasure. | Privacy and Data |
| Profile Fields | The custom profile fields members fill in, their types, visibility, and conditional logic. | Custom Profile Fields, Advanced Profile Field Types |
Spaces
| Screen | What you configure | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Directory | Browse spaces; feature or unfeature a space for new members. | Spaces, Feature Spaces for New Members |
| Settings | Space defaults: who can create spaces, categories, and space-wide behavior. | Creating and Managing a Space, Space Categories |
Engagement
| Screen | What you configure | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Activity | The activity feed and post management. | Activity Feed, Managing Activity from the Admin |
| Insights | Community insight dashboards. | Community Insights, Analytics Dashboard |
| Announcements | Community-wide announcements. | Announcements |
| Social | The social graph: following, connections, and online presence. | Following Members, Connecting With Members, Online Presence |
| Reactions | The reaction palette members can use. | Reactions, Custom Reactions |
Notifications
| Screen | What you configure | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Notifications | The notification types members receive and their defaults. | Notifications, Notification Preferences |
| The transactional email system and digests. | Transactional Email System, Email Digests | |
| Email Templates | The wording and layout of each email. | Transactional Email System |
| Email Log | A record of the emails BuddyNext sent, for troubleshooting delivery. | Transactional Email System |
Moderation
| Screen | What you configure | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Controls | Content safeguards: rate limits, banned words, blocked links and IPs. | Content Safeguards |
| Pending | Posts held for review before they go live. | Moderation Queue |
| Reports | Member reports awaiting a decision. | Reporting Content, Moderation Queue |
| Suspensions | Suspended members and appeals. | Moderating a Member, Appeals |
Appearance, menus, and maintenance
These sit under the general BuddyNext settings rather than a feature group.
| Area | What you configure | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance and branding | Colors, the account dropdown, and the look that follows your theme. | Appearance and Branding |
| Settings > Navigation | Which menu items appear and their order, including the mobile bottom bar. | Admin Overview |
| Tools and Maintenance | Demo data, maintenance actions, and housekeeping. | Tools and Maintenance |
| Plugin isolation | Which other plugins load on BuddyNext's front-end surfaces. | Plugin Isolation |
Pro settings
With BuddyNext Pro active, these screens are added.
| Screen | What you configure | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Membership | Membership plans, the spaces each plan unlocks, and comp grants. | Membership Plans, Gating Spaces Behind a Membership |
| Payments | Payment gateways, Stripe, coupons, and tax. | Stripe Payments, Payment Gateways, Coupons and Tax |
| Broadcast & Drip | Broadcast email and drip sequences. | Broadcast Email, Drip Sequences |
| Auto-moderation & AI | Rule-based auto-moderation, AI feed and moderation, bulk moderation. | Auto-Moderation Rules, AI Feed and Moderation, Bulk Moderation |
| Push notifications | Web and app push delivery. | Push Notifications |
| Analytics | The analytics dashboard. | Analytics Dashboard |
Related
- Admin Overview - how the menu is organized and the command palette.
- Admin Setup Wizard - the guided first-run setup.
- Complete Feature Directory - every feature in one list.