BuddyX + Jetonomy: Step-by-Step Forum Setup for Block Theme Sites

If you have been running BuddyPress on a block theme and wondering how to add a real forum system without going back to a classic theme setup, this guide is for you. BuddyX is built from the ground up as a Full Site Editing (FSE) theme, and Jetonomy is a forum plugin that works natively with block-based page templates. Together, they give you a community forum that respects your design tokens, fits inside your FSE template hierarchy, and connects to BuddyPress activity streams without custom code.

This walkthrough covers the exact steps to install, configure, and verify a working BuddyX plus Jetonomy forum setup. Every step includes the actual admin path, setting name, and what to check to confirm it worked. No feature overviews, no comparison tables. Just the setup. If you are still deciding whether Jetonomy is the right forum plugin for your site, read the WordPress forum plugin comparison first, then come back here once you have chosen Jetonomy.

What you need before you start

Before touching any plugin settings, make sure the following are in place:

• WordPress 6.5 or later (6.7 recommended)
• BuddyPress 12.0 or later, installed and activated with at minimum Activity, Groups, and Members components enabled
• BuddyX theme (free or Pro) as the active theme. Pro is required for the header builder steps in this guide.
• Jetonomy free plugin, installed and activated
• PHP 8.1 or later
• A user account with Administrator role for testing

BuddyX registers its block templates at theme activation. If you activate BuddyX after BuddyPress, the BuddyPress templates load correctly. If you add BuddyPress after BuddyX is already the active theme, go to Appearance then Templates in the Site Editor and verify the Member Directory and Group templates appear. If they do not, deactivate and reactivate BuddyX once to trigger template registration.

Step 1: Install Jetonomy on a BuddyX site

Jetonomy installs like any WordPress plugin. The configuration steps after activation are what matter on a BuddyX block theme site.

1. Go to Plugins then Add New Plugin. Search for Jetonomy. Install and activate the plugin.
2. After activation, Jetonomy runs a setup wizard. Click Start Setup.
3. On the first wizard screen, select your forum mode. For most BuddyX communities, choose Discussion Forum. You can add Q&A mode later (covered in Step 6 of this guide).
4. The wizard creates a default forum page. Note the page URL it creates. You will use this page in Step 3 when embedding forum blocks into your FSE templates.
5. Click Finish Setup. Do not close the browser yet.

After finishing the wizard, go to Jetonomy in the left admin menu and select Settings. You will see four tabs: General, Spaces, Activity, and Trust Levels. You will configure each of these in the steps below.

Step 2: Confirm token inheritance from BuddyX design tokens

BuddyX publishes its design tokens as CSS custom properties in theme.json. Jetonomy reads these same properties when rendering forum blocks, which means your brand colors, typography, and spacing carry over to the forum without any custom CSS.

Here is how to verify the token inheritance is working correctly:

1. Go to Appearance then Customize (or open the Site Editor). Change the primary color to something clearly different from the default, for example a bright green. Save the change.
2. Visit the forum page Jetonomy created during setup.
3. Check that the Post New Topic button, category pills, and pagination links have picked up your primary color. If they have, token inheritance is confirmed.
4. Revert the color back to your actual brand color and save again.

If the colors did not update, the most likely cause is a caching plugin serving a stale stylesheet. Clear all caches (object cache, page cache, and any CDN cache) and test again. On a BuddyX child theme, also check that your child theme’s style.css is not re-declaring the same CSS custom property with a hard-coded value, which would override the theme.json token.

The token properties that Jetonomy inherits from BuddyX include:

• --wp--preset--color--primary for button backgrounds and active states
• --wp--preset--color--secondary for hover states and secondary buttons
• --wp--preset--font-family--body for post body text
• --wp--preset--font-family--heading for topic titles and section headings
• --wp--preset--spacing--medium for card padding and list gap

You do not need to configure any of these in Jetonomy. They are inherited automatically from the active theme’s token set.

Step 3: Place Jetonomy forum blocks inside BuddyX FSE page templates

This step is what makes Jetonomy feel native to a BuddyX FSE site instead of a plugin dropped onto a shortcode page. You will place Jetonomy blocks directly inside a Site Editor template, giving the forum the same header, navigation, and footer as every other page on the site.

1. Go to Appearance then Editor (this opens the Site Editor).
2. In the left sidebar, click Templates.
3. Find the Page template. Click the pencil icon to edit it. If you want a dedicated forum template (recommended), click Add New Template and choose Custom Template. Name it Forum Page.
4. With the template open, click the blue + button to add a block. Search for Jetonomy. You will see the following Jetonomy blocks available:
   • Jetonomy Forum List: shows all spaces/categories in a directory view
   • Jetonomy Space: renders a single forum space with its topic list
   • Jetonomy Post Feed: displays recent topics across all spaces
   • Jetonomy New Post Button: floating action button for creating topics
5. For the main forum landing page, add the Jetonomy Forum List block. Place it after the BuddyX Page Header block and before the BuddyX Footer block.
6. In the block settings sidebar (right panel), configure the Forum List block:
   • Columns: 2 on desktop (the block handles mobile single-column automatically)
   • Show post count: On
   • Show last activity: On
   • Show moderator avatar: Off (can enable once you have designated moderators)
7. Save the template. Go to Pages then All Pages, find the forum page Jetonomy created, and assign it the Forum Page template using the Template dropdown in the Page attributes panel on the right.

Visit the forum page in a private/incognito browser to see it as a non-logged-in visitor. The page should render with your full BuddyX header and footer, not a blank layout. If it renders without the site header, the template assignment did not save. Try again, this time using the template dropdown in the page editor sidebar rather than the Site Editor.

Adding the forum link to BuddyX navigation

After setting up the forum template, add the forum page to your site navigation:

1. Go to Appearance then Editor then Navigation.
2. Select your primary navigation menu.
3. Click the + button inside the Navigation block. Choose Page and search for your forum page by name.
4. Give the menu item the label Forums. Save.
5. If you are using the BuddyX Header Builder (Appearance then Customize then Header Builder), add the Navigation block from the header layout and ensure the Forum menu item is visible at the top level, not buried in a dropdown.

Step 4: Create forum spaces and configure categories

Jetonomy calls its forum categories Spaces. Each Space has its own topic list, moderation settings, and trust level requirements. Setting up Spaces correctly on day one avoids reorganization later when the forum has real content.

1. Go to Jetonomy then Spaces then Add New Space.
2. Give the Space a name. For a community getting started, three to five Spaces is the right number. Examples: Introductions, General Discussion, Site Feedback, Resources, Off Topic.
3. For each Space, configure these settings:
   • Visibility: Public (visible to guests), Members Only (visible only to logged-in users), or Private (by invitation)
   • Who can post: All members, Trust Level 1+, or Admins only
   • Who can reply: All members or Trust Level 1+
   • Auto-close topics after: set to 90 days for low-moderation spaces, leave open for active discussion spaces
4. Set the Space order by dragging in the Spaces list. Put Introductions first, General Discussion second. Spaces at the top of the list get the most first-visit visibility.
5. For each Space, click the SEO tab inside the Space editor and add a Space description (one to two sentences describing what belongs there). Jetonomy uses these as meta descriptions for Space archive pages.

After creating Spaces, go back to the Jetonomy Forum List block in your FSE template and verify the Spaces appear in the correct order. If the order does not match, the block may be set to sort by activity rather than manual order. In the block settings, change Sort Order to Manual.

Step 5: Configure trust levels

Trust levels are Jetonomy’s built-in moderation system. New members start at Trust Level 0 with limited permissions. They earn higher trust levels by participating, which unlocks more capabilities without admin intervention. This is the setting that makes Jetonomy forums self-moderating over time.

To configure trust levels, go to Jetonomy then Settings then Trust Levels. You will see six levels: 0 (New), 1 (Basic), 2 (Member), 3 (Regular), 4 (Leader), and 5 (Admin). Each level has its own threshold settings and capability toggles.

Here is a working baseline configuration for a BuddyX community site:

Trust Level	Threshold to reach	Key capabilities unlocked
0 (New)	Default on signup	Can read all public Spaces, cannot post or reply
1 (Basic)	Visited site 2 days, read 5 topics, 30 posts viewed	Can post new topics, can reply, limited to 5 replies per day
2 (Member)	50 replies given, 20 topics visited, 90 days since signup	Unlimited replies, can attach images inline, can flag posts
3 (Regular)	200 replies given, 50 topics visited, active 30 of last 90 days	Can edit own posts after 24 hours, can recategorize own topics
4 (Leader)	Manual promotion by admin only	Can move topics between Spaces, close topics, split threads
5 (Admin)	WordPress Administrator role	Full moderation access, delete posts, ban users

To apply these settings:

1. Go to Jetonomy then Settings then Trust Levels.
2. For Trust Level 1 (Basic), set the Days Visited threshold to 2, Topics Viewed to 5, and Posts Read to 30. Enable the Create Topics and Create Replies toggles. Set Reply Limit to 5.
3. For Trust Level 2 (Member), set Replies Given to 50, Days Since Signup to 90, and Topics Visited to 20. Enable Inline Image Uploads and Flag Posts toggles. Remove the Reply Limit.
4. For Trust Level 3 (Regular), set Replies Given to 200 and Active Days (last 90 days) to 30. Enable Edit Own Posts and Recategorize Own Topics.
5. For Trust Level 4 (Leader), leave thresholds blank (manual promotion). Enable Move Topics, Close Topics, and Split Threads.
6. Save changes.

After saving, go to your test user account and check its current trust level at Jetonomy then Users then find the user. The trust level should show as 0 for a new account. Log in as that test user and verify they can read topics but see a message saying posting is available after the Basic requirements are met.

Step 6: Connect Jetonomy to the BuddyPress activity stream

This step wires Jetonomy forum activity into the BuddyPress activity stream so forum posts appear alongside profile updates, group activity, and friend connections in the sitewide feed.

1. Go to Jetonomy then Settings then Activity.
2. Enable the BuddyPress Activity Integration toggle. This toggle only appears if BuddyPress is installed and active. If you do not see it, confirm BuddyPress is active under Plugins then Installed Plugins.
3. Configure the activity event options:
   • New topic created: enable this. Forum posts appearing in the activity stream drive discussion visibility.
   • Reply posted: enable this for spaces where conversation is the goal. Disable for high-volume spaces like Site Feedback to avoid flooding the activity stream.
   • Topic marked as solved: enable this for Q&A mode spaces (see Step 7).
   • Topic upvoted: disable by default. Enable only if you have an active community where upvoting is frequent.
4. Set the activity item format. Jetonomy supports two formats:
   • Short: shows only the topic title and a link. Recommended for high-volume forums.
   • Excerpt: shows the topic title plus the first 150 characters of the post body. Recommended for smaller, discussion-focused forums.
5. Save changes.

To verify the integration is working:

1. Log in as a test user with Trust Level 1 or higher (or temporarily lower the threshold for testing).
2. Create a new topic in any public Space.
3. Go to Activity in the BuddyPress admin menu (or visit the sitewide activity page on the front end).
4. The new forum topic should appear in the activity stream within a few seconds. If it does not appear after refreshing, check that BuddyPress Activity component is enabled under Settings then BuddyPress then Components.

Group-specific forum spaces

If you use BuddyPress Groups, you can link a Jetonomy Space to a specific group so that forum activity for that Space shows in the group’s activity stream rather than the sitewide stream:

1. Go to Jetonomy then Spaces and open the Space you want to link to a group.
2. Click the BuddyPress tab inside the Space editor.
3. From the Link to BuddyPress Group dropdown, select the group. Save.
4. Activity from topics in this Space will now appear in the selected group’s activity stream and show the group attribution in the sitewide feed.

Step 7: Configure Q&A mode settings

Q&A mode turns a Jetonomy Space into a question-and-answer board where topics are marked as questions and replies can be accepted as the official answer. This is distinct from the standard Discussion mode. You do not have to enable it for all Spaces.

1. Go to Jetonomy then Spaces and open a Space you want to run in Q&A mode (for example, a Support space or a Questions space).
2. Under the Space Type setting, change Discussion to Q&A.
3. Configure the Q&A-specific settings that appear:
   • Who can accept answers: Topic author (the person who asked), Trust Level 3+ (regulars can also accept), or Admins only. For a support-style space, topic author is the right choice so the person with the problem decides when it is solved.
   • Show accepted answer at top: enable this. It puts the resolved answer immediately below the question instead of requiring visitors to scroll through the full thread.
   • Mark unanswered topics: enable this. Unanswered topics get a visual indicator in the topic list so moderators can prioritize them.
   • Auto-close topic after answer accepted: set to 30 days. This gives time for follow-up comments but avoids zombie threads.
4. Save the Space settings.

In Q&A mode, the Jetonomy blocks in your FSE templates automatically adjust their layout. Topic list items show a green checkmark on solved topics and an orange indicator on unanswered topics with no replies. The styling inherits from the BuddyX color tokens so the indicators match your color scheme.

If you want to display Q&A topics separately from discussion topics on the same page, use the Jetonomy Space block (not the Forum List block) inside a custom FSE template and set the block’s Space ID to your Q&A space. You can then build a dedicated Q&A page template in the Site Editor that differs from the main forum layout.

Step 8: Verify forum blocks render correctly on mobile

BuddyX is built responsive-first. Jetonomy’s blocks follow the same approach. But it is worth verifying both are working together before you open the forum to members.

1. In the Site Editor, switch the preview to mobile (375px) using the device toggle in the top toolbar.
2. Navigate to the Forum Page template.
3. Check the following at mobile viewport:
   • The Forum List block shifts from 2 columns to 1 column
   • Space names are not truncated
   • The Jetonomy New Post Button floats correctly above the site footer without overlapping content
   • Navigation shows a hamburger menu with Forum visible inside it
4. Open the site on a real device (or use browser DevTools at 390px) and create a test topic. Confirm the topic creation form fields are full width and the Submit button is tappable without zooming.

If the New Post Button overlaps the mobile footer, open the Jetonomy block settings in the Site Editor and change the floating button position from Bottom Right to Bottom Center. On BuddyX sites with the sticky mobile footer bar active (Appearance then Customize then Mobile then Footer Bar), set button offset to 70px to clear the footer bar.

Step 9: Configure notification settings for forum events

Jetonomy sends notifications through BuddyPress’s notification system when the integration is active. By default, notifications are enabled for all events. On an active forum, this can flood member notification inboxes. Configure the defaults before members start using the forum.

1. Go to Jetonomy then Settings then Notifications.
2. Set the following defaults:
   • Reply to your topic: Email + on-site notification. This is the highest-value notification (someone answered you).
   • Mention in a post: Email + on-site notification. Mentions are direct and members expect to be notified.
   • Topic moved to a different Space: on-site only. Members do not need an email for routine housekeeping moves.
   • New topic in a Space you follow: on-site only. Email notification for followed spaces can become noisy fast on active forums.
   • Topic marked as solved: on-site only for the topic author. No notification to other participants (avoids spam on popular Q&A threads).
3. Under Member Overrides, confirm the Allow members to change notification preferences toggle is on. This lets members adjust their own settings per Space under their BuddyPress profile settings.
4. Save changes.

Step 10: Add Jetonomy Pro features (upgrade path)

The free version of Jetonomy covers everything in this guide. Jetonomy Pro adds capabilities that become relevant as the community grows:

• Advanced analytics dashboard: shows topic engagement rates, Space health metrics, and trust level distribution across members. Available at Jetonomy then Analytics after activating Pro.
• Private Messaging integration: allows members to send direct messages from forum profiles using BuddyPress Messages, tied to forum interactions (reply threads can be continued privately).
• Custom trust level rules: lets you define additional trust level thresholds beyond the default six, or tie trust level progress to BuddyPress group membership or WooCommerce purchase history.
• Forum digest emails: automated weekly digest emails summarizing the most active topics per Space. Sent via your WordPress email configuration, no third-party list required.
• Polls inside topics: members can embed a poll in a topic post. Results display inline in the thread.
• Priority moderation queue: flags and reports get triaged by an AI-assisted scoring system that surfaces the highest-severity items first.

To activate Jetonomy Pro, purchase a license at store.wbcomdesigns.com/jetonomy-pro, download the Pro zip file, and upload it via Plugins then Add New then Upload Plugin. After activation, go to Jetonomy then License and enter your license key. Pro features become available immediately without any additional configuration steps.

Step 11: Test the full member experience end to end

Before opening the forum to real members, run through the following test sequence as a non-admin user to catch setup gaps.

1. Open a new private/incognito browser window and visit the forum page. Confirm you can see the Space list without logging in.
2. Try to click New Topic. You should be redirected to the login page. If the click opens a topic form for guests, go back to Jetonomy then Settings then Permissions and set Who Can Post to Registered Members Only.
3. Register a new test account. Do not log in as admin. Complete the registration and confirm the email if email confirmation is required.
4. Log in as the new test account. Visit the forum. Confirm trust level shows as New (0) somewhere in the profile or forum header.
5. If Trust Level 1 requires two days visited (the default baseline setting), temporarily lower it to 0 days for testing. You can reset it after the test.
6. Create a new topic in the General Discussion Space. Fill in the topic title and body text and submit. Confirm the topic appears in the Space topic list.
7. Go to the BuddyPress activity page (usually at /activity or /members/your-username/activity). Confirm the new forum topic appears there.
8. Reply to your own test topic from the same account. Confirm the reply thread appears correctly.
9. Log out. Visit the topic as a guest. Confirm the topic is readable but the reply form is hidden (replaced with a log in to reply message).
10. Log in as your admin account. Find the test topic. Confirm moderation options appear (pin, close, move, delete). Run a move to a different Space to confirm that works.

If all ten steps pass, your forum setup is working correctly on the BuddyX block theme. If any step fails, the most common causes are:

• Caching: clear all caches and test again before debugging anything else.
• Template not assigned: the forum page is rendering with the default Page template instead of the Forum Page template. Reassign the template in the page editor sidebar.
• BuddyPress component disabled: the Activity component in BuddyPress settings was not enabled. Go to Settings then BuddyPress then Components and enable Activity.
• Trust level blocking posts: if the test user cannot post, temporarily set the Trust Level 1 threshold to zero days/zero reads and test again, then restore the real thresholds.

Common setup mistakes to avoid

After running this setup on multiple BuddyX sites, a few mistakes come up often enough to call out directly:

• Starting with too many Spaces. Five Spaces maximum for a new forum. Empty Spaces signal low activity and discourage new members from posting. Add Spaces as existing ones fill up.
• Leaving Trust Level 0 able to post. The default Jetonomy configuration allows Trust Level 0 to post. On a public site this invites spam. Always require at least Trust Level 1 for posting, even if you lower the Trust Level 1 thresholds to be easy to reach.
• Not linking the forum page to a named FSE template. If the forum page uses the generic Page template, it will not pick up BuddyX’s community-specific header and footer variants. Always assign the forum page a named custom template.
• Forgetting to test on mobile before launch. The forum may look fine on desktop and have an overlap or overflow issue on mobile. Check at 390px before any member uses it.
• Setting Reply notifications to Email for all events. On an active forum, this generates email volume that makes members unsubscribe from all site emails. Use on-site notification as the default and reserve email for direct replies and mentions only.

Quick reference: admin paths for all settings in this guide

Use this reference table to find any setting covered in this guide without scrolling:

Setting	Admin path
Jetonomy General Settings	Jetonomy then Settings then General
Forum Spaces list	Jetonomy then Spaces
Create a new Space	Jetonomy then Spaces then Add New Space
Trust Level configuration	Jetonomy then Settings then Trust Levels
BuddyPress activity integration	Jetonomy then Settings then Activity
Notification defaults	Jetonomy then Settings then Notifications
Q&A mode per Space	Jetonomy then Spaces then [Space name] then Space Type
FSE template editor	Appearance then Editor then Templates
BuddyX Header Builder	Appearance then Customize then Header Builder
BuddyPress components	Settings then BuddyPress then Components
Jetonomy license key	Jetonomy then License

Next steps after setup

Once the forum is running, the next configuration areas worth exploring are:

• Forum-specific page templates: build a dedicated single topic page template in the Site Editor that shows related topics in the sidebar using the Jetonomy Related Topics block. This keeps members reading longer after they land on a topic.
• BuddyX member profile forum tab: BuddyX Pro adds a forum activity tab to the BuddyPress member profile template automatically when Jetonomy is active. Confirm this tab is visible under your profile by visiting any member’s profile on the front end.
• Search indexing for forum topics: go to Jetonomy then Settings then General and confirm Index forum topics in WordPress search is enabled. This allows the WordPress native search block to return forum topics alongside posts and pages.
• Spam prevention: if you open the forum to public registration, add a CAPTCHA to the WordPress registration page and set the minimum Trust Level for posting to 1. These two measures together stop most automated spam without impacting real members.

The setup covered in this guide gets you to a working, production-ready Jetonomy forum on a BuddyX FSE site. The forum respects your design tokens, lives inside your FSE template hierarchy, connects to BuddyPress activity, has trust-based moderation running from day one, and supports Q&A mode for support or help-focused spaces. From here, the configuration choices depend on what your community needs, and Jetonomy gives you the controls to adjust each piece without touching code. To understand how Jetonomy, BuddyX, MediaVerse, and WP Gamification all fit together as one coordinated stack, the complete BuddyX ecosystem guide covers the integration points and shared design token system in detail.

If you need advanced forum features as your community scales, Jetonomy Pro adds analytics, private messaging integration, digest emails, polls, and extended trust level rules that are worth the upgrade once your member count makes them practical.