BuddyPress Customizer Settings

Free & Pro

Customize every aspect of your BuddyPress community through the WordPress Customizer. BuddyX Pro provides extensive settings to match your community's brand and style.

Where these settings live: BuddyX Pro groups every BuddyPress and bbPress control under a customizer panel named Community Settings (not "BuddyPress"). All paths on this page read Customizer > Community Settings > [Section].

Youzify note: The entire Community Settings panel - every control described on this page - is removed when the Youzify plugin is active. Youzify manages its own directory, profile, and activity screens, so BuddyX Pro hands those controls off to it. To see the settings below, run BuddyPress (or bbPress) without Youzify active.

What You Can Configure

The Community Settings panel contains these sections (they appear when BuddyPress or bbPress is active and Youzify is not):

General Setting - Avatar style and MediaPress media-view option
Activity Control - Cover-image activity types shown in the feed
Members Directory - Member directory view and card elements
Groups Directory - Group directory view and card elements
Single Member - Individual member profile header, navigation, and social links
Single Group - Individual group header and navigation
Forums Archive Layout - bbPress forums archive layout (only when bbPress is active)

Accessing BuddyPress Settings

Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
Go to Appearance > Customize
Click the Community Settings panel
Select the section you want to configure

General Setting

Configure global BuddyPress appearance options.

BuddyPress general settings for avatar style and activity media options

Available Settings

Setting	Options	Default	What It Does
Avatar Style	Yes/No	Yes	Makes avatars circular. Turn off for square avatars.
Override Activity Media List View	Enable/Disable	Enable	Enhances MediaPress media display. This control only appears when the MediaPress plugin is active.

Location: Customizer > Community Settings > General Setting

Activity Control

Control what appears in activity streams across your community.

Available Settings

Setting	Options	Default	What It Does
Member Cover Image Activity	Yes/No	Yes	Shows activity when member updates cover photo.
Group Image Activity	Yes/No	Yes	Shows activity when group avatar changes.
Group Cover Image Activity	Yes/No	Yes	Shows activity when group cover photo updates.

Why This Matters: Disabling these options reduces activity stream clutter if your community prefers to focus on user-generated content rather than profile updates.

Location: Customizer > Community Settings > Activity Control

Members Directory

Customize how members appear in your directory and what information displays.

Directory Layout Options

The Members Directory View control (a select) offers three styles. The theme default is Style 2 (Card).

Layout	Value	Description	Best For
Style 1	`default`	Classic list view with avatars on left	Traditional social networks
Style 2 (Card) - default	`card`	Card layout with cover images	Visual, portfolio-based communities
Style 3 (Card1)	`card1`	Compact card with action buttons	Professional networks, business directories

How to Change:

Customizer > Community Settings > Members Directory
Find Members Directory View
Select your preferred style
Click Publish

Cover Image Customization

Available for: Style 2 and Style 3 layouts

Setting	Default	What It Does
Customize Members Cover Background?	No	Enables custom default cover images. Appears only when the view is Style 2 or Style 3.
Set Default Cover Image	(empty)	Upload image shown when member has no cover. Appears once Customize Members Cover Background is set to Yes.

BuddyBoss note: These two cover-image controls are not available when BuddyBoss Platform is active - BuddyBoss manages directory cover images itself, so the theme omits them. They appear only on a BuddyPress (non-BuddyBoss) site.

Recommended Cover Dimensions: 1300px x 225px

Member Directory Elements

Control which information appears on member cards:

Element	Default	What It Shows
Online Status	On	Green dot for online, gray for offline
Profile Type	Off	Member type badge (if using member types)
Followers	Off	Follower count (requires BP Follow or BuddyBoss)
Last Active	On	"Active 2 hours ago" timestamp
Joined Date	On	"Joined Jan 2024" registration date

Performance Tip: The Online Status indicator updates every 5 minutes. Disable it on high-traffic sites to reduce database queries.

Followers appears only when the BP Follow plugin or BuddyBoss Platform is active.

Location: Customizer > Community Settings > Members Directory > Member Directories Elements

Groups Directory

Configure how groups display in your directory.

Directory Layout Options

The Groups Directory View control (a select) offers two styles. The theme default is Style 2 (Card).

Layout	Value	Description	Best For
Style 1	`default`	List view with group info	Simple communities with few groups
Style 2 (Card) - default	`card`	Card layout with cover images	Communities with many active groups

Cover Image Customization

Available for: Style 2 (Card) layout

Setting	Default	What It Does
Customize Groups Cover Background?	No	Enables custom default cover images. Appears only when the view is Style 2 (Card).
Set Default Cover Image	(empty)	Upload image shown when group has no cover. Appears once Customize Groups Cover Background is set to Yes.

BuddyBoss note: These two cover-image controls are not available when BuddyBoss Platform is active - BuddyBoss handles group cover images itself. They appear only on a BuddyPress (non-BuddyBoss) site.

Recommended Cover Dimensions: 1300px x 225px

Group Directory Elements

Control which information appears on group cards:

Element	Default	What It Shows	Available In
Cover Images	On	Group cover photo	Style 2 only
Avatars	On	Group profile picture	All styles
Group Privacy	On	Public/Private/Hidden badge	All styles
Last Activity	On	Most recent activity timestamp	All styles
Members	On	Member count	BuddyBoss only
Group Descriptions	On	Brief description text	BuddyBoss only
Join Buttons	On	Join/Request to Join button	All styles

Location: Customizer > Community Settings > Groups Directory > Group Directories Elements

Directory Sidebar Layouts

BuddyX Pro lets you set the sidebar layout for your BuddyPress directory pages independently of the rest of the site. Each directory picks from the same four presets - None (full width, no sidebar), Left, Right, or Both.

Setting	Options	Default	What It Controls
Activity Directory Sidebar Layout	None / Left / Right / Both	Both	Sidebar placement on the main activity stream directory
Members Directory Sidebar Layout	None / Left / Right / Both	Right	Sidebar placement on the members directory
Groups Directory Sidebar Layout	None / Left / Right / Both	Right	Sidebar placement on the groups directory

Location: Customizer > Site Sidebar

Note: These three controls appear only when BuddyPress is active and Youzify is not installed. Youzify manages its own directory layouts, so the theme hands off sidebar control to it when Youzify is present.

Youzify Appearance Override

If you run the Youzify profile plugin alongside BuddyX Pro, the theme adds one control so your custom color scheme can take over Youzify's own light/dark styling.

Setting	Options	Default	What It Does
Override Youzify Default Appearance Mode?	Yes/No	Yes	When Yes, BuddyX Pro's custom colors drive Youzify's profile surfaces instead of Youzify's built-in appearance mode. Set to No to leave Youzify styling untouched.

Location: Customizer > Site Skin

Note: This control appears only when Youzify is active, and it takes effect once Custom Colors is enabled in Site Skin. With Custom Colors off, Youzify keeps its default appearance.

Single Member Profile Settings

Customize individual member profile pages with multiple header layouts and navigation styles.

Header Layout Options

Layout	Description	Best For
Left View	Avatar on left, info on right, full width	Classic profiles
Centered View	Avatar centered, info below	Modern, minimal designs
Container Left View	Left layout within container	Boxed site layouts
Container Centered View	Centered layout within container	Professional networks
Stretch Left View	Left layout, full browser width	Magazine-style sites
Stretch Centered View	Centered layout, full browser width	Portfolio communities

Navigation Options

Single Member Navigation View (default: Swipe):

More - Dropdown for extra tabs
Swipe - Horizontal scroll navigation

Single Member Navigation Style (default: Icon + Label):

Default - Text labels only
Icon + Label - Icons with text
Icon + Label (Swipe 1) - Compact icons for swipe
Icon + Label (Swipe 2) - Larger icons for swipe

Display Name Format

Available for: BuddyPress only. This control is hidden when BuddyBoss Platform is active.

Format	Shows	Example
Username	WordPress username	@johndoe
Display Name	User's display name	John Doe

Profile Header Elements

Control what information appears in member headers:

Element	Default	What It Shows
Online Status	On	Online/offline indicator
Profile Type	On	Member type badge
Member Handle	On	@username display
Joined Date	On	Registration date
Last Active	On	Last activity timestamp
Followers	On	Follower count. Appears only when BP Follow or BuddyBoss Platform is active.
Following	On	Following count. Appears only when BP Follow or BuddyBoss Platform is active.

User Social Links

Enable members to add social media profiles to their BuddyPress profiles.

How to Enable:

Customizer > Community Settings > Single Member
Enable Show User Social Links (default: No)
Configure social networks in User Social Links section

Default Networks:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram

Add Custom Networks:

Click Add button
Enter network name
Add FontAwesome icon code (e.g., <i class="fa-brands fa-tiktok"></i>)
Choose icon color
Save

Members can then add their profile URLs in their BuddyPress profile edit page.

Location: Customizer > Community Settings > Single Member

Single Group Settings

Configure individual group pages with header and navigation options.

Header Layout Options

The Single Group Header Layout control (default: Left View) mirrors the Single Member layouts, with one label difference - the second option is named Container View here:

Left View (default)
Container View
Container Left View
Container Centered View
Stretch Left View
Stretch Centered View

Navigation Options

Single Group Navigation View (default: Swipe):

More (dropdown)
Swipe (horizontal scroll)

Single Group Navigation Style (default: Icon + Label):

Default
Icon + Label
Icon + Label (Swipe 1)
Icon + Label (Swipe 2)

Group Header Elements

Control what information appears in group headers:

Element	Default	What It Shows
Group Type	On	Group type badge
Last Activity	On	Most recent activity
Group Description	On	Group description text
Group Organizers	On	Group admin/moderator info
Group Privacy	On	Public/Private/Hidden status

Location: Customizer > Community Settings > Single Group

Forums Archive Layout (bbPress)

When bbPress is active, the Community Settings panel adds a Forums Archive Layout section that sets how the forums archive page lists its forums.

Setting	Options	Default	What It Does
Forums Archive Layout	Default / Card / Cover	Default	Chooses the listing layout for the forums archive page.

This section appears only when bbPress is installed and active, and (like the rest of the panel) is hidden when Youzify is active.

Location: Customizer > Community Settings > Forums Archive Layout

Recommended Configurations by Community Type

Professional Network

Members Directory:

Layout: Style 3 (Card1)
Show: Profile Type, Followers, Joined Date
Hide: Last Active, Online Status

Single Member:

Header: Container Centered View
Navigation: Icon + Label
Show: Profile Type, Member Handle, Followers
Enable: User Social Links

Casual Social Community

Members Directory:

Layout: Style 2 (Card)
Show: Online Status, Last Active, Joined Date
Custom: Add fun cover images

Single Member:

Header: Left View
Navigation: Swipe with Icon + Label
Show: Online Status, Last Active, Followers

Learning Community

Members Directory:

Layout: Style 1
Show: Profile Type, Joined Date, Last Active

Groups:

Layout: Style 2 (Card)
Show: Cover Images, Descriptions, Member Count

Single Member:

Header: Container Left View
Navigation: More (dropdown)

Private Membership Site

Members Directory:

Layout: Style 3 (Card1)
Show: Profile Type, Joined Date
Hide: Online Status (privacy)

Single Member:

Header: Container Centered View
Hide: Last Active (privacy)
Show: Profile Type, Member Handle

Common Questions

Q: Do I need to refresh the page to see changes? A: Yes. Most BuddyPress settings require publishing and refreshing the page as live preview is not available.

Q: Can I use different layouts for different member types? A: No. The layout applies to all members. You can use custom CSS to style specific member types differently.

Q: Will changing layouts break my site? A: No. You can safely test different layouts. If you don't like a change, simply switch back.

Q: Do cover images slow down my site? A: Cover images add visual appeal but do increase page weight. Use optimized images (WebP format, under 200KB) for best performance.

Q: What if I don't see the Community Settings panel in Customizer? A: The panel appears only when BuddyPress, BuddyBoss Platform, or bbPress is active. It is also completely removed when the Youzify plugin is active, because Youzify manages those screens itself. Deactivate Youzify (or confirm a community plugin is active) to see the panel.

Q: Can members choose their own layout? A: No. Layout settings are site-wide and controlled by administrators only.

Q: How do I know which layout looks best? A: Test each layout with real member data. Ask a few community members for feedback before finalizing.

Q: Will these settings work with BuddyBoss Platform? A: Yes. BuddyX Pro is fully compatible with both BuddyPress and BuddyBoss Platform.

Related Settings

Member Profiles - Detailed profile customization
Member Directory - Directory features and filters
Groups - Group settings and layouts
Activity Stream - Activity feed configuration
BuddyPress Overview - Integration overview

Got a question? We're a friendly team - happy to help.