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Recipe: Launch a private / members-only community

Free & Pro

What you'll build: a community site where only logged-in (or paid) members see content. Visitors who aren't signed in see a landing page (or are redirected to login). Members get the full community experience - profiles, Spaces, activity, messaging.

Time: ~1-2 hours Prerequisites:

  • BuddyX Pro 5.1.0+ activated
  • First-time setup complete (Quick Start)
  • BuddyNext installed and active (see BuddyNext Integration)
  • Decision on signup model: free signup / invitation-only / paid subscription

This is a longer recipe because private-community setup spans multiple plugins + several decision points. Read through once before starting.

Decision 1 - Who can become a member?

Pick one signup model. Each leads to a different setup path.

Option A - Free signup, open to anyone

Anyone can sign up via your registration form. Once signed up, they're a member. Quick to set up; relies on moderation / trust levels to keep quality.

Plugins needed: BuddyNext (free to start). In BuddyNext, set Registration Mode to Open (see Step 4).

Option B - Invitation-only

Only people you invite can join. Each member gets an invite link. Closes the gates against random signups; good for tight-knit communities.

Plugins needed: BuddyNext only. Invitations are built in - set Registration Mode to Invite Only and manage invites in BuddyNext (see Step 4).

Option C - Paid subscription

Members pay (one-time or recurring) to join. The membership plugin handles payment + access control.

Plugins needed: BuddyNext + a way to charge. BuddyNext Pro includes paid plans, subscriptions, a paywall, and Stripe/PayPal gateways (BuddyNext > Monetization). Or pair BuddyNext with a membership plugin. Common choices:

  • MemberPress (paid) - most full-featured
  • Paid Memberships Pro (free core + paid add-ons) - good balance
  • Restrict Content Pro (paid) - strong recurring-payment support
  • WooCommerce Memberships (paid) - fits well if you already use WooCommerce

BuddyX Pro works with all of them. Pick the one whose pricing + features fit your budget.

Option D - Hybrid (free + paid tiers)

A free tier (limited access) plus paid tiers (more access). Most membership plugins support this natively.

Plugins needed: same as Option C (the membership plugin handles tier differentiation).

Decision 2 - How private is "private"?

Three levels:

Level What visitors see at yoursite.com/ What visitors see at your community pages (members, Spaces, activity)
Mostly private A public landing page (Home, About, Pricing - same as a non-private site) Login required to access
Fully private Redirected to login page (no public content at all) Login required
Brochure + private Public landing pages explain the community, paid pages are behind a paywall Public can preview titles + read paywall content

Most paid communities use Mostly private (public marketing pages, gated community pages). The walkthrough below uses that as the default; notes call out where to adjust for the other two levels.

Step 1 - Install the required plugins (10 minutes)

For Option A (free signup):

  1. Install + activate BuddyNext (Plugins → Add New → search "BuddyNext" → Install → Activate)

For Option B (invitation-only):

  1. Install + activate BuddyNext

For Options C and D (paid):

  1. Install + activate BuddyNext
  2. Either activate BuddyNext Pro (built-in plans and paywall) or install + activate your chosen membership plugin (MemberPress / PMPro / RCP / WC Memberships)

Step 2 - Set up BuddyNext for a community (10 minutes)

BuddyNext runs the social layer: member profiles, activity feeds, Spaces, and private messaging. The free edition covers all four.

  1. Open BuddyNext > Platform > Features and confirm what is on. The activity feed, member profiles, and Spaces are core and always on; you can switch off optional features like hashtags, polls, or bookmarks
  2. Open BuddyNext > Spaces > Settings and set Who can create spaces (any member, or site admins only) and Default visibility for new spaces (Open, Private, or Secret). For a private community, Private is a sensible default
  3. Create one or two starter Spaces so new members have somewhere to land
  4. For private messaging, activate the WPMediaVerse companion plugin - it powers BuddyNext direct messages
  5. Check that sign-in and registration links reach the BuddyNext auth hub - BuddyX Pro routes them there automatically (see BuddyNext Integration (theme features))

See BuddyNext Integration for what BuddyNext gives you and how it inherits your BuddyX Pro colors and dark mode.

Existing BuddyPress site? Everything in this recipe also works on BuddyPress or BuddyBoss Platform. Use Settings → BuddyPress → Components to enable profiles, activity, messaging, and groups, and see BuddyPress Setup for the reference. A site runs one engine, not both.

Step 3 - Lock down content visibility (15 minutes)

This is where you make the site "private." There are two main approaches:

Approach 1: Use the membership plugin's content gating

If you picked MemberPress / PMPro / RCP, this is the cleanest path:

  1. Open the membership plugin's settings
  2. Create your membership tier(s) (e.g. "Member" or "Free" + "Premium")
  3. Set per-page or per-category restrictions:
    • Page → Membership Required: pick which tiers can see this page
    • Or restrict by category - all posts in "Members Only" category require Member tier
  4. Lock down the community pages (activity, members, Spaces, messages) to the Member tier

Approach 2: Use BuddyNext's Private Community setting (no membership plugin)

If you skipped a membership plugin (Option A or B):

  1. Go to BuddyNext > Members > Privacy & Data
  2. Under Private community, turn on Require login to view the community
  3. Save. Logged-out visitors are now sent to your login page instead of seeing the feed, member directory, or Spaces. The login, registration, password-reset, and email-verification screens stay reachable, so new people can still sign up

Space-level privacy

On top of site-wide gating, each Space has its own type, set when you create it: Open (anyone can join), Private (visible, members approved by you), or Secret (hidden from the directory and non-members; invite only). Use Private or Secret for a team, cohort, or client area inside the community.

Step 4 - Configure the registration flow (10 minutes)

For Option A (free signup):

  1. Go to BuddyNext > Members > Registration & Login
  2. Set Registration Mode to Open
  3. Optionally keep email verification on to cut spam, and leave the terms checkbox on
  4. Save

For Option B (invitation-only):

  1. Go to BuddyNext > Members > Registration & Login and set Registration Mode to Invite Only
  2. Create, resend, and revoke invitations under BuddyNext > Members > Directory > Invites
  3. Sign-up is now refused without a valid invitation (social sign-up included)

If you would rather review each request yourself, use Admin Approval instead: new accounts are held until you approve them from the Members screen.

For Options C/D (paid):

  1. If you use BuddyNext Pro, define plans and connect a payment gateway under BuddyNext > Monetization. Otherwise the membership plugin handles registration: configure its form fields, payment provider, and post-signup behavior
  2. Make sure the membership plugin's signup pages aren't restricted by themselves (or visitors can't sign up!)

Step 5 - Set up the BuddyX sign-in popup (5 minutes)

For private communities, the in-page sign-in popup is much better UX than redirecting to /wp-login.php.

  1. Follow the Customize the Login Flow recipe - specifically Path A (Sign-in Popup)
  2. In step A2, set Form Display to:
    • Login if signups are closed (Option B invitation-only with no public signup form)
    • Both if visitors can both sign in (returning members) and register (new members)
  3. In step A4, set Login Redirect to:
    • Activity page (so members land in the community feed after login)
    • or Profile page (so they land on their own profile)
    • or a Custom page like a Welcome page

Step 6 - Configure what non-logged-in visitors see (10 minutes)

This is the visible-vs-hidden line for non-members. Pick your privacy level (from Decision 2 above) and follow the relevant path:

"Mostly private" (recommended for most paid communities)

  • Public pages: Home, About, Pricing, Contact, Privacy Policy, Terms
  • Private (login required): everything else
  • Logged-out visitors at yoursite.com/ see your marketing Home page; they hit "Members Only" gates when they click into community surfaces

Set this up:

  1. Make sure your public pages aren't restricted in the membership plugin
  2. Make sure community pages (members, groups, activity, messages) ARE restricted
  3. Test by viewing in an incognito browser window

"Fully private"

  • Public: nothing (or just the login page itself)
  • Private: everything

Set this up:

  1. Turn on BuddyNext > Members > Privacy & Data > Private community > Require login to view the community. This covers the community pages
  2. For non-community pages as well, use a "Force Login" plugin or your membership plugin's "redirect non-members to login" option

"Brochure + private"

  • Public: Home, About, marketing pages, blog posts (free content)
  • Private: premium content (gated articles, member-only forums, paid courses)

Set this up:

  1. Mark only premium pages/categories as restricted in the membership plugin
  2. Free content stays open to public
  3. Premium content shows a paywall / "Sign in to read" prompt to non-members

Step 7 - Set the homepage strategy

For a private community, your homepage is your most important conversion surface. Configure based on privacy level:

Mostly private

Static landing page (set up in Quick Start Step 8) with marketing copy, value proposition, pricing, and a clear "Sign in / Sign up" CTA.

Fully private

The homepage redirects to login. Set this in your force-login plugin's settings.

Brochure + private

Same as Mostly private - marketing landing page that converts visitors into members.

Step 8 - Set up a Welcome flow for new members

After someone signs up, they should land somewhere useful. Configure:

  1. Customize → General → Sign-in Popup | Register Form Fields → Register Redirect: pick where new members land. (BuddyNext also has its own member onboarding wizard that can join new members to Spaces; where they land after sign-up is set under BuddyNext > Members > Registration & Login.) Recommendations:
    • Profile page - they immediately see their (empty) profile and feel compelled to fill it out
    • Custom page = a "Welcome" page you create with onboarding steps (join a Space, post your first activity, find members like you)
  2. Create the Welcome page if you picked Custom (Pages → Add New → Title: "Welcome" → add onboarding content + links)

A good Welcome page typically has:

  • "Welcome, [first name]!" greeting (use WordPress's display-name shortcode or a personalization plugin)
  • 3-4 actions: complete profile, join a Space, post your first update, find members
  • Links to key community resources (the activity feed, the Spaces list, FAQ)

Step 9 - Test the full flow

End-to-end test in an incognito browser window (or a real second browser logged out):

  1. Visit yoursite.com/ - see the public homepage
  2. Click "Sign in" or "Sign up" - popup opens (if Option A) or paywall page loads (if Option C with a paid signup)
  3. For free signup: fill out registration form → submit → land at Register Redirect
  4. For paid: enter card → complete payment → land at the membership plugin's success page → then at your Welcome
  5. As a logged-in member: visit yoursite.com/members/ - should see the member directory
  6. Visit your Spaces page - should see Spaces
  7. Then: log out
  8. Visit yoursite.com/members/ again - should hit a login prompt / paywall (depending on your privacy level)
  9. Visit yoursite.com/ - should see public homepage (mostly private) or be redirected to login (fully private)

Common questions

Should I require email verification for signups? For free-signup sites, yes - it cuts spam dramatically. WordPress core supports email-verification signup via the "New User Approve" or "User Email Verification" plugins. For paid signups, the payment step effectively verifies the user.

Can I have multiple membership tiers with different access levels? Yes - every membership plugin (MemberPress, PMPro, RCP) supports tiered access. Configure tiers in the plugin, then mark pages/posts/categories as accessible to specific tiers. BuddyX Pro's templates don't need any changes for this.

Do I have to use a community plugin for the community features? For Option C with paid memberships only, you could skip it and use just member-only article content. But for a real community (profiles, messaging, Spaces, activity) you need a community engine. We recommend BuddyNext - it is faster, built in-house, and pairs with BuddyX Pro out of the box. Existing BuddyPress and BuddyBoss Platform sites remain fully supported.

Can I make some Spaces private (members-only of that Space)? Yes - set the Space's visibility when you create it so only its members can see the content. If you are on BuddyPress instead, groups have the same idea built in: Public, Private, and Hidden.

Will BuddyX Pro's bundled plugins (Jetonomy, MediaVerse, etc.) work in a private community? Yes. Bundled plugins respect WordPress + membership-plugin access controls. Jetonomy forums, MediaVerse video uploads, WB Gamification points - all work for logged-in members.

My free / lower-tier members should see SOME activity but not all. Can I do that? Yes, but it requires the membership plugin's per-component restrictions. Configure your plugin to allow Subscribers (free tier) access to Activity but not Messages, or whatever per-feature split you want. Each membership plugin handles this slightly differently - consult their docs.

Can a member upgrade their tier later? Yes - every paid membership plugin supports upgrades + downgrades. The flow is usually: member visits Account → Upgrade → picks new tier → pays the difference.

Related

Got a question? Private communities have a lot of moving parts - we're a friendly team and happy to help walk you through the setup. Drop us a line at support@wbcomdesigns.com with what you're building and we can recommend a configuration.