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Community guides
Three guides for community operators.
Building from zero. Managing as it grows. Keeping members engaged. The three phases of an online community, written by the team that has shipped 200+ of them - with the complete BuddyX plus Wbcom plugin stack for each phase.
3
Phases
24
Sections
22
Stack entries
Phase 1
Building
How to start an online community from zero.
The first 90 days decide whether your community ever finds an audience. Niche, format, founding members, the first ritual, the onboarding flow, and the stack to ship it on.
- Pick a niche so narrow it scares you
- Hand-recruit the first 50 members
- Onboarding that finishes in 60 seconds
- Trust signals before public launch
7 plugin stack
Read the guide
Phase 2
Management
How to run a community as it grows.
Moderation, member types, role definition, conflict handling. The work that keeps a 5,000-member community healthy without burning out the founder, plus the WordPress plugin stack that does the heavy lifting.
- Define member types before you need them
- Distribute moderation to 5-10 trusted members
- Report, block, mute on every post from day one
- Track moderation as a metric
7 plugin stack
Read the guide
Phase 3
Engagement
How to keep members coming back.
Cadence, recognition, rituals, gamification. The engagement flywheel that turns first-week members into year-three contributors, and the WordPress stack that runs it on autopilot.
- Cadence beats novelty - three weekly rituals
- Wire GamiPress points to behaviors that compound
- Re-engage dormant members on day 30
- Make member media a first-class object
8 plugin stack
Read the guide
Why these guides exist
We have shipped 200+ communities. These are the lessons that repeat.
Every community starts in the same place: a founder with a niche and an empty WordPress install. What separates the ones that get to 5,000 active members from the ones that fade in month three is rarely the niche. It is the operating decisions in the first 90 days, the moderation rhythm in months 6 to 24, and the engagement flywheel that kicks in after the launch buzz fades.
These three guides are the playbook we hand to every Wbcom Designs client buying a setup package. They are paired with a concrete plugin stack at the bottom of each page - no abstract advice, just "use this for that." Every plugin is on our integrations page. Every recommended stack ships as part of one of our setup packages.
Build with BuddyX
The theme behind every guide on this page.
BuddyX is the WordPress community theme designed for the work in these guides. Free on WordPress.org, Pro from $79, or have us ship the whole stack for you for $699.