Top 7 WordPress Community-Building Tips and Plugins for 2022

If you’re running a website, you likely attract fans who have a lot in common with each other. Helping them create a community can increase the value of your site. However, knowing the best way to support these connections isn’t always clear. 

Fortunately, there are several ways that you can foster those user relationships. By providing your audience with the right tools and encouragement, you can build an active community around your content.

In this article, we’ll cover a few of the benefits that a strong WordPress community can provide. Then, we’ll take you through four plugins that can help. Finally, we’ll wrap up with three effective tips to get you started. Let’s begin! 

The Benefits of a Strong WordPress Community

You probably don’t need us to tell you how important an active audience can be for your site. However, connecting with individual users isn’t the only option. Finding ways to help them build friendships with each other can also be valuable.

For example, creating an online community can increase the engagement levels on your website. That’s because users will be more likely to reach out to each other. 

There are several formats that user communication could take, including:

• Active subject-based forums
• Brief discussions on public comment forums
• Direct, private messages between individual users

Furthermore, these digital friendships will exist almost entirely on your website. As such, users will need to log in to maintain them. This setup could lead to more frequent, loyal visitors.

Moreover, having a strong community means your site isn’t just offering value through its content. It will also provide a personal element as well. This characteristic could lead to current users inviting their friends to join in on the social aspect of your website. 

Finally, it’s not only your users that can benefit. A community rallied around your site will likely share their feelings about your content. Whether positive or negative, this organic feedback can help you improve your website.

4 Effective Plugins to Build a Community in 2022

If you’re looking to encourage connections, you probably want to begin with the right tools. Here are four of our favorite plugins to help kickstart your community!

1. bbPress

Let’s start with a classic option: bbPress. This simple yet powerful plugin can provide a robust infrastructure for your online community. In fact, bbPress is so effective that even WordPress.org uses the program to power its forums.

The simplicity of bbPress is one of its strongest selling points. This feature also makes it reasonably user-friendly. Even if you’re a beginner, the minimalist design is unlikely to intimidate you. 

Nevertheless, this bare-bones approach might also be a downside for you. For example, you won’t be able to customize the look of the forums unless you modify the code. This factor could lead to a clash between the forum layout and your chosen theme.

However, bbPress has many positive features, including:

• Suitability for both single and multisite systems to help you pinpoint exact audiences
• Support for add-ons to include features such as specific user avatars and access limitations
• Clean, lightweight code to provide fast load times

If you’re looking for a basic skeleton to build a custom forum on, bbPress might be for you. It’s straightforward and customizable, meaning it can apply to nearly any niche. Additionally, bbPress is free, so it’s a budget-conscious choice as well.

2. BuddyPress

Next up is BuddyPress. It comes from the same developers who created bbPress. However, there’s a distinct difference between the two. While bbPress focuses on simplicity, BuddyPress allows you to do more.

That’s because the plugin isn’t just centered on forums. Instead, it helps you create an entire social network from the ground up. 

BuddyPress has a whole ecosystem of different community-based features, including:

• An updated activity stream to inform users of each other’s actions, similar to the Instagram model
• Extended profile capabilities that support custom fields for more curated user information
• A robust collection of documentation to help you get started

We recommend considering all the options that BuddyPress provides. For example, it can sort your users into discrete groups. This feature can help create sub-communities with fewer users for more intimate interactions.

You might also want to consider a few of BuddyPress’ add-ons. These are mainly created by third parties but supported by the main plugin. Possible extensions include adding a chat function or enabling users to upload media.

The basic BuddyPress plugin is free. Additionally, there’s also a wide variety of free and premium add-ons.

3. BadgeOS Community Add-on

BadgeOS Community Add-on is a little different from the last two plugins. However, it’s also not that disconnected either – in fact, it’s a program designed to complement other community-building tools with a ‘gamification’ system.

BadgeOS is an achievement-based system. First, you set up either bbPress or BuddyPress. Then, you incorporate this free add-on and set goals for your users.

For example, you might want to provide an achievement badge whenever a user befriends 15 other members on the site. This goal can encourage more connections. It may also be a helpful way to show other users if someone is particularly open to new friendships.

Once the user completes the goal, BadgeOS will display the achievement on their profile. The plugin also enables you to add images, meaning users can show off their accomplishments through a visual medium.

You can also perform the following tasks with BadgeOS:

• Create custom badge images or use the badge builder tool
• Enable easy auto-share options to platforms such as Facebook and Twitter
• Display badge achievements directly in activity feeds

There are very few limits on which goals you can set. Most of them are community-based, too: adding a new forum topic, updating profile information, and inviting someone to join a group are all possibilities. 

4. The Events Calendar

Let’s wrap up with a quick change in gears. Forum-based communities have a lot of power behind them. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from augmentation. That’s where The Events Calendar comes in.

The Events Calendar can be a valuable tool to extend connections beyond your forums. That’s because the plugin can help you organize both virtual and digital meetups for your users. As such, members can communicate in new environments.

As for features, here are a few impressive ones that you might appreciate:

• Integration of Google Maps for easier physical navigation
• A responsive layout, even on mobile devices
• Export functionality for Google Calendar and iCal to help members remember events

The Events Calendar plugin can open up your site to different ways of connecting. For example, you could organize a large video call that all users can join. Alternatively, localized groups could set up physical meetups for members in their areas.

We like The Events Calendar because it puts a lot of power in your audience’s hands. They can meet up with each other based on shared interests that began on your website. All users have to do is view their events calendars to get involved with their communities. 

3 Top Tips to Build a WordPress Community

Even the most powerful tools can’t build a community without your input. Here are three essential tips to help you set up your website for social success!

1. Integrate Social Media

Building a social network for your unique site can offer many benefits. Nevertheless, it’s not always easy: the popularity of today’s massive social media platforms means you have some stiff competition. 

However, this competition doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Social media can actually be one of your best allies. As long as you know how to leverage social platforms, they can help you reach new users and connect with current ones.

One way to do this is by learning from a social media platform’s success. Facebook’s reaction options, for example, let users quickly and accurately communicate their opinions:

Consider adopting a strategy like this for your site. That way, your visitors can view their fellow users’ feelings about any given post.

We also recommend offering your community multiple opportunities to share on these platforms. For example, consider adding buttons that automatically send user content to social media networks. 

Furthermore, try adding a registration link to popular posts. People who click on the URL will have the opportunity to join the conversation, thus expanding your community.  

2. Feature User-Generated Content

By growing a community, you’re offering value in two distinct ways: through your site’s content and the people consuming it. If you want to merge the two features holistically, consider showcasing user-generated content.

This approach goes beyond simply encouraging comments. Creating a project will likely take some dedication from your users. As such, the content production may also increase the amount of time they spend on your site.

If your users see that you’re happy to display their work, they might feel more appreciated. User-generated content may also increase user engagement if members are close with the featured creator. Moreover, this same principle might boost the number of social shares.

User-generated content can be as simple or complex as you like. For example, you might ask visitors on a cooking-based forum to submit recipe ideas. Alternatively, you could also request photos of their favorite meals or even audio files with their culinary commentaries. 

Finally, you may also want to try ‘gamifying’ submissions with a competition. You could then ask community members to vote and choose the winners. Using this strategy, you can engage even more people across your site.  

3. Maintain Site Patterns

Digital communities typically do best when they’re supported by the people running the site. However, that doesn’t just mean providing tools that help members connect. You’ll also want to maintain consistency within your online community. 

For example, consider maintaining an established content pattern. These regular updates mean users can always find something new to talk about. Even if the content just acts as a jumping-off point, it provides a crucial touchstone for new and old users alike.

If you’re not sure how to best manage your schedule, consider using a tool that can keep you on track. CoSchedule is a popular option:

You might also want to consider combining this approach with the user-generated content tip. Regularly reserving a space to highlight a user’s work is an easy way to make sure that everyone has a chance to feel included.

We also recommend establishing a few community guidelines. They can be as simple as respecting others’ opinions and not sending spam. Even low-commitment rules such as these show that you care about the quality of your community and its members.

Conclusion

A WordPress community can be a wonderful thing. By helping people connect, you can also help your site grow. Fortunately, all you need is a few essential tools and tips to encourage user relationships.

In this article, we covered why you might want an active community. Then, we discussed a few plugins to help you launch and maintain an active forum. Finally, we gave you a few tips on how to bring your audience together through your website’s content.

If you’re a WordPress.com user, don’t forget that you can search for and install plugins directly from your site’s dashboard. We have thousands of plugins available!

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