How to Create Your Own Private Community with WordPress

Social media is supposed to bring people together. But for many business owners, course creators, and community leaders, it feels like a constant struggle.

Posts may not reach the right audience, discussions get lost in the noise, and engagement is dependent on algorithms that are designed to profit big tech companies and not the users.

That’s why so many businesses want their own space. A place where members feel welcome, conversations flow naturally, and big tech monopolies don’t control engagement.

Luckily, it’s not that hard to do. You don’t need a massive budget or technical skills to make it happen.

With WordPress, you can easily create your own private community, tailor it to your audience’s needs, and even turn it into a thriving part of your brand.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process step by step. You’ll learn how to set up your community, keep members engaged, and explore ways to generate revenue while staying in complete control.

Here is a quick list of topics we will cover in this guide:

Why Create an Online Community with WordPress?

Building an online community on your WordPress website is like creating a cozy café where people gather, share ideas, and feel at home. When done right, it turns visitors into loyal supporters who keep coming back.

We love how private communities spark real engagement. People want spaces where they can connect without algorithms getting in the way. Social platforms make that hard, but with WordPress, you’re in control.

A dedicated community lets members interact, exchange ideas, and feel valued. It’s more than a discussion board—it’s a place where relationships grow.

We’ve also noticed something powerful: engaged members offer incredible support. They answer questions, share feedback, and help each other, creating a space that runs itself.

And the best part? It can become a steady income stream. Many communities offer premium content, memberships, or perks that turn engagement into revenue.

Why Use WordPress?

There are many online platforms for building communities. However, WordPress offers unparalleled freedom and extensibility.

Here are the top reasons to pick WordPress:

• Flexibility: WordPress offers many themes and plugins, allowing you to customize your community to fit your business model.
• Cost-Effective: WordPress is free, which means you only need to invest in hosting and premium features.
• User-Friendly: It is easy to use, even for beginners. This means that you can manage content and settings without any coding knowledge.
• SEO-Friendly: Built with SEO in mind, WordPress plugins like All in One SEO can help you optimize your site for search engines.

New to WordPress? See our detailed WordPress review with pros and cons.

Step 1: Signing Up for WordPress Hosting

To get started, you will need the following things:

• A domain name
• A web hosting account
• A WordPress community-building plugin

First, you will need to sign up for a web hosting account and register a domain name. Web hosting is where your website lives on the internet, while the domain name is the address that users will type in to visit your online community.

For creating an online community, we highly recommend using Rapyd Cloud hosting. Their plans are designed specifically for the needs of dynamic websites like online communities and social media platforms.

For more details, see our complete Rapyd Cloud hosting review.

Once you’ve signed up for a plan, just follow our instructions on how to install WordPress.

Step 2: Setting Up BuddyBoss WordPress Community Platform

For this tutorial, we will be using BuddyBoss to create an online community platform with WordPress.

BuddyBoss is one of the best WordPress community-building platforms on the market. It offers all the features you need to build an engaging community, including the ability to:

• Transform your website into a social media platform.
• Add forums, activities, and social groups to your site.
• Allow users to connect and interact with each other.
• Integrate with popular LMS plugins and WordPress membership plugins.
• And more.

For example, here is how an online community built with BuddyBoss could look:

BuddyBoss also offers a free version. However, this free version has limited features, and you will need the paid version, BuddyBoss Pro, to take full advantage of the platform. For more details, see our complete BuddyBoss review.

To get started, simply visit the BuddyBoss website to sign up.

After signing up, you need to download both the BuddyBoss Platform and BuddyBoss Platform Pro plugins on your site. For more details, see our tutorial on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you will need to enter your product license key. You can find this information in your account on the BuddyBoss website.

Step 3: Configuring BuddyBoss Settings

After installation, you need to set up the BuddyBoss plugin to your own requirements.

Activate BuddyBoss Components

BuddyBoss comes with a powerful set of features. Each core feature is called a Component, and you can activate or deactivate it based on your needs.

Simply go to the BuddyBoss » Components page. There, you will see a bunch of components activated by default.

You will need to review the component list and activate any additional components that you want to see on your site.

Here is a list of available components and what they do:

• User Profiles: Allow members to create and customize their profiles.
• Profile Fields: Customize your community with fully editable profile fields.
• Account Settings: Allow members to modify their account and notification settings.
• Notifications: Send notifications to members about relevant activities.
• Social Groups: Enable the creation of social groups where members can join and interact.
• Forums: Set up discussion forums for structured conversations.
• Activity Feeds: Provide activity streams to track and display member activities.
• Media Uploading: Let members upload and share photos, videos, and files.
• Private Messaging: Allow members to send private messages to each other.
• Member Connections: Allow members to make connections with one another.
• Email Invites: Allow members to send email invitations to non-members.
• Moderation: Allow members to block each other and report inappropriate content.
• Network Search: Allow members to search the entire network.

When you activate a component, you may see options to set it up just below the component title.

For instance, under the ‘Profile Fields’ component, you will see the option to Edit Fields.

This will take you to the ‘Profiles’ section, where you can add or remove profile fields.

You can also organize your profile fields into Field Sets by clicking on the ‘New Field Set’ button.

You can then configure components by looking for actions below it or by going through different tabs under the BuddyBoss menu.

Set Up BuddyBoss Pages

Once you have activated the components you need, the next step is to set up pages for different areas of your online community.

Switch to the BuddyBoss » Pages tab, and you can select the pages you want to use for those areas.

To create a page, simply go to Pages » Add New in the WordPress admin area.

Provide a title for the page and click ‘Publish’ to save it. Then, you can select that page under the plugin settings.

For more details, you can see our tutorial on how to create a page in WordPress.

Step 4: Setting Up a Theme

In WordPress, themes control how your website looks on the front end to your users.

BuddyBoss is designed to be theme-agnostic, which means it will work with any good WordPress theme.

However, an online community is not like other WordPress business websites. You’ll need to find a theme that allows you to showcase your community and social features properly.

For example, the folks at BuddyBoss also offer a BuddyBoss theme. It is designed to take full advantage of all the plugin features.

You can find it under your account on the BuddyBoss website. It comes as two separate themes: the main BuddyBoss theme and a child theme.

You will need to install both on your website and then activate the child theme. For details, see our tutorial on how to install a child theme.

The BuddyBoss theme is highly customizable. You can configure all options by visiting the BuddyBoss » Theme Options page.

Other Options:

BuddyBoss is based on BuddyPress, which means you can use any of these BuddyPress themes on your site.

Optionally, you can also use any page builder plugin, such as SeedProd, Thrive Architect, and more, to design custom pages for your site.

For more information, see our guide on how to create a custom WordPress theme.

Step 5: Monetize Your Community With Subscriptions And Courses

BuddyPress allows you to make money from your online community by selling subscriptions, courses, premium content, and more.

It allows you to integrate with any of the top WordPress LMS plugins, including LearnDash, LifterLMS, and more. This allows you to create and make money from online courses on your community website.

You can also sell subscriptions using any WordPress membership plugin like MemberPress, Thrive Apprentice, and more.

How Does This Monetization Work?

The BuddyBoss integrations let you use a membership plugin to restrict access to members-only content on your website, accept payments, and sell subscription plans.

Similarly, you can use an LMS plugin to create courses and educational materials, manage students, and more.

BuddyBoss adds online community and social media features to boost engagement.

Step 6: Adding Gamification to Boost Community Engagement

One thing we learned from online games is that they are highly engaging and can help build a community spirit.

Marketers use the exact same game design principles to engage and motivate members to participate and interact more actively online.

BuddyBoss leverages the free GamiPress plugin to gamify your online community by integrating point-based rewards, badges, and achievements.

You will simply have to install and activate the GamiPress plugin on your site.

This integration allows community managers to set up various rules for earning points by posting, commenting, or engaging with your community activities.

Members can also unlock badges and achievements for their participation, which enhances motivation and engagement.

Step 7: Grow Your Community With a Mobile App

Many users prefer to use social media platforms on their phones using apps.

BuddyBoss offers a mobile app for both iOS and Android (sold separately). The app allows your BuddyBoss community to interact on the go.

Users can access their online courses, post updates, and interact with course creators and other students.

It automatically syncs with your BuddyBoss web platform so that users can access their profiles and courses and interact with other users just like they would on the web.

Step 8: Growing Your Online Community

Now that you have set up your online community, the next step is to promote and grow it.

Luckily, with WordPress and BuddyBoss, you have access to excellent tools and plugins for growing your business.

Our team tested the best WordPress plugins that work seamlessly with BuddyBoss.

Here are some of those plugins that will help you quickly grow a thriving online community:

• All in One SEO for WordPress – The best WordPress SEO plugin on the market. It allows you to easily optimize your WordPress community for better search rankings and more traffic. We use All in One SEO on all our websites. Take a look at our detailed All in One SEO review to learn more.
• SeedProd – A beginner-friendly yet powerful drag-and-drop page builder for WordPress. Enables you to easily create professional landing pages for your online community. See our full SeedProd review to learn more.
• WPForms – The best WordPress form builder plugin, which allows you to easily create custom forms and add them anywhere on your site. For details, take a look at our WPForms review.
• MonsterInsights – Wondering where users spend most of their time in your community? MonsterInsights lets you track website analytics so you can make data-driven decisions to grow your community. For more information, check out our detailed MonsterInsights review.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Creating a Private Community

Having helped thousands of users create their websites, we’ve answered a lot of questions. Here are the most common ones we receive about building a private community with WordPress.

What is the best WordPress plugin to create an online community?

We recommend BuddyBoss for creating an online community because it is the most comprehensive solution on the market. It includes all the key features you need, like member profiles, social groups, activity feeds, and forums, right out of the box.

It also integrates smoothly with other essential tools, such as MemberPress for subscriptions and LearnDash for online courses.

You can see our detailed comparison of BuddyBoss vs. Circle vs. Mighty Networks to learn more about how it stacks up against other plugins.

How much does it cost to build a private community in WordPress?

The cost of building a private community website can vary based on your needs. Your basic expenses will be web hosting (which can start as low as $1.99/month) and a domain name (often included for free with hosting).

The main specific cost is the community plugin itself, like BuddyBoss. Other expenses might include a premium theme or other plugins you decide to use to add more features.

Can I make my WordPress community private and for members only?

Yes, absolutely. You can easily restrict access to your entire community or just specific parts of it. Using a membership plugin like MemberPress allows you to require users to sign up or pay for a subscription before they can view content or participate in discussions.

Can I add a community to my existing WordPress site?

Yes, community plugins like BuddyBoss are designed to integrate with your current WordPress website. You can add new pages for community features, and they will work alongside your existing blog, store, or business site without any issues.

We hope this article helped you learn how to create an online community with WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to make $5000 of passive income every month or these resources on growing an online business on a limited budget.

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