Installing the BuddyPress Plugin in Wordpress

To return to the parent post, click here: Convert a WordPress Blog into a Private, Facebook-like Social Network.

The BuddyPress plugin converts a WordPress blog into a social networking site, similar to Facebook.

Installing a plugin in WordPress is a straightforward process. You install the BuddyPress plugin in the same way you would any other plugin, and vice versa.

This tutorial assumes you are using a version of WordPress installed locally on a Desktop of Laptop computer.

Since you will be downloading the plugin, you will need to be connected to the Internet for this process.

(1) Launch XAMPP and start the Apache and MySQL services.

(2) Open a browser window or tab and enter "http://wordpress/wp-admin to log in as the administrator. (For wordpress, use the name you gave to the folder containing WordPress that you copied into the C://xampplite/htdocs folder on your hard drive.)







(3) In the login screen, enter the Username and Password of the administrator, then left click on "Log In."
















(4) The WordPress Dashboard will now appear. Left click on "Plugins" in the left column.






















(5) On the next screen, left click on "Add New" to the right of the word "Plugins" near the top of the page.













(6) The next page offers you the option of searching manually for plugins by selecting from a list of headings or by searching more directly by entering a keyword. Since we are looking specifically for "BuddyPress," enter "buddypress" as the search term, then left click on "Search Plugins."
















(7) The search will return a list of plugins that meet the criteria. To install the primary BuddyPress capabilities, left click on "Install Now" for the BuddyPress plugin.

















(8) A popup will appear, asking you to verify that you want to install the plugin. Left click on "OK."
















(9) On the next page to appear, the progress of the install will be displayed.














(10) After a plugin has been installed, WordPress allows you to activate it and deactivate it at will, without having to uninstall and reinstall it. Before the BuddyPress plugin can be used, it needs to be activated, so, left click on "Activate Plugin."














(11) After the process is complete, a message will appear at the top of the screen, indicating that the plugin has been activated. An entry for BuddyPress will appear in the installed plugins list as well as one for administering BuddyPress, just below the "Dashboard" entry at the top of the left column.












(12) To administer BuddyPress, left click on "BuddyPress" under "Dashboard" in the left column.










(13) A menu for changing various BuddyPress settings will appear.
















(14) You can also change the appearance of BuddyPress by choosing from several predefined formats. To do this, left click on "Appearance" in the left column.















(15) A page will appear that contains thumbnails of the currently active theme plus others from which you may choose. If you wish to see how your blog will look with another theme, left click on "Preview." To make a theme current, simply left click on "Activate." Your blog will now appear with that new theme.