In May, BuddyBoss founder Michael Eisenwasser shared with Tavern readers the challenges of creating a profitable business in what is still a relatively small marketplace for BuddyPress themes and plugins. Developers are building niche social networks every day, but BuddyPress’ appeal as a platform hinges on the availability of compelling and reliable third-party add-ons. Over…
Over the past couple years, BuddyBoss has emerged as a leader in the BuddyPress products marketplace. Founder Michael Eisenwasser launched the business in 2010 after discovering BuddyPress while building an international job site to help online workers find employment. “BuddyPress blew me away,” Eisenwasser said. “It allowed for a sophisticated and fully customizable membership site…
Developers who are new to BuddyPress sometimes find BP templates confusing to work with. Common questions include: Why are there so many? Where do I place the files? How can I override the templates in my project? BP Project Framework is a plugin from the folks at WebDevStudios that provides a boilerplate for new custom…
At BuddyCamp Miami 2014, I learned about BuddyPress and what it’s capable of. During the first session, I learned you don’t have to worry about BuddyPress themes anymore since 1.7 introduced theme compatibility. This means that BuddyPress sites no longer require a BuddyPress-specific theme. Later in the day, there was a session devoted to BuddyPress…
BuddyPress themes are still few and far between, despite the popularity of the social networking plugin for WordPress. After theme compatibility was introduced, effectively making BuddyPress able to work with nearly any WordPress theme, the market slowed its production of new products tailored specifically for BuddyPress. When you see a theme that highlights BuddyPress features…
The BuddyPress Theme Development book hit the shelves late last year and I had the chance to review it for our readers. This book is a much-needed resource for the BuddyPress community and could not have come at a better time. BuddyPress theming has evolved over the years but it has always had a steep…
When BuddyPress 1.7 was released in April 2013, the most anticipated new feature was WordPress theme compatibility. This marked a turning point in BuddyPress history and meant that sites no longer required a BuddyPress-specific theme. Prior to 1.7, use of the plugin depended on having a BP-enabled theme. Developers had to do quite a bit…