How to replicate BuddyBoss Theme Demo

Introduction

The BuddyBoss Online Communities demo has become a popular reference for customers who want their homepage to look the same. This tutorial walks you through how to replicate BuddyBoss Theme demo. The homepage consists of four main parts: the header, the Buddy Panel, the content area, and the sidebars.

Tutorial Video

Quick Setup Overview

To make your homepage look like the demo:

1. Header: Configure logo, navigation menu, and optional cart icon.
2. Buddy Panel: Create a menu for logged-in users with icons and optional pinned items.
3. Content: Enable the Activity Feed and set it as the homepage.
4. Sidebars: Add widgets for recent posts, following users, latest activities, members, and groups.

Configure the Header

1. Go to BuddyBoss > Theme Options > Header.
2. Select a header style with the logo on the left.
3. Go to Logo Settings, enable the desktop logo, and upload your logo image.
4. Go to Appearance > Menus, create a new menu (e.g., Title Bar), assign it to the Title Bar menu area, and add the pages or links you want displayed.
5. The right side of the header shows the profile dropdown, search, inbox, and notifications by default.
   • To also show a cart icon, install and activate WooCommerce.

Set Up the Buddy Panel

1. Go to Appearance > Menus.
2. Create a new menu (e.g., Buddy Panel).
3. Add links from the BuddyBoss section (these are relative links for logged-in users).
4. Assign the menu to the Buddy Panel (Logged-in Users) area.
5. To pin an item (e.g., Account) at the bottom, select Stick to bottom.
6. Icons are auto-assigned, but you can override them by choosing from the available icon sets.

Configure the Homepage Content

1. Go to BuddyBoss > Components and enable Activity Feeds.
2. Set the Activity Feed as your homepage:
   • Navigate to Settings > Reading.
   • Under Homepage displays, select A static page.
   • Choose the page created for the Activity Feed.
3. (Optional) Rename the page title for a customized look.
4. Enable media options:
   • Go to BuddyBoss > Components and enable Media.
   • In Media Settings, enable photos, emoji, and GIFs (requires a Giphy API key).

Configure Sidebars

Left Sidebar

1. Go to Appearance > Widgets.
2. Add the following to Activity Directory Left:
   • BB Recent Posts
   • BB Users I’m Following (will display only when you follow members).

Right Sidebar

1. Go to Appearance > Widgets.
2. Add the following to Activity Directory Right:
   • BB Latest Activities
   • BB Recently Active Members
   • BB Social Groups

Note: Add featured images to posts to ensure they display in the Recent Posts widget.

Additional Customizations

• Follow Members: To display users in the “Users I’m Following” widget, follow members from the Members Directory.
• Groups: Quickly import sample groups via BuddyBoss Tools > Import Groups.
• Sticky Header: Go to BuddyBoss > Theme Options > Header and enable Sticky Header.
• Colors: Adjust under Theme Options > Styling to match the demo color scheme.

Troubleshooting and FAQs

Q: My sidebar widgets aren’t showing. What should I do?
A: Verify you’ve added widgets to the correct Activity Directory Left or Right areas.

Q: Why doesn’t the “Users I’m Following” widget show anything?
A: Follow members first; then they will appear in the widget.

Q: How do I enable the cart icon in the header?
A: Install and activate WooCommerce.

Q: Why don’t I see photo, emoji, or GIF icons in the Activity Feed?
A: Ensure Media is enabled in BuddyBoss Components. Add a Giphy API key for GIFs.