BuddyPress Featured Members + BuddyBoss Integration
Spotlight Your Best Members Directly in Your BuddyBoss Community
What is BuddyPress Featured Members?
BuddyPress Featured Members by BuddyDev lets administrators hand-pick members to highlight across the BuddyBoss community. Admins visit any member’s profile in WordPress and click a Set Featured button to add them to a curated list. Those featured members can then be displayed in a dedicated section on the BuddyBoss Members page, embedded anywhere on the site with a shortcode, or surfaced in a sidebar widget in either list or slider format. The plugin integrates with BuddyBoss’s member directory so featured members appear prominently where visitors already browse, without requiring any custom code or template edits.
Key Features of BuddyPress Featured Members
Admin-Controlled Featured Status
Admins mark any BuddyBoss member as featured directly from the member’s WordPress profile page using a single Set Featured button. The action is instant and reversible — admins can remove a member’s featured status just as quickly if priorities change.
Member Directory Integration
Featured members appear in a dedicated section within the BuddyBoss member directory without requiring template customization. Visitors browsing the directory see highlighted members alongside the standard member list, giving curated profiles natural visibility where members already look.
Shortcode Display
Place the [bp-featured-members] shortcode on any page or post to embed the featured member list wherever it fits your layout. The shortcode accepts arguments to control how the list renders, giving admins precise placement without touching theme files.
Widget Support
A dedicated Featured Members widget lets admins drop the featured member list into any widgetized area of the BuddyBoss site, such as a sidebar or footer. The widget can be configured independently of the shortcode, allowing different display settings in different locations.
Slider and List Layouts
Choose between a scrolling slider layout and a static list layout for how featured members are presented. Slider format works well in sidebars and widgets where horizontal space is limited; list format suits directory pages and embedded sections that benefit from a grid or column structure.
Developer API
The plugin exposes a simple PHP API for marking and unmarking members as featured programmatically. Developers building custom onboarding flows, gamification systems, or automated moderation tools can use the API to update featured status without manually interacting with the WordPress admin panel.
See BuddyPress Featured Members in Action
See how BuddyPress Featured Members lets BuddyBoss admins spotlight key community members across the member directory, widget areas, and custom pages.
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Download BuddyPress Featured Members free and start highlighting the people who make your BuddyBoss community worth joining.
Use Cases and Examples
Membership Communities Welcoming and Recognizing Top Contributors
Membership community owners use BuddyPress Featured Members to highlight active contributors, veteran members, and community leaders directly on the BuddyBoss member directory. New members arriving in the community see a curated list of established, trusted people at the top of the directory, giving them an immediate sense of who to follow and connect with. Recognition through the featured section encourages the highlighted members to stay engaged and motivates others to contribute more actively to earn similar visibility.
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Course Platforms Showcasing Instructors and Mentors to Students
Online course communities use BuddyPress Featured Members to give instructors, coaches, and mentors prominent placement in the BuddyBoss member directory so students can find the right people to follow from day one. Featuring the teaching staff in a dedicated section on the Members page removes the need for students to search through dozens of profiles to identify who has expertise and authority. Instructors featured on the platform see higher profile visit counts, more direct messages from students, and stronger engagement in their course-specific groups.
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Professional Networks Highlighting Verified Experts and Speakers
Professional communities and industry networks use BuddyPress Featured Members to surface verified experts, published contributors, and event speakers within their BuddyBoss platform. Rather than letting high-value members disappear into an alphabetically sorted directory, community managers feature them on the Members page and embed the list using the shortcode on dedicated expert or speaker pages. Visitors who find the community through search or social media see credible, authoritative members immediately, reinforcing the quality and seriousness of the network before they even sign up.
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How to Integrate BuddyPress Featured Members with BuddyBoss
BuddyPress Featured Members installs in minutes and works with BuddyBoss Platform immediately after activation. Follow these steps:
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Install from WordPress.org
Search for “BuddyPress Featured Members” in WordPress Dashboard > Plugins > Add New, or download it from WordPress.org and upload the zip file. Activate the plugin after installation.
2
Mark Members as Featured
Go to Users in the WordPress admin panel, open any member’s profile, and click the Set Featured button to add them to the featured list. Repeat for each member you want to highlight. You can remove featured status from any member’s profile using the same button.
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Verify the Directory Section
Visit your BuddyBoss Members page and confirm that the Featured Members section appears at the top or in a dedicated area of the directory. Check that the correct members display and that their profile links and avatars render properly.
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Add the Widget or Shortcode (Optional)
Add the Featured Members widget to a sidebar or footer via Appearance > Widgets, or paste the [bp-featured-members] shortcode into any page or post to embed the list in additional locations. Test each placement to confirm the correct layout (list or slider) renders as expected.
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Rotate Featured Members Regularly
Update the featured list monthly or after community events to recognize new contributors and keep the spotlight section fresh. Rotating featured status gives more members a reason to stay active and signals to the broader community that consistent engagement leads to recognition.
Benefits of Integrating BuddyPress Featured Members with BuddyBoss
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- Faster Onboarding for New Members Through Curated Social Anchors: When new members arrive at the BuddyBoss member directory and immediately see a featured section with established, active community members, they have clear starting points for who to follow and connect with. Without featured members, new arrivals browse an undifferentiated list and often leave without making a single connection. BuddyPress Featured Members gives community managers direct control over the first social impression new members experience, accelerating the moment they feel they belong.
- Recognition That Drives Long-Term Retention Among Top Contributors: Members who are selected as featured gain visible status on the BuddyBoss Members page and anywhere the shortcode or widget is placed. This public acknowledgement signals to the community that contribution and activity are noticed and rewarded, which motivates featured members to remain active and encourages others to increase their participation to earn similar recognition. Communities that rotate featured status regularly create an ongoing incentive loop that keeps engagement levels high well past the initial onboarding period.
- Flexible Placement with No Custom Development Required: BuddyPress Featured Members integrates with BuddyBoss’s native member directory and also supports placement via shortcode and widget, giving community managers multiple ways to surface featured profiles without writing any code. Admins can feature members in the directory, embed the list on a dedicated experts or speakers page, and add a rotating sidebar widget, all from the WordPress admin panel. The free plugin requires no premium license and no developer time to deploy across multiple locations on the same site.
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Trusted by Thousands of Community Builders
Ready to Spotlight the Members Who Make Your Community Great?
Download BuddyPress Featured Members free and give your best contributors the visibility they deserve in your BuddyBoss community. Need help getting started? Contact our team for integration support.