Services > BuddyPress
BuddyPress Development
A Community You Own.
Social platforms change their rules without notice. A community you own does not. AlphaWeb builds BuddyPress communities on WordPress: member profiles, groups, activity streams and private messages, sharing the same accounts as your store, your courses and your mobile app.
What We Build With BuddyPress
Most of our BuddyPress work falls into a few patterns.
Private member networks
Members only communities for associations, nonprofits and fan clubs.
Internal communities
Intranets where staff find each other, join groups and share knowledge.
Learning communities
Courses and discussion side by side, with LearnDash cohorts that can talk.
Gamified programs
Points, badges and leaderboards with GamiPress or BadgeOS that reward helpful activity.
Memberships and commerce
WooCommerce membership tiers and a store on the same WordPress install as the community.
Community apps
Native iOS and Android apps with AppPresser, so profiles, activity, groups and messages travel with members.
Case study
Bundy Club: A Married... with Children Fan Club
Bundy Club is a fan club for Married... with Children, hosted by David Faustino. Brian Messenlehner, AlphaWeb founder, built it and is a partner with David Faustino. The club runs on one WordPress install with BuddyPress, WooCommerce and AppPresser, so members, payments, content and the app share the same accounts and data.
- Community Dysfunction: a members only BuddyPress network where fans post, comment, share memes and behind the scenes moments between live sessions.
- Bundy Breakdown watch parties: members watch a chosen episode, then join David and guests from the show live on Zoom every two weeks, with past sessions on demand.
- WooCommerce membership tiers: from a free Freeloader seat up to Elite Sloucher, billed monthly, every six months or yearly.
- Gamification: badges, points and monthly leaderboards.
- The Bundy Shop: apparel and merch sold through WooCommerce.
- The Bundy Club app: built with AppPresser on the same WordPress site.
Bundy Club launched in April 2026 with its first live watch party on April 16.
How We Deliver BuddyPress
- Recon: Who your members are, why they will come back next week, who moderates and how the community connects to revenue.
- Plan: Groups, profile fields, privacy, notifications and what stays members only.
- Design: A community that matches the look of the rest of your site.
- Build: Community, memberships, gamification and integrations on staging.
- Test: Moderation tools, accessibility and load testing for logged in traffic.
- Launch and support: A planned launch, moderator training and ongoing care.
More BuddyPress Projects
Communities we have built on WordPress and BuddyPress.
National Park Service
The Commons, a BuddyPress community with profiles, groups, connections, activity streams and private messages, built to conform to Section 508 and WCAG 2.0.
Starbucks
A barista learning platform with BuddyPress groups by city, country and region, and a nightly import that turns HR files into groups and members.
DrugFree.org
Peer support forums and topic groups built on bbPress and BuddyPress, with a member activity stream.
MotorTrend Roadkill
Roadkill Nation, a fan network built in BuddyPress with a customized design that matches the rest of the site.
YMCA Y-MVP
A social fitness game for teens, powered by WordPress and BuddyPress on iPad kiosks, with points, badges and a live leaderboard.
Diversify STEM
BuddyPress member profiles delivered to a mobile app through the REST API, alongside LearnDash lessons and GamiPress points.
BuddyPress FAQs
Is BuddyPress free?
Yes. BuddyPress is free and open source. Costs come from design, custom development, add on plugins and hosting sized for logged in traffic.
Can BuddyPress work with paid memberships?
Yes. On Bundy Club, WooCommerce membership tiers decide what each member can access, and the same WordPress install runs the store.
Can BuddyPress connect to our existing login?
Yes. We have connected BuddyPress to outside identity systems, including single sign on with Starbucks accounts and a member CRM for the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.
Can we move an existing community into BuddyPress?
Usually. We map members, groups and posts from the old platform, migrate them into WordPress and keep URLs working where possible.
Can our community have a mobile app?
Yes. AppPresser connects to BuddyPress, so profiles, the activity stream, groups and messages work in native iOS and Android apps with push notifications.
Related Services
Services that often go with this one.
WooCommerce
Memberships, subscriptions and a store on the same install.
LearnDash
Courses and cohorts next to the community.
AppPresser Mobile Apps
Your community in native iOS and Android apps.
Gravity Forms
Applications, intake and approvals that feed your member site.
WordPress Performance
Hosting and caching planned for logged in members.
Platform Migrations
Move members, groups and posts from another platform.
See every plugin we build with on our WordPress plugins page.
Related Posts
More from our blog about BuddyPress and online communities.
- Building BuddyPress Communities Members Actually Use: how we plan, build and grow a community
- BuddyPress Development: Private Communities and Member Networks on WordPress: what BuddyPress is and the projects behind our experience
- Bundy Club: A Married... with Children Fan Club, Built on WordPress: the full case study
- LearnDash and BuddyPress Mobile Apps with AppPresser: taking courses and communities mobile
- BuddyCamp Miami 2015: Move All the Things to BuddyPress: importing existing communities into BuddyPress
- WordCamp Miami 2014: Two Sessions on Web and Mobile Apps: building mobile apps with BuddyPress
- BuddyPress Theme Development (Packt, 2013): the book Brian technically reviewed