BuddyPress alone is a very powerful platform but there are a few things that you can improve to make it even more awesome. There are a ton of plugins out their to get the most out of it. So without any further talking let’s jump right in.
Here is a list of my top BuddyPress plugins.
BuddyPress Toolbar
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress-toolbar/
BuddyPress toolbar adds a small menu in the WordPress navigation bar that allow you to easily access all the main setting of your network without having to go anywhere else. It is very handy to quickly access different parts of your network, specially if you have a large network. You can manage all types of different settings of BuddyPress and its extensions.
BuddyPress Social
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress-social/
BuddyPress social makes it extremely easy to add sharing buttons to your activity stream. You literally don’t have to do anything, just install and activate the plugin and you are good to go. BuddyPress Social adds Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email sharing buttons to all your community’s activity. It also works with every theme, so you don’t have to worry about the css getting messed up either.
BuddyPress Groups Extras
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress-groups-extras
BuddyPress Group Extras allow the administrators of the group more control. It allow them to add custom fields and add pages etc and restrict which posts are to be showed. By default in the groups you can’t do that at the moment. Sometimes admins do need to do a little more the avg members so BuddyPress Groups Extras can make your job easier.
BuddyPress Group-O-Matic
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress-groupomatic/
Group O Matic allow you to add custom fields in the BuddyPress extended profiles. So it is actually an extension to it. You can create different type of fields like radio buttons, date selector, Check boxes , text field etc. It really helps get more info about the member. It also lets you add privacy to the fields. So it’s a must have in my opinion.
BuddyPress Activity Plus
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress-activity-plus
What media can do text cannot. So you would definitely want your member to be able to add media to their activity stream. With Activity Plus, you can enable your member to add media (Photos, Videos and links) to their posts with ease. Just like Facebook you can easily add media to your activity stream. This would greatly increase user engagement.
BuddyDrive
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/buddydrive/
BuddyDrive is another awesome plugin that allow members to share files with each other or make it available to anyone. It has a ton of different options and privacy setting available.It really makes it very easier to share files within or out of the network.
Bp Force Profile
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-force-profile/
Bp Force Profile as you might have guessed with the name it forces the user to complete there profile. If a user has uncompleted profile then he/she is redirected back to its profile with a message on the top to complete his/her profile. Simple but important plugin if you want your member to have complete profiles.
BP Avatar Suggestions
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-avatar-suggestions/
Inspired by Dan (Network Admin of the French BuddyPress community) this plugin is created to allow the admin to add a set of avatar from which the newly registered member can select an avatar. Pretty useful plugin.
BuddyPress Password Strength Meter
Download Link: http://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress-password-strength-meter/
BuddyPress Password Strength Meter plugin adds the password strength meter to the ‘Change Password’ field in the Profile Settings. To bad it is not added in the register screen but still adds a little premium touch.