How to create a member directory in MemberPress

Decide whether the directory is public, available only to logged-in members, or limited to particular membership levels. Also decide which details members may share, such as display name, photo, location, biography, social links or custom fields.

Plan privacy before you build the page. A directory can expose personal information, and a setting that automatically includes every active member may not suit your consent requirements.

MemberPress by itself does not provide a searchable member directory. A developer can create a custom WordPress template or small custom plugin that queries users, checks their active MemberPress membership, displays selected fields and adds search or pagination.

This route is reasonable for a small, mostly fixed list. It becomes expensive to maintain when members join, cancel, change levels, edit profiles or opt out, because the custom code must keep permissions, privacy and directory data in sync. MemberPress documents its directory feature as part of the ClubDirectory add-on.

For the normal dynamic setup, go to Dashboard > MemberPress > Add-ons, search for ClubDirectory, then click Install Add-on. After activation, the ClubSuite menu should appear in the WordPress dashboard.

If you want the add-on to supply its own headers and footers, enable the User Profiles and Directories options under MemberPress > Settings > ReadyLaunch. Leave them disabled if you want to use your theme’s layout instead.

Go to ClubSuite > Profiles and edit the default profile or click Add New. Choose a starter pattern or build the layout with Gutenberg blocks. Add only the fields you are comfortable showing in a directory card and on the full profile page.

If different membership levels need different profile layouts, create separate profiles and restrict each one to the relevant membership. When a member matches more than one profile, the profile with the higher priority is used.

Go to ClubSuite > Directories, click Add New, and give the directory a title. Use the directory settings to filter by membership, WordPress role or location. You can also require a profile picture, require member opt-in, enable a map view and apply location privacy.

For a membership-only directory, enable Filter by Membership and select the memberships whose active subscribers should appear. Expired members are then removed as their membership status changes.

Edit the directory’s default blocks. The Directory Users block controls the grid or list layout, number of users per page, ordering and grid columns. Within the profile card, add the member photo, name, profile button and selected user fields.

Keep the Directory Filters block if visitors need search or filtering. Before launch, check that the card does not reveal email addresses, full addresses or other private fields by accident.

Test the directory with an administrator, an active member from each relevant level, an expired member and a logged-out visitor. Confirm that the right people can see the directory, that cancelled or expired memberships disappear, and that profile links do not expose restricted information.

When it works, publish the directory and add its generated URL to your navigation, member account page or community area. You can also place it on a custom page with the directory shortcode shown in the MemberPress documentation. The fast way is to use MemberPress ClubDirectory, which supplies searchable profiles and filterable directories while retaining MemberPress membership access rules.