How to let users connect with friends on WordPress

Choose whether a connection means a mutual friendship, a one-way follow, or simply permission to view a profile. This guide covers mutual friend requests: one member sends a request and the other accepts or rejects it.

Also decide whether connected users can message each other, see private activity, invite each other to groups, or only appear in a friends list. Setting this before installation prevents privacy and navigation changes later.

WordPress core has user accounts, but it does not include friendship requests, accepted-friend lists or member relationship screens. For a configurable manual route, install and activate BuddyPress, then open Settings → BuddyPress → Components and enable Friend Connections. BuddyPress documents this component as an optional feature for making member connections.

This route is fine for a straightforward community and gives you control over the other components you enable. The drawback is that you are setting up a broader community system, and your theme may need styling work before member pages look consistent.

Enable Members, and add Extended Profiles if people need profile fields beyond the standard WordPress account. Configure the BuddyPress directory and registration URLs under Settings → BuddyPress; newer versions may label the URL screen differently from older installations. BuddyPress can create or assign directory pages for enabled components.

Check the Members directory while logged out and logged in. The Add Friend action is intended for logged-in members and can appear in the directory and on individual member profiles.

Add the Members directory to your main menu under Appearance → Menus. For logged-in users, also provide a clear route to their profile and friends screens. BuddyPress supports links to member directories and personal screens such as My Friends, My Profile and My Notifications.

Do not assume users will find pending requests from the toolbar alone. Put a visible Friends or Requests link in the account menu, especially if your theme hides the BuddyPress navigation.

Create two ordinary test accounts. From the first account, open the second member’s profile and send a friend request. Sign in as the second account, open the request, accept it, then confirm that both accounts show the friendship. Also test rejection, cancellation and removing an accepted friend.

If a notification says a request exists but the request list is empty, check for theme or plugin conflicts, clear caches, and test with a default theme and only BuddyPress active. Support threads also report missing request pages, 404 errors and broken acceptance controls when components are disabled or another profile plugin changes BuddyPress screens.

For a quicker setup, use PeepSo Friends when you need friend connections alongside user profiles and activity feeds. It is designed for WordPress communities and adds the social interaction layer without requiring you to assemble and style each community feature separately.

After activating it, configure who can send requests, whether connections require approval, which profile screens users can access, and how notifications are delivered. Keep the same two-account test: send, accept, reject, cancel and remove a connection before opening the feature to your members.