The BuddyPress 2020 survey was published the same day we released BuddyPress 6.0.0 “iovine’s” (May 13, 2020). Now that we are about to release our next major release (7.0.0 will be delivered in the coming days), it is time to share with you the survey results.
First, many thanks to all the respondents who participated to this survey 
. Doing so you contributed to give the BuddyPress Core Team informations about how the plugin is used, could be used and how its usage is evolving. Some of the questions we asked are directions we’re considering for the plugin (eg: Q9, Q10, Q17), so your inputs are very important to us.
As no questions were required, it’s difficult to be 100% accurate about how many people took the survey. So we were at least (we also took the survey 
) 483 from all over the world as it’s the highest number a question was replied to.
Most of the questions were leaving participants the choice to select more than one reply, this is why if you sum up the percentage results you’ll often find more than 100% 
.
When we had data about a previous survey we made in 2018, we compared the 2020 results with them and calculated the differences between both years percentages. We thought it could be interesting to see how some results are evolving.
1. How are you using BuddyPress?
Number of respondents: 483.
| Possible replies | Years & evolution | Results |
|---|---|---|
| I use BuddyPress on my own site | 2020 | 72.7% |
| 2018 | 74.2% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -1.6% | |
| I build BuddyPress sites for others | 2020 | 35.2% |
| 2018 | 32.4% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 2.8% | |
| I develop BuddyPress themes | 2020 | 13.3% |
| 2018 | 9.7% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 3.6% | |
| I develop BuddyPress plugins | 2020 | 15.1% |
| 2018 | 13.0% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 2.1% | |
| I host BuddyPress sites | 2020 | 15.5% |
| 2018 | 14.8% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 0.7% | |
| Other | 2020 | 9.1% |
| 2018 | 4.6% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.5% |
NB: between 2018 & 2020 the “I build BuddyPress sites, themes, and plugins.” choice disappeared.
It’s interesting to see BuddyPress plugin and theme developers replied more to this survey. Another explanation could be there are possibly more people extending or designing for BuddyPress 
.
2. What types of BuddyPress sites have you built?
Number of respondents: 409.
| Possible replies | Year | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Academic | 2020 | 33.5% |
| Artistic | 2020 | 18.3% |
| Gaming | 2020 | 14.2% |
| Generic | 2020 | 30.3% |
| Religious | 2020 | 10.5% |
| Scientific | 2020 | 14.4% |
| Sports | 2020 | 10.5% |
| Other | 2020 | 33.5% |
NB: data from 2018 is missing.
The “Other” reply was often chosen. When looking deeply into these replies, we discovered some interesting types, eg: Health / Medical / Therapist communities, Recipe sharing sites, Intranet & Business networks, Non-profit / charity / solidarity / ecological communities, Social Marketplaces, Dating platforms, Local municipality information center / local life / Administration sites and some specific communities like private or restricted ones.
3. How do you host your production sites using BuddyPress?
Number of respondents: 414.
| Possible replies | Years & evolution | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Hosting | 2020 | 44.9% |
| 2018 | 52.5% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -7.6% | |
| Virtual Private Server | 2020 | 30.0% |
| 2018 | 30.0% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -0.1% | |
| Dedicated Server | 2020 | 22.2% |
| 2018 | 18.0% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.2% | |
| Managed WordPress Hosting | 2020 | 23.4% |
| 2018 | 15.1% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 8.3% | |
| Cloud-based Services | 2020 | 18.4% |
| 2018 | 12.8% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 5.6% | |
| Other | 2020 | 6.0% |
| 2018 | 3.4% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 2.6% |
Looks like Managed WordPress Hosting plans are increasing 
4. How do you set up BuddyPress in your WordPress installations?
Number of respondents: 427.
| Possible replies | Years & evolution | Results |
|---|---|---|
| WP in domain root | 2020 | 68.4% |
| 2018 | 74.8% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -6.4% | |
| WP in physical subdirectory folder | 2020 | 19.7% |
| 2018 | 15.6% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.1% | |
| WP in physical subdomain | 2020 | 15.0% |
| 2018 | 9.0% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 5.9% | |
| WP Multisite in domain root – BP Network-activated | 2020 | 20.4% |
| 2018 | 11.5% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 8.9% | |
| WP Multisite in subsite (subdirectory) – BP Network-activated | 2020 | 11.0% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 6.3% | |
| WP Multisite in subsite (subdomain) – BP Network activated | 2020 | 11.7% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 7.0% | |
| WP Multisite in domain root – BP activated only on the main network site | 2020 | 9.6% |
| 2018 | 3.3% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 6.3% | |
| WP Multisite in subsite (subdirectory) – BP activated on a subsite of the network | 2020 | 9.8% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 5.2% | |
| WP Multisite in subsite (subdomain) – BP activated on a subsite of the network | 2020 | 9.4% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.7% | |
| WP Multisite in domain root – the constant BP_ENABLE_MULTIBLOG is defined in your wp-config.php file to spread BuddyPress on all sites of the network | 2020 | 12.4% |
| 2018 | 4.7% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 7.8% |
NB: between 2018 & 2020 the “WP Multisite with BuddyPress Multi-Network” choice disappeared.
Multisite configurations are slightly increasing while regular WordPress configurations are a bit less used.
5. What BuddyPress components/features are always or almost always activated in your site/s?
Number of respondents: 428.
| Possible replies | Years & evolution | Everytime | Sometimes | Never |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account Settings | 2020 | 74.5% | 11.9% | 4.2% |
| 2018 | 91.8% | 6.5% | 1.7% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -17.3% | 5.4% | 2.5% | |
| Activity Streams | 2020 | 64.3% | 17.5% | 6.3% |
| 2018 | 75.0% | 20.9% | 4.1% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -10.7% | -3.4% | 2.2% | |
| Extended Profiles | 2020 | 70.1% | 16.4% | 4.2% |
| 2018 | 86.6% | 12.1% | 1.4% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -16.5% | 4.3% | 2.8% | |
| Friend Connections | 2020 | 73.4% | 22.2% | 11.4% |
| 2018 | 62.9% | 26.5% | 10.6% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 10.5% | -4.3% | 0.8% | |
| Private Messaging | 2020 | 55.1% | 22.9% | 8.6% |
| 2018 | 67.6% | 25.4% | 7.0% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -12.5% | -2.5% | 1.7% | |
| Site Tracking | 2020 | 37.6% | 24.8% | 20.1% |
| 2018 | 56.3% | 25.4% | 18.3% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -18.7% | -0.6% | 1.8% | |
| User Groups | 2020 | 55.4% | 23.8% | 8.9% |
| 2018 | 64.1% | 26.0% | 10.0% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -8.7% | -2.1% | -1.1% |
I must say I was a bit surprised by the fact the Friends component was the only one which usage increased between 2018 and 2020 
.
6. What theme/s have you activated for your site/s using BuddyPress?
Number of respondents: 398.
| Possible replies | Years & evolution | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Free WP theme | 2020 | 37.7% |
| 2018 | 22.5% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 15.2% | |
| Free WP theme with custom BP CSS and/or template modifications | 2020 | 18.8% |
| 2018 | 14.1% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.8% | |
| Free WP theme and I add custom BP CSS and/or template modifications | 2020 | 22.9% |
| 2018 | 14.1% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 8.8% | |
| Commercial WP theme | 2020 | 35.9% |
| 2018 | 32.2% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 3.7% | |
| Commercial WP theme with custom BP CSS and/or template modifications | 2020 | 32.2% |
| 2018 | 38.6% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -6.4% | |
| I create a brand-new WP theme and write my own custom BP CSS and template modifications using BP theme compat | 2020 | 22.1% |
| 2018 | 19.8% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 2.3% |
Free WordPress themes without any customizations got the highest result: this proves using BuddyPress out of the box can be enough to power a great looking community site.
7. Which BuddyPress Template Pack is your theme supporting in your production sites?
Number of respondents: 384.
| Possible replies | Year | Results |
|---|---|---|
| BP Nouveau Templates (introduced in BP 3.0.0) | 2020 | 63.3% |
| BP Legacy Templates (introduced in BP 1.7.0) | 2020 | 28.1% |
| BP Standalone theme like the bp-default theme (introduced in BP 1.2.0) | 2020 | 13.5% |
| I don’t know | 2020 | 25.8% |
NB: this question wasn’t asked in 2018
1 respondent out of 4 don’t know what Template Pack is active on their website. As the BP Nouveau Template pack is used by default, there’s a good chance it’s the one these people are using. FYI: If you want to switch between available Template Packs, you can go into your WordPress Dashboard and activate the BuddyPress Options tab of the Settings > BuddyPress administration page to do so.
8. Which BuddyPress template files do you customize for your own or third-party themes?
Number of respondents: 377.
| Possible replies | Year | Never | Sometimes | Everytime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activity templates | 2020 | 36.6% | 31.6% | 22.5% |
| Blogs templates | 2020 | 38.5% | 29.7% | 19.6% |
| Group templates | 2020 | 32.9% | 31.0% | 21.8% |
| Member templates | 2020 | 26.8% | 31.0% | 30.0% |
| Stylesheet files | 2020 | 29.4% | 26.0% | 29.4% |
| JavaScript files | 2020 | 39.5% | 28.4% | 15.4% |
| BuddyPress Email templates | 2020 | 32.6% | 30.0% | 25.2% |
NB: this question wasn’t asked in 2018.
9. What do you prefer: using a BP Template Pack that lets you use most WordPress themes or use a BuddyPress specific theme ?
Number of respondents: 375.
| Possible replies | Year | Results |
|---|---|---|
| BP Template Pack | 2020 | 58.1% |
| BuddyPress specific theme | 2020 | 41.9% |
NB: this question wasn’t asked in 2018.
Building a great BuddyPress theme as a replacement to our good old BP Default theme is something we are considering a lot. It’s important for us to remember that a lot of you like the fact BuddyPress doesn’t require a specific theme to run and needs to look as nice as possible inside your active WordPress theme.
10. Would you test/use a new theme made by the BuddyPress team?
Number of respondents: 377.
| Possible replies | Year | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 2020 | 57.2% |
| No | 2020 | 11.4% |
| Maybe | 2020 | 31.4% |
NB: this question wasn’t asked in 2018
11. What features would you look for in a new BuddyPress theme?
Number of respondents: 380.
| Possible replies | Year | Results |
|---|---|---|
| More BuddyPress customization options | 2020 | 85.5% |
| Compatible with bbPress | 2020 | 51.1% |
| Compatible with WooCommerce | 2020 | 44.7% |
NB: this question wasn’t asked in 2018
Got it! FYI: BP Nouveau has a specific panel into your customizer you should check. One of the comments you made was asking for a way to reorder the Member navigation, BP Nouveau has a section for it 
.
12. When do you test your sites, themes, and/or plugins with BuddyPress releases?
Number of respondents: 396.
| Possible replies | Years & evolution | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Trunk | 2020 | 15.9% |
| 2018 | 11.7% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.2% | |
| BP Beta 1 | 2020 | 14.9% |
| 2018 | 10.0% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4,9% | |
| BP Release Candidate 1 | 2020 | 11.4% |
| 2018 | 7.5% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 3.9% | |
| BP Stable Release | 2020 | 43.2% |
| 2018 | 55.9% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -12.7% | |
| A month after stable release | 2020 | 29.0% |
| 2018 | 19.6% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 9.5% | |
| Never | 2020 | 19.2% |
| 2018 | 15.0% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.2% | |
| Other | 2020 | 8.1% |
| 2018 | 4.3% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 3.8% |
The results the Beta and RC pre-release got is encouraging. We really need to have more beta-testers to avoid bad surprises when you upgrade BuddyPress. We’ve tried to ease the way you can test BuddyPress with the BP Beta Tester plugin, but I guess we still need to work on ways to help you help us 
.
13. If you do beta test BuddyPress, what method do you use?
Number of respondents: 236.
| Possible replies | Year | Results |
|---|---|---|
I use the SVN repo
(svn co https://buddypress.svn.wordpress.org/trunk/) |
2020 | 31.8% |
I use the read-only Github mirror
(git clone git://buddypress.git.wordpress.org/) |
2020 | 46.2% |
| I use the BP Beta Tester plugin | 2020 | 51.3% |
NB: this question wasn’t asked in 2018
Looks like the BP Beta Tester plugin is the most used tool to beta test BuddyPress. This seems great! But the results might be a bit over rated. When looking deeply into it, some of you replied they were never beta-testing BuddyPress while using the BP Beta Tester plugin 
. The goal of the BP Beta Tester plugin is to ease the beta/RC testing…
14. If you installed bbPress, how did you set it up with your BuddyPress site/s?
Number of respondents: 311.
| Possible replies | Years & evolution | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Sitewide forums only | 2020 | 34.7% |
| 2018 | 28.3% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 6.4% | |
| Group forums only | 2020 | 29.3% |
| 2018 | 29.3% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 0% | |
| Sitewide and Group forums | 2020 | 55.0% |
| 2018 | 57.6% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -2.6% |
15. How do you keep updated with the latest in BuddyPress development?
Number of respondents: 355.
| Possible replies | Years & evolution | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Subscribed to bpdevel.wordpress.com | 2020 | 27.6% |
| 2018 | 23.3% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.3% | |
| Viewed changelog for each release in codex.buddypress.org/releases | 2020 | 47.0% |
| 2018 | 49.6% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | -2.6% | |
| Checking buddypress.trac.wordpress.org regularly | 2020 | 25.6% |
| 2018 | 22.5% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 3.1% | |
| Twitter: @buddypress, @buddypressdev, and/or @bptrac | 2020 | 23.1% |
| 2018 | 19.5% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 3.6% | |
| Slack: #buddypress, #buddypress-commits, #buddypress-firehose and/or #buddypress-newtickets | 2020 | 15.5% |
| 2018 | 12.2% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 3.3% | |
| Other | 2020 | 16.1% |
| 2018 | 11.8% | |
| 2018 to 2020 | 4.2% |
NB: between 2018 & 2020 the “Checking buddypress.org/support regularly.” choice disappeared.
16. Case Studies: We’d like to feature how you are using BuddyPress in your current sites at BuddyPress.org. If you’re interested in sharing your BP story, please leave your name, email address, and your BP site URL.
Number of respondents: 40.
Many thanks to the 40 participants who shared their names, emails, and sites URL. We’ll try to contact you to share about your use cases on this website. It’s great to see how you’re using BuddyPress 
.
17. BuddyPress is a large plugin with optional components (3MB zipped). There’s a proposal to reconstitute BuddyPress as core + members only and improved upon with new functionalities and API’s among others for new BP plugins to hook into. The current optional components like groups, friends, private messaging, etc. can be migrated into separate plugins which can be activated as needed. What do you think?
Number of respondents: 407.
| Possible replies | Year | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Keep BuddyPress as is: core + members and optional components | 2020 | 43.2% |
| Break down BuddyPress: BuddyPress = core + members, optional components as BP plugins | 2020 | 35.6% |
| I don’t know | 2020 | 21.1% |
NB: this question wasn’t asked in 2018
Ok. Thanks a lot for your replies, using optional components as separate add-ons is not something you are ready for 
.
BuddyPress is used from all over the world!
