How To: Install BuddyPress and Common Troubleshooting Tips

Yesterday we setup our first installation of BuddyPress, the WordPress MU specific plugin package that transforms any WPMU installation in to a social networking platform.

BuddyPress is still in a pre-release state, and therefore the installation process has not been streamlined into a nice easy package. I decided to write this article to help anyone else who is trying to install BuddyPress for the first time. This article is very detailed so beginners and experts alike can setup BuddyPress!

Step 1 Install WordPress MU
I’m not going to write how to install WordPress MU. WPMU is as easy to install as regular WordPress and the installation guide can be found here:

http://trac.mu.wordpress.org/browser/trunk/README.txt

One thing to note - When you install WordPress MU, DO NOT edit/rename the wp-config-sample.php file. This is a common mistake made as that is what most people do to install WordPress. If you edit this file your WordPress MU site will display a blank page. WPMU will automatically rename/edit the wp-config-sample.php file during the setup process.

Step 2 Visit the BuddyPress Installation Page

Visit the official installation page located here: http://trac.buddypress.org/wiki/installing-buddypress

This is where you will find the current installation guide and required components for the BuddyPress install. You can read the installation guide here:

http://trac.buddypress.org/browser/trunk/INSTALL-README.txt

The installation guide helps, but there are a few issues it fails to address.

Step 3 Download the required BuddyPress components

Since BuddyPress is in pre-release, you will need to download the installation package from the BuddyPress trunk located here:

Read the rest of this entry »

More Blog Entries

• WordPress Thesis Theme Support and Reference List
• OpenSocial Turns One, Reaches 600 Million Users
• WordPress 2.7 is Coming, Beta Released!
• Happy Halloween from WebDevStudios.com!