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So I run

So I run a BuddyPress community that I put together very stupidly using a database of users that had already signed up, and it’s lead to a world of pain in my current site. I want to migrate to a fresh installation, set up the proper way for BuddyPress, with only the plugins I need and in an optimal hosting environment.

How do I export only the 3000+ BuddyPress users I have and all the related buddypress data into the new version of the website? I also have these active users in my comet chat user directory. Is that a good list to check against. I don’t even know where to start.Willing to go custom if I need to if they offer to teach me along the way. I want to learn. Thanks!

Thu, 2 May 2019 10:27:48
  • Adam
    • Support Gorilla

    Hi Derin Tolu

    I hope you’re well today and thank you for your question!

    “BuddyPress users” are essentially WP users. BuddyPress doesn’t use a separate user database or user account. Any user that registers on a BuddyPress-powered website gets a regular WordPress user account and BuddyPress only “extends” how these accounts are handled or rather – how they are presented and what they can do, adding some “social network/community” features “on top of that”.

    Exporting “BuddyPress users” means actually… exporting WordPress site user accounts.

    However, if you are using BuddyPress profile fields (so users are able to provide additional information about them) and would also like to export all related “BuddyPress content” like groups and groups content, activity data and so on (not to mention any custom data if you do have some BuddyPress add-on plugins or even custom code) that might become a bit more complex.

    There’s a plugin that claims to be able to do most of that so you might want to give it a try but I must admit that I never had a chance to test it and while the “Import” is free, the “Export” part is paid. If you want to check it out, you’ll find it here

    https://shop.youngtechleads.com/downloads/buddypress-members-export/

    and here (the free “importer” – though I’m not sure whether free version will be able to handle all the data)

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/members-import/

    Another option could be to try WP All Import plugin although only a premium version (so paid) will give you enough tools to set up custom db queries and data mappings:

    http://www.wpallimport.com/

    It would also take quite a lot of experimenting with settings to make sure that all the data is exported/imported and all the relationships maintained.

    In case of both suggested plugins, I would strongly recommend trying to import data to some dev/staging site first to make sure that it works.

    That said, if you only want to export/import users without any associated BuddPress-specific data, you could just use a simple plugin like this one (free):

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/users-customers-import-export-for-wp-woocommerce/

    Best regards,

    Adam