Developer Guide

Reference for extending BuddyPress Business Profile. Symbols listed here are present in the shipping code.

Architecture

Each business is a public custom post type (business) paired one-to-one with a hidden BuddyPress group. The pairing drives the social features:

Business post (CPT: business)
    post meta: bp-business-group  ->  BuddyPress group (hidden)
    group meta: bp-group-business ->  back to the business post

• Following a business = membership of its group.
• Team members = group admins and moderators.
• Business activity = activity linked to the group.

Business details (contact, hours, services, social links, action button) are stored as post meta on the business, not as BuddyPress xProfile fields.

There are no REST API routes and no cron events in this plugin.

Post Type and Taxonomies

• Post type: business (public, has archive, supports title, editor, author, thumbnail, excerpt).
• Taxonomies: business-category (hierarchical) and business-type (non-hierarchical).

Key Meta Keys

Meta key	On	Purpose
bp-business-group	business post	Linked BuddyPress group ID
bp-group-business	group	Linked business post ID
_business_action-button	business post	Selected action-button type
_business_action-button_{type}	business post	Value for the selected action
_Organizer_id	business post	The Events Calendar organizer ID
_company_space	job listing	Links a WP Job Manager job to a business

Read the linked group ID through the canonical accessor rather than get_post_meta() directly:

$group_id = bp_business_profile_get_group_id( $business_id );

Settings Options

Settings are stored as these options (arrays):

• bp_business_profile_general_settings
• bp_business_profile_business_view_settings
• bp_business_profile_map_settings
• bp_business_profile_review
• bp_business_member_access
• bp_business_taxonomy_filter
• bp_business_integration

Filters

// Group visibility for a business's backing group (default: hidden)
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_group_status', function ( $status, $business_id, $user_id ) {
  return 'hidden'; // 'public' | 'private' | 'hidden'
}, 10, 3 );

// Post status for a newly created business (e.g. require approval)
add_filter( 'bp_business_publish_post_status', function ( $status ) {
  return 'pending';
} );

// Modify the create-a-business wizard steps
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_creation_steps', function ( $steps ) {
  return $steps;
} );

// Override where a template file is located
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_locate_template', function ( $path, $file_name ) {
  return $path;
}, 10, 2 );

// Adjust action-button labels
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_action_label', function ( $labels ) {
  return $labels;
} );

// Adjust the list of social networks
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_social_network', function ( $networks ) {
  return $networks;
} );

// Filter business description / services output
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_filter_content', function ( $content ) {
  return $content;
} );

// Integration tab sidebars
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_product_show_sidebar', '__return_false' );
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_events_show_sidebar', '__return_false' );
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_myjobs_show_sidebar', '__return_false' );

// Show product pagination once a business has more than N products (default 20)
add_filter( 'bp_business_profile_min_products_pagination', function ( $min ) {
  return 10;
} );

Actions

// After a business is created or saved
do_action( 'bp_business_profile_after_save_business', $business_id );

// Around the single-business header
do_action( 'bp_before_business_header' );
do_action( 'bp_after_business_header' );

// After a review is saved (custom review data)
do_action( 'bp_business_profile_review_custom_data', $data );

Member Quota

Resolve a member’s allowed business count (respecting profile-type, role, then global limits):

$quota = bp_business_profile_get_user_quota( $user_id );

AJAX Actions

All logged-in AJAX actions use the bp-business-profile-nonce nonce unless noted. Selected actions:

Action	Purpose
bp_business_follow	Follow or unfollow a business
bp_business_profile_filter	Directory filter (category, search, view, location)
business_profile_data_save	Save business profile fields
upload_business_avatar / upload_business_cover	Image uploads
bp_business_profile_save_reply	Reply to a review
bp_business_profile_transfer_ownership	Transfer ownership (owner only)
bp_business_profile_export_data	Export a business as JSON (owner only)
submit_business_claim / approve_business_claim / reject_business_claim	Claim workflow (claim nonces; approve/reject require manage_options)

Database

The plugin creates one custom table, {prefix}bp_business_claims, holding claim requests (business ID, user ID, status, reason, contact fields, verification documents, admin notes, and timestamps), with a unique key on business + user + status. Reviews are stored as WordPress comments on the business post.

Template Overrides

Copy a template from the plugin’s templates/ folder into your theme to override it:

theme/bp-business-profile/
    business-loop.php
    business-create.php
    business-search.php
    personal-businesses.php              (own profile Business tab)
    members-businesses.php               (another member's businesses)
    members-followed-businesses.php      (following tab)
    single/
        about.php
        services.php
        business-reviews.php
        product.php                      (WooCommerce Shop tab)
        events.php                       (Events tab)
        my-jobs.php                      (Jobs tab)
        settings/
            general-settings.php
            ...