Notifications
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Pro. This feature requires WB Member Blog Pro. The free plugin must be installed and active first. See the Pro index for every Pro module.
The Notifications module tells reviewers when a post needs approval and tells writers what happens to their posts: approved, sent back, commented on, reacted to, read past a milestone. It also lets you switch off or reword every email Member Blog sends. The module is on by default.
It adds two tabs under WB Plugins > Member Blog:
- Notifications: who is told about posts entering review and being approved.
- Notification Emails: every email, with an on/off switch and editable subject and text. See Editing Notification Emails.
Emails and the On-Site Bell
Section titled “Emails and the On-Site Bell”Emails send on every site, with or without a community plugin. Only the on-site notification bell needs BuddyPress (or BuddyBoss) with its Notifications component on; on PeepSo and standalone sites members get the emails only. Without it, the Notifications tab says “The on-site notification bell needs BuddyPress. Emails are not affected.” If BuddyPress is active but its Notifications component is off, the tab links to where you turn it on. See On-Site Notifications.
Set Up Review Notifications
Section titled “Set Up Review Notifications”- Go to WB Plugins > Member Blog > Notifications.
- Switch Admin Notifications on.
- In Select Admin User(s), pick the administrators who should be told. Hold Ctrl (Cmd on a Mac) to pick more than one.
- Switch Member Notification on if writers should be emailed when their post is approved.
- Click Save Settings.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Admin Notifications | Email the selected administrators when a member submits a post for review. Only applies while Publish immediately is off under WB Plugins > Member Blog > Access, because otherwise nothing waits for review. | On |
| Member Notification | Email members when their post is approved and published | On |
| Select Admin User(s) | The administrators who receive “A post needs approval” emails and on-site notifications | Every administrator at the time Pro was first activated |
Reviewers get one email when a post enters review. Edits the writer makes while the post waits in the queue do not send it again.
The review, approved and sent-back emails are sent by the free plugin, so they reach members on a site without Pro too (there, every administrator and editor gets the review email). Pro adds the choice of recipients, these two switches, the wording on Notification Emails and the bell. The approved email is sent when a reviewer approves the post, not when a member publishes their own post.
These two switches cover only the review emails. The other emails, such as comments, reactions and co-author invitations, are controlled per email on the Notification Emails tab and by each member’s own preferences.
What Gets Sent
Section titled “What Gets Sent”| Event | Who is told | On-site (BuddyPress) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A member submits a post for review | Selected administrators | Yes, with Admin Notifications on | Yes |
| A post is approved and published | The author | Yes, with Member Notification on | Yes |
| A reviewer sends a post back | The author, with the reviewer’s reason and a link to edit | Yes | Yes |
| Someone comments on a post | The author | Yes | Yes |
| A reader reacts (BuddyPress Reactions plugin) | The author | Yes | Yes |
| A post passes 100, 500, 1,000 or 5,000 views | The author, once per milestone | Yes | Yes |
| Co-author invitation, acceptance, decline, revision request, publication | The members involved | Yes | Invitation, acceptance and decline |
| A scheduled post publishes, or cannot publish | The author | Yes | No |
A comment held for moderation notifies the author when it is approved, not when it is written. The author is not told about their own comments. When WordPress’s own “someone posts a comment” email to the author would duplicate this one, WordPress’s copy is dropped so the author gets a single email.
The free plugin sends four more emails of its own: claps, “a writer you follow published”, “you have a new follower”, and the reading digest. They use the same shared email design and are listed on the Notification Emails tab too.
What Members Control
Section titled “What Members Control”Each member chooses which of these they receive, for email and for the on-site bell separately, in the Notifications section of their member home’s Settings tab. Every email also has an unsubscribe link that switches off that one kind of email without logging in. See Your Notification Preferences.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”| Problem | Check |
|---|---|
| No emails arrive at all | WordPress may not be able to send mail. Install an SMTP plugin and send a test. |
| Administrators get no review email | Admin Notifications is on, they are picked in Select Admin User(s), Publish immediately is off, and “A post needs approval” is on in Notification Emails. |
| A writer gets no approval email | Member Notification is on, and “Your post was approved” is on in Notification Emails. |
| One member gets no email | Their own preferences, or they used the unsubscribe link. |
| No bell notifications | BuddyPress or BuddyBoss is active with the Notifications component on. |