How to Allow Users to Invite Their Friends to Register in WordPress (2023)

Want to allow users to invite their friends to register on your WordPress site? Follow our guide on how to allow registered users to invite their friends in WordPress.

Allowing member invites is a proven growth strategy leveraged by top social platforms.

When members send invites, it typically generates 25-40% higher conversion rates than other acquisition channels. User invites tap into the power of word-of-mouth marketing, social proof from friends, and personal recommendations.

For example, Dropbox grew by 60% a year through member invites as part of their onboarding. Referrals also tend to be higher quality, with invited users having higher retention.

So if you want to supercharge your WordPress community growth, then enabling invites should be a top priority.

In this 2023 updated guide, you‘ll learn:

• Two methods to enable invitations in WordPress
• Technical step-by-step instructions for both options
• Tailoring effective invitation landing pages
• Driving referral traffic for maximum impact

Let‘s dig in…

Why It‘s Critical to Enable Invite Friends

Here are the key reasons integrating member invitations needs to be on your radar:

Significantly Higher Conversion Rates

When evaluating traffic sources across thousands of sites, web referral signups from invites convert 4x higher than even targeted advertising:

With 1 in 12 invitees signing up on average, the ROI potential is exceptional.

Viral Member Growth

Every new member you acquire can then invite their own connections, triggering exponential viral growth. This is why networks like Facebook experienced massive early expansion.

When you combine higher conversions with each person inviting multiple friends, you get compounded member gains over time through word-of-mouth marketing.

Increased Engagement and Retention

Statistics show users acquired from invites have 65% higher engagement and 25% higher retention long-term versus non-referred users.

People who join at a friend‘s suggestion tend to be more intrinsically motivated, participating more actively in the community.

Reduces Acquisition Costs

Paid advertising and other member acquisition channels can become expensive, especially for early-stage platforms.

Leveraging your existing members to promote your community to their trusted social circles cuts down on marketing spend significantly.

Brand Advocates Drive Growth

Every user who sends successful invites becomes a brand champion, actively promoting you within their networks and distributing your content.

Competition Already Using It

The vast majority of popular social platforms and content sites actively encourage member invites:

Facebook, Dropbox, Evernote, Reddit, Slack, Discord, LinkedIn, MeetUp, Yelp – the list goes on.

You need this capability to compete and unlock exponential growth.

Now let‘s explore your options to enable invites…

Method 1: Simple Sidebar Invitation Form

The easiest way to add user invites is by placing a submission form in your website‘s sidebar or widget area. This lets you capture invite emails from members to trigger automated notifications.

We‘ll build this using WPForms, the most popular WordPress form builder.

Benefits:

✅ Extremely easy to set up
✅ Works on any WordPress site
✅ Completely customizable invite email

Limitations:

❌ No analytics on who invited who
❌ BuddyPress integration not as robust

Here‘s how to get it going:

Step 1: Install and Activate WPForms

Login to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New. Search for "WPForms" and click the "Install Now" button.

Once installation completes, click "Activate" to enable the plugin.

Step 2: Create Invitation Form

In the WPForms menu, click "Add New" to create a blank form. Give your form a name like "Invite Friends Form".

Next, drag an Email field onto the blank form editor from the Fields section.

Then configure field:

• Label: Enter "Invite Your Friends".
• Description: "Enter emails to send an invite".
• Size: Set to "Large".

This makes the field fill widget width.

Step 3: Set Up Automated Invite Email

Navigate to WPForms > Settings > Notifications to configure the automated email guests receive.

Key settings:

• Send To: {field_id="1"} uses submitted emails
• From Name: {user_first_name}
• Reply To: {user_email}
• Message: Custom text and site invite link

This handles the entire notification process!

Step 4: Embed Form in Sidebar

Go to Appearance > Widgets and drag the WPForms widget onto a sidebar. Select the invite contacts form you just created.

That‘s it! Users can now easily refer friends from your website sidebar.

When they submit invites, a confirmation message displays thanking them, and you can track submissions under WPForms > Entries.

Going Further

• Use WPForms Conversational Forms for a multi-step process.
• Store submissions with WPForms Analytics to uncover data and trends.
• Create dedicated landing pages for invites using SeedProd.

Now let‘s explore enabling more advanced invites…

Method 2: Baked-In Invites for BuddyPress Networks

If your WordPress site uses the BuddyPress plugin to power a social community, you can leverage its powerful platform tools to manage invites.

The Invite Anyone plugin makes invites simple to set up.

Benefits:

✅ Full integration with BuddyPress UI
✅ Users invite friends from their profile
✅ Control permissions and limits
✅ View invite analytics

Limitations:

❌ Only works with BuddyPress installs
❌ Added complexity to configure

Here is how you can enable native BuddyPress invites:

Step 1: Download and Activate Invite Anyone

In your WP dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New. Search for "Invite Anyone" and click "Install Now".

Once installed, click "Activate" to enable the plugin.

Step 2: Configure Global Invitation Defaults

Go to Settings > Invite Anyone to set up default preferences:

• Edit automated email content
• Limit sending abilities by role
• Control invite count per member

This gives you granular control.

Step 3: Members Can Send Invites

Users will now see a "Send Invites" tab on their BuddyPress profile. They can select groups to join and enter friend emails.

Automated notifications are sent on their behalf.

Step 4: Track Invitation Analytics

Dive into full analytics on all invites sent network-wide via your WP dashboard in the Invite Anyone menu.

Filter and segment data, and even resend invites. This level of tracking is extremely valuable.

You now have referral functionality baked into the BuddyPress community experience!

Maximizing Impact

To optimize the performance of your referral program:

🔹 Create dedicated landing pages for invites using SeedProd page builder.

🔹 Follow up with both members AND recipients using WPForms + Mailchimp.

🔹 Retarget visitors who don‘t initially convert with ThirstyAffiliates.

🔹 Identify your top member advocates with MonsterInsights analytics.

Now it‘s time to put these tactics into action!

Which Invitation Method is Right for You?

So should you add a simple sidebar form, or tap into BuddyPress tools?

Here is a comparison to help decide:

If you want quick invites without needing analytics, use a sidebar form.

For advanced networks leveraging BuddyPress, take advantage of native functionality and in-depth reporting.

Either approach can drive exponential growth through member invites on WordPress!

Now it‘s your turn.

Adding Invites to Your WordPress Site

Now you‘re armed with a complete guide on empowering member referrals in WordPress.

It‘s time to put these tactics into play by:

🚀 Choosing the right invite approach for your platform goals

🚀 Installing the necessary WordPress plugins

🚀 Configuring automated invite notifications

🚀 Embedding forms or enabling social community access

🚀 Creating landing pages to convert traffic

Then watch your member growth accelerate!

What techniques have you used to boost member acquisition through invites? I‘d love to hear what‘s worked for you in the comments below!