Template Overrides

The plugin loads all of its display templates through bp_suggestions_load_template(), which checks your theme directory first. This means you can customize the output without editing plugin files.

How template loading works

When the plugin needs to render a layout, it resolves the template file in this order:

Child theme — {child-theme}/buddypress-friend-follow-suggestions/{filename}
Parent theme — {parent-theme}/buddypress-friend-follow-suggestions/{filename}
Plugin fallback — {plugin}/templates/{filename}

If neither theme directory contains the file, the plugin uses its own template.

Overridable templates

Template file	Purpose	Used by
`list-layout.php`	Vertical list of suggestion cards	List widget, `[bp_friend_suggestions layout="list"]`
`horizontal-layout.php`	Horizontal Swiper slider	Horizontal slider widget
`horizontal-slider-layout.php`	Full-featured Swiper with nav/pagination	Swiper widget variant

Creating a theme override

Copy the template you want to modify from the plugin into your theme:

# Example: override the list layout
mkdir -p your-theme/buddypress-friend-follow-suggestions/
cp wp-content/plugins/buddypress-friend-follow-suggestion/templates/list-layout.php \
   wp-content/themes/your-theme/buddypress-friend-follow-suggestions/list-layout.php

Edit the copy in your theme. The plugin will automatically pick it up — no configuration required.

Variables available in templates

Every template receives a $settings array. The keys present depend on whether the template is loaded by a widget or shortcode:

Key	Type	Source	Description
`suggest`	`string`	All	`'friends'` or `'follow'`
`limit`	`int`	All	Maximum members to display
`show_reset_button`	`bool`	Widget	Whether to show the “Show New People” button
`swiper_autoplay`	`bool`	Swiper widget	Enable autoplay
`swiper_autoplay_delay`	`int`	Swiper widget	Delay in milliseconds
`swiper_loop`	`bool`	Swiper widget	Enable continuous loop
`swiper_slides_per_view`	`int`	Swiper widget	Visible slides at once
`swiper_space_between`	`int`	Swiper widget	Gap between slides (px)
`swiper_show_navigation`	`bool`	Swiper widget	Show prev/next arrows
`swiper_show_pagination`	`bool`	Swiper widget	Show dot pagination
`swiper_centered_slides`	`bool`	Swiper widget	Center-align slides

UX settings (dismiss button, match details) are read directly from BFFS_UX inside the template — they are not passed through $settings.

Gutenberg block template override

The bffs/suggestions block uses a separate render file that also supports theme overrides:

{theme}/buddypress-friend-follow-suggestion/blocks/suggestions/render.php

Note the singular form (buddypress-friend-follow-suggestion) rather than the plural form used by widget/shortcode templates. The block’s render file is a thin loader — copy the plugin’s blocks/suggestions/render.php and place it at the path above.

Using template actions in overrides

Rather than copying full templates, consider hooking into the template actions to inject content at specific points. This approach survives plugin updates without requiring you to re-merge template changes:

// Add a "New Member" badge after every avatar, without overriding the template
add_action( 'bffs_after_member_avatar', function( $member_id, $settings ) {
    $registered = get_userdata( $member_id )->user_registered;
    if ( strtotime( $registered ) > strtotime( '-7 days' ) ) {
        echo '<span class="bffs-new-member-badge">' . esc_html__( 'New', 'your-text-domain' ) . '</span>';
    }
}, 10, 2 );

CSS classes to target

All layouts output consistent class names. Use these in your theme stylesheet to adjust appearance:

Class	Element
`.bffs_swiper_layout_wrapper`	Swiper container
`.bffs_horizontal_layout`	Horizontal layout container
`#members-list`	List/horizontal layout `<ul>` or `<div>`
`.bffs-slide.swiper-slide`	Individual slide in Swiper layout
`.item-entry`	Individual member card (`bp_member_class()` target)
`.item-avatar`	Avatar wrapper
`.item-title.fn`	Member name
`.bffs-dismiss-suggestion`	“Not Interested” button
`.bffs-show-match-details`	“Show Match Details” button
`.bffs-match-details-container`	Expandable match details panel
`.bffs-reset-container`	“Show New People” button wrapper
`.bffs-reset-suggestions`	“Show New People” button
`.member-status.online`	Online indicator dot

RTL support

All built-in templates use is_rtl() to load RTL-specific stylesheets. If you replace a template, keep the RTL stylesheet loading in place:

if ( is_rtl() ) {
    wp_enqueue_style( 'your-bffs-rtl', get_stylesheet_directory_uri() . '/css/bffs-rtl.css' );
}