Using Hashtags

Hashtags let members tag their content so others can find it. Type the # symbol followed by a word and the plugin automatically turns it into a clickable link pointing to all content with that tag.

Where Hashtags Work

Hashtags are converted to links in:

BuddyPress activity updates
BuddyPress activity comments
bbPress forum topics and replies
WordPress posts, pages, and comments (when “Enable Blog Hashtags” is on)

Each content type uses a separate search destination when a hashtag is clicked:

Activity hashtags go to the activity directory filtered by that search term
bbPress hashtags go to the bbPress forum search results
Post/page hashtags use WordPress search

How to Create a Hashtag

Type # immediately followed by a keyword, with a space before it:

Just finished my morning run! #fitness #running
Check out our new theme for #WordPress sites.

The plugin converts the #word to a link when the content is saved or displayed. Nothing special is needed beyond typing the # sign.

Hashtag Format Rules

What is Allowed

Allowed	Not Allowed
Letters (a-z, A-Z)	Spaces (a space ends the hashtag)
Numbers (0-9)	Periods, exclamation marks
Underscores `_`	Question marks and most punctuation
Hyphens `-`	Emoji characters (see note below)
Unicode / non-Latin characters*	Purely numeric strings (e.g., `#123`)

*Requires “International Language Support” to be enabled in General Settings.

Valid Examples

#WordPress - standard
#web_design - underscore allowed
#social-media - hyphen allowed
#2024goals - mixed letters and numbers
#learn2code - mixed letters and numbers

Invalid or Ignored

#hello world - the space stops the hashtag at #hello
#123 or #4567 - purely numeric strings are never converted
# followed by emoji - emoji characters are excluded from hashtag linking to avoid capturing HTML entity codes (like 😍) as spurious hashtags

Case Sensitivity

Hashtags are not case-sensitive. All of the following point to the same search results:

#WordPress
#wordpress
#WORDPRESS

Length Limits

By default:

Minimum: 3 characters
Maximum: 16 characters

A hashtag shorter than the minimum or longer than the maximum is left as plain text and not linked. You can change both values under WB Plugins > BuddyPress Hashtag > General.

When “International Language Support” is enabled, length limits are disabled to accommodate multi-byte character systems.

International Language Support

Enabling this setting in General Settings allows hashtags written in non-Latin scripts:

Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, and others
Any Unicode word characters

When this option is on, length restrictions are turned off automatically.

Note: Even with International Language Support on, emoji characters are not converted to hashtags.

How Links Are Formed

Activity Hashtags

Clicking a hashtag in BuddyPress activity takes you to:

/activity/?activity_search=%23hashtag

bbPress Hashtags

Clicking a hashtag in forum content takes you to the bbPress search:

/forums/search/%23hashtag

(The exact URL depends on your bbPress root slug and search slug settings.)

Blog Post / Page Hashtags

Hashtags in WordPress posts and pages link to:

/?s=%23hashtag

Unlike activity and forum content, blog-post hashtag links are generated in the browser using a list of hashtags that were indexed when the post was saved. A hashtag that appears in a post but was never indexed (for example, added to old content before the plugin was activated) will not become a link.

Searching for Content by Hashtag

You can click any hashtag link, or navigate directly to the search URL to see all content tagged with that term. The activity search URL accepts %23 (the URL-encoded #) as part of the search query.

What You See When There Are No Results

Activity directory: the standard “No activity found” BuddyPress message
bbPress search: the standard forum “no results” message
WordPress search: the standard theme search-results page with no posts listed

Empty State in Posts

If a post was published before this plugin was installed, hashtags in that post will appear as plain text because they were never indexed. To make them clickable, re-save the post after the plugin is active.

Setting	Location	Effect
Minimum Characters	General Settings	Shortest hashtag that gets linked
Maximum Characters	General Settings	Longest hashtag that gets linked
International Language Support	General Settings	Enables non-Latin hashtags; disables length limits
Enable Blog Hashtags	General Settings	Turns hashtag linking on/off for posts, pages, and comments
Enable bbPress Hashtags	General Settings	Turns hashtag linking on/off for forum topics and replies (only visible when bbPress is active)