Content Settings - Categories and Media
Configure how members interact with categories, featured images, and the activity stream. These settings help you maintain content quality while giving members flexibility.
What You’ll Learn
How to control category access for members How to configure media upload settings How to integrate with BuddyPress activity streams
Finding Content Settings
Go to Member Blog → Settings → Content & Categories in your WordPress admin.
Category Settings
Allow Custom Categories
SettingWhat HappensEnabledMembers can create new categories while writing postsDisabledMembers can only select from existing categories
Note: New categories created by members require admin approval before they appear site-wide.
Restricted Categories
Hide specific categories from members. They won’t see these in the category dropdown when creating posts.
How to select multiple: Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) while clicking categories.
Common restricted categories:
News - Only admins post official news Featured - Admin-curated featured posts only Announcements - Official site announcements Staff Posts - Internal staff content
Media Settings
Maximum Upload Size
SettingDetailsTypeNumber input (in MB)Default2 MBPurposeLimits featured image file size for member uploads
Important: This cannot exceed your server’s upload_max_filesize setting. If members still can’t upload larger files, check your PHP settings.
Delete Featured Images with Posts
SettingWhat HappensEnabledFeatured image removed from Media Library when post is deletedDisabledFeatured images remain in Media Library after post deletion
Recommendation: Enable this to save disk space, especially on sites with many active members.
Display Settings
Posts Per Page
SettingDetailsTypeNumber input (1-50)Default5 postsPurposeControls pagination in the member blog dashboard
Activity Stream Integration
Only visible if BuddyPress/BuddyBoss Activity component is active
SettingDetailsWhen EnabledNew published posts create activity entries in the BuddyPress streamActivity ShowsPost title, excerpt, and link to full post
PRO Feature: Member Blog Pro adds group activity integration, where posts linked to groups appear in that group’s activity stream.
When This Plugin Is Deleted
This is the only destructive control in the plugin, so it sits in its own outlined card at the bottom of the Content tab.
Deleting Member Blog always removes its own settings. Whether it also removes your members’ data is your choice, and the box is unticked by default.
SettingWhat HappensUntickedThe seven Member Blog tables are kept. Reading lists, follows, claps, view history, writer statistics and series progress all survive, and reinstalling picks them up againTickedThose tables are dropped and the plugin’s post data is removed, including saved editor blocks
Your blog posts themselves are never deleted either way. They are ordinary WordPress posts and stay in your site.
Two things worth knowing:
This runs on delete, not on deactivate. Deactivating the plugin to test a theme conflict never touches your data, whichever way the box is set. It cannot be undone. Take a database backup first if you are at all unsure. If you also run Member Blog Pro, this one setting covers both plugins. Pro reads the same answer, so you cannot accidentally agree to lose reading lists while assuming your members’ post credits are safe.
Related Docs
Admin Settings Overview Editor Settings Access Settings