WordPress is full of people you know, people you have met once, and people you would genuinely like to know better. The hard part has never been finding more names. It is seeing the paths between them.
That is why The WP World now has Friends… a first-party way for Pressers to build confirmed, two-way connections across the community.
This is not another follower count or a popularity contest. Friends is meant to answer a much more useful question: Who do I already know who might help me meet the right person?
Connections, not followers
Every friendship begins with a request. When you visit another Presser’s profile while logged in, you can select Add Friend. They can accept or decline, and the connection only becomes visible once both people have agreed.
That small distinction matters. A confirmed Friend is not someone who happened to click a follow button. It represents a real, two-way connection between two people in the WordPress community.
From there, you can:
- Send a Friend request
- Cancel a request you sent
- Accept or decline an incoming request
- Remove an existing Friend
- Re-send a request email if the first one gets buried
If a friendship is removed, it disappears for both people. You can always reconnect later with a new request. No drama, no public unfriending ceremony… just a clean reset.
The useful part: mutual Friends
Friend counts now appear on Presser profiles. Logged-out visitors can see the number, but the actual Friend list stays private to logged-in members.
Selecting the Friend count opens a list with profile photos, names, and links to each person’s Presser profile. A heart identifies people who are also Friends with you.
This turns a simple profile directory into something closer to a relationship map.
A big community becomes easier to navigate when you can see the trusted paths between people.
Imagine you want to meet Taylor. You notice that Jordan is Friends with both of you. Instead of sending a completely cold message, you can ask Jordan whether an introduction makes sense.
The introduction itself still happens through The WP World’s existing messenger. Friends does not try to replace conversations. It simply helps you understand where a conversation might begin.
Your connections in one place
Every member now has a dedicated My Friends page. It is divided into three straightforward sections:
- Friend Requests for incoming requests waiting on you
- Friends for confirmed connections
- Sent Requests for requests still waiting on someone else
Each person appears on a profile card with their avatar and name. Confirmed connections show when the friendship began, while pending requests show the date they were sent. Section counts make it easy to see what needs your attention without digging around.
Friend requests also come with dedicated email notifications. When someone accepts, both people get a celebratory nudge toward their new connection.
Private where it should be
Friends is built around linked Presser profiles and keeps the more personal parts behind a login.
Only logged-in members can view Friend lists, mutual Friend indicators, or connection controls. Logged-out visitors may see a Friend count, but they cannot open the list behind it.
Pending, declined, cancelled, and removed requests never appear publicly. They do not count toward totals, show up in mutual connections, or quietly linger where they should not.
A social layer without another social network
The goal here is not to turn The WP World into Facebook with more plugin opinions.
Profiles remain the center of identity. The existing Messenger remains the place for conversations and introduction requests. Friends adds the relationship layer that has been missing… a lightweight way to make a large, global community feel more human and approachable.
The WordPress community has always run on relationships. We meet at WordCamps, work together in contributor teams, help each other in Slack, trade recommendations, and make introductions. Friends gives some of those real-world connections a visible home on The WP World.
Start with the people you already know
If you already have a linked Presser profile, visit the Presser List, find a few people you know, and send your first requests. Then head to My Friends to manage incoming and sent requests.
Don’t worry about collecting everyone. Start with the people you would actually feel comfortable asking for an introduction, a recommendation, or a little WordPress wisdom.
That is the network worth building.