One of the reasons we use WordPress for our websites is the availability of plugins to provide the functions and options our clients need. As we have built more websites, we have built up a list of plugins that we find reliable and work well. Some of the plugins we use have been built so that they can be extended. We have used this ability on several occasions to provide additional functions to our clients websites.
Below, we have described some of our bespoke plugins.
Extending WP Members
WP Members is our preferred membership plugin for straightforward membership sites. It provides the membership management facilities you would expect and integrates well with themes and other plugins. The developer has built in a lot of “hooks” to allow for expansion and we have made use of these to add extra options onto the system:
- Most small organisations run on an annual membership cycle. We have extended WP Members so that subscriptions terminate on a fixed date rather than on a rolling 12 month basis.
- Not all members are the same: we have added the option to have different categories of members with different subscriptions.
Organising contact emails
The key to providing a timely response to enquiries is to send it directly to the right place. This is particularly important when you are running a club and the officers are volunteers. We have extended one of the form plugins to do just that. It uses the subject of the enquiry to decide where to send the email.
Customising Paid Memberships Pro
For more complex membership models we use Paid Memberships Pro. While the plugin and its various add-ons cover a wide range of membership models, they do not claim to be comprehensive. Developers can hook into the code to cater for additional client requirements. We have extended all of our Paid Memberships Pro installations. Our customisations include:
- managing the information supplied on registration
- integrating membership with forums, galleries and public directories
- adding UK VAT to invoices
Tapping Eventbrite
Many businesses and organisations use Eventbrite to promote and manage their events. We wanted to make use of the published information without having to use cut and paste. The best plugin, Eventbrite API , is very much a “developer’s plugin” as it does not work out the box. We have built child themes for several clients which allow them to showcase their events on their website.
We have also built a plugin which puts Eventbrite images on a Meta Slider slider with links through to Eventbrite for more information and to book
As well as removing the need for cut and paste, the API takes care of removing the event once it has happened!
