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WordPress – Plugins
The plugins used on the site:
| Plugin Name | Admin Bar Location | What It Does | Where Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Better Notifications for WP (BNFW) | Notifications | Allows overriding the default WP emails to users and admins. | New User Registration – For User: Overrides the default WP email to a new user with the wp-admin link embedded in the email, to instead link to the reset-password page to initially set a new user password. |
| Broken Link Checker | Settings: Link Checker, Dashboard: Broken Link Checker | Goes through the content pages and looks for broken links. Sends alert emails to admin. | Site wide |
| Bug Library | Bugs | A website bug/ feature request plugin. | I intend to use this to document changes to the website using the Changelog category. Some day, we might add the ability to the User Home|Website Feedback page for members to report bugs, typos, request features, etc. |
| Caldera Forms | Caldera Forms | A very comprehensive form building plugin. I like it as it has conditional logic (don’t show Residence Address unless Live in Bellevue is checked), and lots of advanced features. | Access Request (new member), Website Feedback, Request CERT Support (and all forms). Caldera may sunset as a free plugin, and then will use another. |
| Code Manager | Code Manager | Allows hard-coded HTML or PHP in WP. | 3/26/23: Not sure if this is being used? |
| Content Views | Content Views | Pre-defines views of content (pages, posts). A “query” in database terminology. | Pre-defined views of posts that have a specific neighborhood category on a post. Used on the Area Team <neighborhood> pages to show only posts that are categorized for that neighborhood. |
| Enable Media Replace | Media: Library: <select>: Upload a new file | Allows you to upload an updated version of a picture, document using the same name. Thus you don’t have to update any of the page links that point to this picture/document. | Nowhere directly. |
| File Manager Advanced | File Manager | GUI for working directly with file system of WP server. | Used to upload updates to GeoLite2-Country.mmdb database for iQ Country plugin to reject non-US web requests. 1) https://www.maxmind.com/en/accounts/418452/geoip/downloads page download GeoLite2 Country GZIP 2) Win10 Admin CMD: tar -xvzf geolite2-country_YYYYMMDD.tar.gz 3) Using File Manager, upload to /wp-content/uploads |
| Frontend Reset Password | DELETED | Worked for a while, then stopped working. | |
| Hide Admin Bar From Front End | Settings: Hide/Show Admin Bar | Turns off the top admin bar for members on the public site. | Site wide. |
| ImageLinks | ImageLinks | Makes areas of a picture clickable hyper links. | Neighborhood map on Area Teams page. |
| Insert HTML Snippet | XYZ Html | Allows insertion of custom HTML code, such as a script tag not normally allowed in WP. | I don’t think this is being used right now |
| iQ Block Country | Settings: iQ Block Country | Uses a database of IP addresses to block access to the website | Configured to only allow front-end and back-end access from US |
| Knowledge Base for Documents and FAQs | Knowledge Base | Adds a documents/ FAQ/ Wiki/ capability. | Right now, I’m using it for these administrative notes to document website administration on the backend. In the future, we could add FAQs/Wiki for members. Maybe allow them to add content. |
| Koko Analytics | Dashboard: Analytics, Dashboard | Simple analytics on pageviews, visitors, etc. | Administrative backend only. |
| Limit Login Attempts Reloaded | Settings: Limit Login Attempts | Locks out a user with too many wrong password attempts. | |
| Login With Ajax | Settings: Login With Ajax | Gives the pretty Login page for Login rather than the wp-admin page interface. | Login, Forgot Password? |
| Participants Database | Participants Database | This is the “meat” of the member management system. I chose this plugin because it has very robust database capabilities. There are lots of “Membership Management” plugins, but this one gives you a lot of control over database fields. | All of the membership management functions. |
| Participants Database Custom Templates | nowhere | Adds some custom templates for displaying PDB data, and creates additional folders in the server file system so local edits are not overwritten by plugin or WP updates. | server file system |
| Participants Database Email Expansion Kit | Adds additional abilities to email members in the PDB. | I haven’t installed this yet, but probably will to be able to send email to selected member types (Board only, all CERT, etc.) | |
| Participants Database Locations Map | Participants Database: Locations Map | Adds Google maps to PDB lists. | Member List (Lead) and Member List (Board) pages |
| Participants Database Participant Log | Participants Database: Participant Log | Adds member-specific sub-databases to a PDB member record. | Training Log, Volunteer Log |
| Participants Database WordPress User Profile | Participants Database: WordPress User Profile | Links the PDB member record and WordPres User Profile by first name, last name, username and email. | Crucially, if a CERT member changes their email address in PDB, this plugin synchronizes that change into the WP User Profile so it changes their login and Reset Password links. |
| PDB WP User Shortcodes | nowhere | Adds two additional shortcodes to PDB: pdb_user_list, pdb_user_record | pdb_user_record is used on the <username> Profile page to display the member’s editable PDB record. |
| Post SMTP | Post SMTP | Plugin to modify send email function from the default PHP_Mailer to the more reliable SMTP protocol. | All email sending functions. |
| Restrict Content | “Restrict this content” on each page in editor | Restricts content to WP User Roles: Administrator (website) Editor = CERT Board Author = Area Lead Contributor = Team Member Subscriber = Individual Member None = publicly viewable page | 3/26/23 Kurt: This plugin is questionable. It crashed entire site 3/25 & 26. “Content Control” is a similar plugin by same people as “User Menus” so I trust it more. But I like the each-page configuration of this rather than the global config of Content Control. |
| Smart Custom 404 Error Page | Appearance: 404 Error Page | Adds a custom 404 (page not found) error page, overriding the default theme 404 page. No search on the custom page improves security. | |
| SP Project & Document Manager | not activated | I think this would be a good “document sharing” plugin, but never got around to testing it. | |
| Teamup Calendar | Add a Classic Editor block, then Teamup Calendar button | Displays content from the Teamup website for a specific account. I created a free Teamup account for CERT. | Calendar, Calendar (Board) pages. The latter allows editing the calendar on the frontend. |
| User Menus | Appearance: Menus | This is what is filtering the menus available based on the WP User Role. | Menus |
| User Role Editor | not active | Edit WP user roles and permissions | |
| User Submitted Posts | Settings: User Submitted Posts | Allows users to create and view posts on the frontend without having to go to wp-admin | Posts page, Area Team <neighborhood> pages |
| WP Activity Log | WP Activity Log | Logs and displays significant events in WP | Website admin use. Seems worthwhile to keep. |
| WP Data Access | WP Data Access | Edit WP database tables directly. | I use to edit the “Area” table for data drive area pages. |
| WP File Manager | DELETED | Caused a conflict with add_user() of PDB User Profile plugin | |
| WP Hide & Security Enhancer | WP Hide | Hide default URLs and pages for better security | Haven’t configured yet |
| WP Last Modified Info | Settings: WP Last Modified Info | Generates the “Last Updated on YYYY-MM-DD” on the bottom of content pages. | I like this as a user to see when the last time a page/post was updated. Gives the user a “warm fuzzy” that the website is an up-to-date happenin’ place. |
| WP Responsive Recent Post Slider/Carousel | Recent Post Slider | Makes the Posts display slider/carousel | CERT Home page |
| wpForo | not active | A leading contender for a comprehensive, user-friendly Post/Bulletin Board environment. Haven’t tested yet. | |
| xnau Plugin Updates | ? | Apparently keeps all xnau (PDB) plugins updated. | |
| Yoast Duplicate Post | Settings: Duplicate Post | Creates a clone of an existing page/post that you can then edit. | Much easier to edit a clone page that is already working than building a new one from scratch. |
| Yoast SEO | Yoast SEO | (Search Engine Optimization) | Loaded on trial basis, to disable individual user’s author page |