Grow Beyond Posts & Pages

Introduction to the Pods FrameworkA Content Development Framework for

Jim True, @jimtrueSupport Lead,

Community & Project Manager @podsframework

http://pods.io

Our Story Starts with YOU, a WordPress Developer

Our Story Starts with YOU, a WordPress Developer

You have a few Local Websites

Then they start GROWING...

You could add more PAGES...● Too much maintenance● Too easy to make mistakes● Duplicating content over and over● Lacks good SEO and really isn’t the

“WordPress Way”

Or you could find a PLUGIN...● Too much overhead and maintenance● Too hard to match your theme● Too hard to train your users because each

one has a different interface

What IF...You could just enter your stuffONCE on the back-end and place it where you wantANYWHERE on the site?

Pods to the RESCUE!

Pods makes this easy & logical• Add Custom Post Types & Taxonomies as Pods

without any Coding• Add Custom Fields to those Pods• Link Pod to Pod (Relationships)• Change Fields & Pod definitions on the Fly, if you

need more fields or new relationships between other Pods

• Extend existing Post Types: Users, Media, Comments, Posts, Pages… even Custom Post Types from other Plugins!

The Pods Process

The Four P’s:• Plan your Pods based on your Content Strategy• Pods it! Create your Pods based on your Data Model• Populate your Pods with your data• Prototype the output with Pods Templates

What is a Custom Post Type?Posts, Pages, Media & Menu Items are ALL Post Types:

?post_type=post?post_type=page?post_type=attachment?post_type=nav_menu_item

From the WordPress Codex:https://codex.wordpress.org/Post_Types

Plan

CONTENT is the KEY• Think of the DATA you’re trying to represent

in a Logical, Structural way• You’re looking at it as usable, searchable,

organizedCONTENT

• You also don’t want to enter ANYTHING more than once.

Plan

Content Strategy

Thinking (and Planning) the Content you’ll use for your Website presented in a usable way for your users, their clients and the web (SEO)

Plan

CONTENT Modeling & Strategy

• How you structure your Data for presentation & organization is Content Modeling

• How you use it and interact with it and how your audience will use it on your site defines yourContent Strategy

Plan

GYM Content Model

● Address● City● State● GeoCode (for Maps)● Phone #● Gym Manager

Plan

SALON Content Model

● Name● Bio● Picture

● Service Name

● Description● Price● Picture

Plan

MUSEUM Content Model

● Event Date● Event Name● Description● EventBrite URL

Plan

Installing Pods

From WordPress.org:https://wordpress.org/plugins/pods/

From GitHub Repo [Latest!]:https://github.com/pods-framework/podshttp://pods.io/latest/

Pods it!

Building with Pods (Pods it!)

1.Create your Custom Post Types with Pods2.Add Custom Fields to the Pods3.Optionally: Add Relationships Pod to Pod &/or

Custom Taxonomy4.Populate your Pods

- Using the WordPress Admin screens- No training needed for your end users

Pods it!

DEMOCreating Pods

Pods it!& Populate

RelationshipsWith Pods you can create Relationships between Custom Post Types, Taxonomies, Users, Anything

• Staff to Services (1 staff multiple Services 1-M)

• Appointment to Staff (1 Appt - 1 Staff 1-1)• Students to Classes (Many Students can

register for Multiple Classes M-M )Pods allows you to display and reference related content together in multiple ways.

Plan

SALON Content Model w/Relationships

● Name● Bio● Picture● SERVICES

● Service Name

● Price● Picture● STAFF

There is a RELATIONSHIP between Staff & Services. Each Staff member can perform multiple Services. Each Service can be performed by multiple Staff.

Plan

DEMORelationships

What is a Custom Taxonomy?Taxonomy is just a fancy name for a System of Classification

• Species > Sub-Species > Family, etc. Used in Anatomy

• WordPress: Categories & Tags• Gym: Class > Class Type (Group Fitness,

Aerobic)• Salon: Services > Service Type (Hair, Nails,

Facial)• Franchise: Locations > Region (City, State)From the WordPress Codex:https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies

Plan

MUSEUM Content Model

● Event Date● Event Name● Description● EventBrite URL● Event Type [Taxonomy]

Event Type is ASSOCIATED with the Calendar Post Type as a Custom Taxonomy. It will be used to Classify the events: Art Shows, Receptions, Openings, etc.

Plan

DEMOCustom Taxonomy

Pods Templates• Activated under Pods Admin, Components,

Templates• Provides a Template Editor for Creating re-

usable ‘content’ blocks to display your Pods Data

• You can then use these Pods Templates with the Pods Shortcode, Pods Widgets or with Auto Templates

Prototype

Magic Tags

Blend of HTML with “Magic Tags”, ex:Custom Field: {@field_name}Relationship: {@related_field.field_in_other_pod}Taxonomy Object: {@taxonomy-type.name}WordPress Object: {@post_title}, {@post_thumbnail}

Example:<a href=”{@permalink}”>{@post_title}</a>

Prototype

Template TagsCan use Conditional Tags like:[each][/each][if][else][/if]

Example: [each staff_member] <li>{@staff_name} - {@phone_number}</li>[/each]

For Reference:http://pods.io/docs/build/using-magic-tags/http://pods.io/docs/build/special-magic-tags/http://pods.io/docs/build/template-tags-in-pods-templates/

Prototype

Displaying Pods w/Templates

• Pods Shortcode[pods name=”staff” template=”Staff List”]

• Pods WidgetsPods - Single Item, List Item, Field Value or Form

• Auto TemplatesActivated under each Edit Pod Screen, tab ‘Auto Templates’Uses the_content filter to display your Pods Template within the theme.

Prototype

DEMOPrototype with Pods Templates

What else can you do with Pods?• Custom Settings Pages

Useful for adding Customizer ‘like’ settings for adding content the user will manage but you don’t want them to mess up the style (ie, Business Hours, Social Links)

• Extending UsersUseful for when a Staff Directory needs to link to the user’s of your website, so you don’t have to enter data twice or you want to show who’s working on a given day.

What else can you do with Pods?

• Extending MediaGreat for categorizing your Media Library or for associating certain images to other post types for easy gallery display

• Extending Other PluginsMaybe you need additional fields for WooCommerce Products or Variations and don’t want to buy an extension or you need to ‘link’ Products to Users (like an Etsy store)

Multiple Ways to Work with Pods• WordPress Theme Hierarchy (

http://wphierarchy.com)• WordPress Meta Functions & the Loop• Pods API (Find, Fetch, Field & Display)• Pods REST API (under Development)• Plugins: Conductor, Easy Pods, FacetWP, Gravity

Forms any many other plugins that work with default WordPress Custom Post Types & Taxonomies

How to get Help with Pods

On our Website:http://pods.io/forums/

On Slack Chat:http://pods.io/chat/ http://podswp.slack.com #support

On WordPress.org:http://wordpress.org/support/plugin/pods/

We are a FREE Plugin (no paywall)