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GPLWP Guides

Right. How do I actually do that?

Step-by-step guides for the jobs WordPress makes harder than they should be — and the tools that do them for you when you would rather not.

Guides
293
Steps written
1,716
Tools compared
295
Topics
20

Latest guides

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How to run an affiliate program for WordPress memberships

WordPress alone cannot track membership referrals, commissions, refunds, and recurring payments. You can run a small programme manually with partner c…

1 tool
How to restrict downloads to members on WordPress

WordPress does not protect a Media Library file just because its page is members-only. For real member-only downloads, store the file behind authentic…

1 tool
How to build a disability service website with WordPress

You can build a disability service website in WordPress without a special plugin: use an accessible theme, clear service pages, a simple menu and an e…

1 tool
How to build a wedding website in WordPress

You can build a wedding website manually with a block theme, WordPress pages, a navigation menu, gallery blocks and an RSVP form plugin. For the fast…

1 tool
How to gamify user engagement in WordPress

WordPress does not include a points, badge or level system, so you must either build one with custom code or use a gamification plugin. Custom code is…

1 tool
How to customize cookie consent banners on WordPress

Customize the banner text, buttons, colours and layout in the cookie-consent plugin that powers it, then use WordPress Additional CSS for finer design…

1 tool
How to share inventory across WooCommerce products

WooCommerce does not natively share one stock pool across separate products. You can keep related options under one variable product, but separate lis…

1 tool
How to display custom fields in WordPress

WordPress stores custom fields as post meta. In a theme template, retrieve a value with get_post_meta() and output it after checking that it exists. F…

1 tool
How to add a custom sidebar to a WordPress site

You can add a custom sidebar manually by registering a widget area and loading it in your theme template. Classic themes need PHP and usually a child…

1 tool
How to streamline WordPress admin tasks

You can streamline many WordPress admin tasks without a plugin by tailoring dashboard screens, using suitable user roles, scheduling routine work, and…

1 tool
How to bulk import members in WordPress

WordPress can bulk-import core users with WP-CLI, but it does not automatically create membership records, levels, subscriptions or custom member fiel…

1 tool
How to create custom user registration forms in WordPress

WordPress can handle basic account registration, but custom fields, front-end layouts, profile editing, email verification, and conditional fields nee…

1 tool

What’s in every guide

  1. The short answerWhat the answer actually is, before any steps. If the honest answer is “you need a plugin”, it says so up top.
  2. What you needThe prerequisites, so you find out about them now rather than four steps in.
  3. The stepsIncluding the manual route where one exists, with the parts that make it annoying left in.
  4. Tools that do this jobEvery product we have covered that solves this task — a list that grows as we cover more.
  5. SourcesThe documentation each step was checked against, so you can verify it yourself.

By topic

How this works

01

The job comes first, not the product

A guide is about a task you are trying to finish. Whether a product is involved is a detail, and sometimes the answer is that you do not need one.

02

The manual route stays in

Where a job can be done without installing anything, we show you how — including why it is irritating. A tutorial that opens with “install this plugin” is an advert.

03

Guides get better with age

Several products usually do the same job. Rather than publish a page for each, we keep one guide and add each tool as we cover it. The comparison at the bottom keeps growing.