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Toolset – Now Everyone is a WordPress Developer

One of the first things new users to WordPress worry about is that it will be too difficult for them to build the exact website they have in mind. Thanks to Toolset, that is no longer a concern. Toolset is the perfect set of tools (pardon the pun) for anyone hoping to build a professional website regardless of whether they are a coding wizard or novice.

This article was written by our experts using our in-depth analysis methodology.

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One of the first things new users to WordPress worry about is that it will be too difficult for them to build the exact website they have in mind.

Thanks to Toolset, that is no longer a concern.

Toolset is the perfect set of tools (pardon the pun) for anyone hoping to build a professional website regardless of whether they are a coding wizard or novice.

Plus, WP Mayor readers can get an exclusive 20% discount when they purchase Toolset.

With Toolset, you can add all of the features a custom website needs without using any PHP or Javascript. Are you looking to add a custom search? Front-end forms? Maps? Custom post types? You can do it all with just Toolset.

Not only is it easier to build websites, it’s faster too. What once took weeks will now take hours thanks to Toolset.

Toolset is composed of a number of different plugins that are completely integrated with each other. Below we’ll go through them and how each one will help you build your website.

Are you concerned this sounds too complex? Worry not because Toolset has created several video training courses that will teach you how to build many of the features we mention below.

Toolset Blocks

Toolset Blocks is the perfect companion to the WordPress Block editor, also known as Gutenberg. With Toolset Blocks and Gutenberg, you can build all elements of your website using blocks.

For example, imagine you want to add a heading to your page. With Gutenberg’s blocks, you simply select the “Heading” block, add it to the page and type in your heading.

Toolset Blocks takes this further and does something no other block plugin can do. You can use Toolset Blocks to make your content dynamic. For example, if you run a travel website you might need to design a template for your trips so that each one has the same design. When you click on a trip to Venice you will not want to see different information to a post about London even if it has the same template. This is possible thanks to Toolset Blocks and dynamic content.

Toolset offers the following blocks with dynamic capabilities:

  • Heading
  • Single field
  • Image
  • View
  • Button
  • Content template
  • Form
  • Map
  • Audio
  • Conditional
  • Container
  • Countdown
  • Fields and Text
  • Progress indicator
  • Repeating field/gallery
  • Social share
  • Star rating
  • Video

Toolset also has two unique blocks that you cannot find anywhere else. The Container Block lets you style groups of blocks together including the padding, font, and background. Meanwhile, the Conditional Block allows you to display or hide blocks based on conditions. For example, on our travel website, we might need a block to appear for any trips that are available on special offer.

Toolset Types

This is the cornerstone of Toolset functionality. It allows you to go beyond the simple posts and pages that WordPress provides out-of-the-box, and create entirely new post types representing anything you can imagine, from directory listings to testimonials to hotel bookings.

These are called Custom Post Types, CPTs for short, and you use them to create custom posts. The CPT, defined by you, controls what types of data these custom posts contain, who gets access to them, and how they relate to one another.

You use Custom Fields to define the types of information that will be requested every time a new custom post is created of a particular CPT. If you create a CPT called Movie, you might ask for Custom Fields such as Title, Release Date, Plot, Budget, etc.

You use Custom Taxonomies to define a new taxonomy type, to use alongside the two standard WordPress taxonomy types: Categories and Tags. For instance, if you were designing an accommodation booking site, you might have created a Custom Post Type for properties. You can categorize each type of property with a “Property Types” custom taxonomy. You can then define which of your properties are apartments and which ones are cottages.

You use Post Relationships to define the relationships between your Custom Post Types. For example, you might have one CPT for Movies, and another CPT for Movie Directors. You could define a  One-to-Many Relationship that allows you to connect each Movie with a specific Movie Director, and Movie Director with all the Movies they directed.

These are all native WordPress features that you can customize by editing raw code, but the Toolset Types plugin allows you to do the same magic by pointing and clicking around a well-designed visual interface.

Toolset Forms

Forms is a powerful plugin that enables you to create custom front-end forms for your WordPress website. With this plugin, you can allow your visitors to submit content, register for an account, or edit their existing content.

You can build forms using a drag-and-drop interface, which makes it easy to add different input fields, like text boxes, dropdowns, radio buttons, and more. Plus, you can set up conditional logic to display or hide fields based on user input. For example, you might only want to show an “upload file” field if a user indicates they have a document to share.

Toolset Forms
Toolset Forms

Another useful feature of Forms is the ability to validate user input. This means you can make sure that users are providing the correct information before their submission is accepted. For instance, you can require that an email address follows a standard format or set a minimum length for a password.

Toolset Access

Toolset Access allows you to control who gets to see what is on your site, applying different rules to different WordPress user types. This is often called “role management”.

With Access, you can create custom user roles and assign specific capabilities to each role. This might include things like viewing or editing certain content, creating new posts, or managing comments. You can also limit access to specific custom post types, taxonomies, or fields, allowing you to create a tailored experience for different user groups.

For example, let’s say you have a membership site. You might create a custom role called “Premium Member” that has access to exclusive content not available to regular users. With Access, it’s easy to set up and manage these permission levels.

Toolset Maps

The Maps plugin in the Toolset suite allows you to integrate Google Maps into your WordPress website. It’s a great way to display geographic information, like store locations, event venues, or any other map-related data.

One of the standout features of the Maps plugin is its ability to connect map markers with custom post types and fields. This means you can associate specific locations with your custom content, making it easy for users to find information relevant to their needs.

For example, if you run a real estate website, you can create a custom post type for properties, and then display those properties on a map using markers. Users can click on a marker to view details about a specific property, like its price, size, and features.

Additionally, Maps offers several customization options to make your maps fit seamlessly with your site’s design. You can choose from different map styles, customize the appearance of markers, and even create custom info windows.

Toolset Maps
Toolset Maps

Try Toolset

We’ve teamed up with the team behind Toolset, the page builder which lets you build WordPress sites without coding, to offer you an exclusive 20% discount.

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Final Thoughts

In upcoming articles within this series, we will take a look at the many other tools and integrations that make Toolset so powerful but, for now, in those five plugins – Blocks, Types, Forms, Access, and Maps – you have the heart of it, and I hope that I have at least planted in your mind the possibility that you could jump to an entirely new level of WordPress skill and ability without needing to become a coder.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying it will be easy, there is always a learning curve when you try to develop powerful new skills – not having to code doesn’t make the whole thing simple – but you might perhaps now, at least, have the sense that you will be in good hands if you Toolset.

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Donnacha is a freelance writer at Effective Text who combines a deep understanding of technology and business with the rare ability to convey complicated ideas in a clear, engaging manner. He believes that the natural SEO of good writing is the most effective way for companies to build their visibility and credibility online. He has been an active member of the WordPress community since 2005 and is a regular contributor to WP Mayor.

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3 Responses

  1. Hi,
    I have been working with toolset for over three years. I started with the free version but I moved quickly to the paid version. The plugin has really evolved during the years. Its bad when something which is free is not free anymore. To use the free version you needed to be really good at coding which Im not.. I believe the the plugin is worth the investment as it saves a lot of time and effort when developing new webpages.
    /Johan

  2. Avoid this plugin like the plague – Toolset Types has been freely available on WPML, but now they have a user base of 200,000+ Active installations its time for the snatch and grab technique.

    They will be removing their plugin at the end of 2018 from WPML and charging users $70 per site! I mean think of the cash, 200,000 times $70 means we are rich boys :):)

    No light version, no options other than to fully remove this plugin and migrate to another supplier. Their CEO @amir (Amir Helzer) is quoted on December 14 2017 at 5:57pm saying ‘avoid using Types on new projects’

    1. Hi Jenna, thanks for taking the time to comment.

      I understand your concern but, to be fair to the makers of Toolset, they made all that clear on the WordPress.org page for the free plugin. It is not at all unusual for the makers of a free plugin to decide to discontinue it, but most don’t even bother to announce it, they simply stop updating it or providing support.

      Offering to keep updating and supporting it for more than a year after deciding it was no longer worth their while is a real courtesy to users, giving them time to make other arrangements. It is not as if there are not tons of other options out there, simply find one you like.

      My own opinion is that tools like this are about investing not just your money but, more importantly, your time. Any tool like this is about enabling you to do things far faster than you could if you had to code. They provide not only the code but, also, the learning tools. If you sit down for a few weeks and truly master Toolset, or Elementor, or any similar product, you should then be able to undertake projects which will earn you back the cost of the paid version within a few hours.

      I cannot imagine any situation in which it would be worth someone’s while to spend the time necessary to master the free version but not worth their while to buy the paid version.

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