Advanced Workflow Solutions for Open-Sourced WordPress
WordPress clearly does not rely on any sort of introduction for web junkies like us. Launched in 2003 with a humble beginning, the graph of its growth has risen exponentially ever since. It is a popular Open-Sourced WordPress platform and is used extensively by bloggers, publishers and webmasters as well. WordPress no doubt is an extremely powerful tool but is limited in functionality when it comes to managing a proper editorial team, since its primary target audience is small time bloggers or small sites webmasters. Managing Editors and Publishers using WordPress are getting crushed under spreadsheets and emails.
They are spending more time managing administrative tasks than thinking strategically about their content. As a WordPress publisher I have always felt the need of a tool to automate some of the administrative tasks, so that my editorial team gets enough time to analyze the audience & think about the content. These are some of the advanced WordPress plugins and solutions which have helped me increase productivity manifold.
1. Content Cloud:
Content Cloud from Beta Out is one of the most favorable solutions for any serious publishers running WordPress sites. A plug and play cloud platform boasts seamless integration with WordPress. Custom workflows, resource sharing, content templates, real time activity feed, robust collaboration and a great UI are some of its features. is one of the best solutions for any serious publishers running WordPress sites. A plug and play cloud platform boasts seamless integration with Open-Sourced WordPress. Custom workflows, resource sharing, content templates, real time activity feed, robust collaboration and a great UI are some of its features.
They have fixed set of user roles – editors, authors, guest authors, copy editors, proofreaders and multimedia. User-roles can neither be edited nor can you create any additional user role. Editors are given Newsroom app while everyone else login to Workbench app. Workbench app is relatively minimalists when compared to Newsroom app – which helps in cutting the training time for the content team. While every other solution is trying to hack a single interface for every user. I loved the concept of designing two interfaces for editors and other team members and helping them focus on their real work. They have fixed set of user roles – editors, authors, guest authors, copy editors, proofreaders and multimedia. User-roles can neither be edited nor can you create any additional user role. Editors are given Newsroom app while everyone else login to Workbench app. Workbench app is relatively minimalists when compared to Newsroom app – which helps in cutting the training time for the content team. While every other solution is trying to hack a single interface for every user. I loved the concept of designing two interfaces for editors and other team members and helping them focus on their real work. Beta out also comes with an HTML5 app which they claim is fully functional on tablets, but I faced some difficulty on my iPad 1 and older Android devices. Though it is extremely fast on newer iPads. Beta out also comes with an HTML5 app which they claim is fully functional on tablets, but I faced some difficulty on my iPad 1 and older Android devices. Though it is extremely fast on newer iPads.
2. User Role Editor:
User Role Editor plugin is used as a one stop shop to manage various role capabilities of the content team. The plugin allows the administrator to upgrade or downgrade any user’s role from writer to editor or even a customized responsibility except the administrator rights. I would suggest this plugin for websites which promote users and editors depending on their quality and quantum of work. Various capabilities can be added to each individual user apart from assigning new roles in the publishing team by the simple click on the plugin page. This plugin is highly customized and even supports multiple websites at the same time.
3. Assignment Desk:
Assignment Desk is another Open-Sourced WordPress plugin which I found especially useful for news and magazine publishing websites as a content management system popularly known as CMS. This plugin accepts feedback from users on possible future content ideas or tips while keeping a watch on the editorial team. The plugin allows editor to assign specific works to specific members of the editorial team while accepting votes from community members making it a very interactive plugin. Assignment desk is suitable for news publishing websites or magazines with a large author base as it offers specialty tasks to specific members while accepting ideas and improvements.
4. Document Revisions:
WordPress Document Revision plugin is used when it comes to improving workflow of content teams by enabling document management controls. The plugin enables smooth workflow by offering multiple editors to collectively edit and publish documents. Document revision plugin allows multiple editing of not only document files but also allows editing of various other formats like spreadsheets, images as well as music files as the case may be. As per my experience, the document revision plugin is a summation of document revision tool, an in house collaboration tool as well as a file hosting tool that can be used to deliver various files to specific teams or user base.
5. Post Forking Plugin:
Post forking plugin as the name suggests uses a forking technique by creating an alternative version or a mirror image of the content offering more collective approach to Open-Sourced WordPress workflow. The plugin tool works well on single as well as multiple user websites allowing fellow writers or internal authors as well as users to submit document revisions. According to me Post Forking plugin has the ability to clone a particular post intended for editing or improvement without making any changes to the original post. The plugin uses branching and merging mode which allows the fork to push the changes to the parent post after successful editing or changes.
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