WP Adverts - Authors

A loose ad says little; a profile gathers everything published

Your visitor is not buying only an object: they are also deciding whether to trust the person selling it. With a loose ad there is little to lean on, and they have to decide whether to write with that doubt.

With author profiles, the buyer can look beyond an isolated ad and see everything that person has published.

Authors is a WPAdverts extension that gives each advertiser an account and a public page. That page gathers their public ads, their details and a contact form. The seller stops being a name inside an ad and becomes someone with a page of their own, which the visitor can browse before writing.

An account, a public profile and a dashboard of their own

• Registration from the frontend: users create their account on your site, without going through the WordPress admin area.
• Account approval: each registration can be approved automatically or manually.
• Public profile: shows the author's public ads, information about them and a contact form.
• Authors list: displayed in list or grid view, much like the ads list.
• Author dashboard: each person manages their details and the ads they have posted, without entering wp-admin.
• Privacy: the user can adjust their privacy options and delete their data.

A seller who registers and posts from their dashboard

Picture a classifieds portal with returning sellers. A person registers from the sign-up page. If you chose manual approval, their account waits for your review. Once approved, they enter their dashboard, complete their details and manage their ads. Anyone visiting the site can open their profile, see everything they offer and write to them from the form. Take it as a base and change it to suit your portal.

The authors list adds a different way in. Instead of arriving through an ad, the visitor arrives through the person, on a page you can display as a grid.

Pieces that add up and pieces that do not come with it

Authors needs WPAdverts, because it is an extension of that plugin and is configured inside the Classifieds menu. Other functions arrive with separate WPAdverts extensions, not with this one:

• Custom Fields customizes the authors forms with a drag-and-drop interface.
• Maps and Locations lets the author enter their location the same way as when posting an ad.
• reCAPTCHA protects the registration form from spam.

The integration settings are gathered in a single panel, Authors inside Classifieds. Among its functions there is no seller rating system: the profile shows ads, details and contact.

Getting it running in four steps

1. Install and activate the extension, with WPAdverts already working.
2. Under Pages, create a registration page with the shortcode [adverts_author_register] and another for the dashboard with [adverts_authors_manage].
3. If you want a directory of people, create a page with [adverts_authors_list] and choose list or grid view.
4. Open Classifieds, go to Authors and configure the integration, including how new accounts are approved.

Directories and classifieds to compare

If you are torn between building profiles on WPAdverts or starting from a full directory, look at Directorist, which organizes content as directory listings. If you prefer a theme designed for classifieds from the start, check Classima. The practical decision is whether your site revolves around the ad or around the person who posts it.

Answers about WPAdverts Authors

Can I review accounts before they publish?

Yes. Registrations can be approved automatically or manually.

What does a visitor see on an author's profile?

The author's public ads, information about them and a contact form.

Does the author need to enter the WordPress admin area?

No. They manage their account and ads from the dashboard you publish on a page.

Can I add fields to the author form?

Yes, with the WPAdverts Custom Fields extension, which is installed separately.