WS Form PRO - Post Management

Forms that write to WordPress instead of sending you an email

Many sites with user-submitted content (directories, job boards, product listings, events) end up the same way: the form sends an email, someone copies it by hand into a post, and time goes into retyping what somebody else already wrote. WS Form PRO - Post Management cuts out that step: submitting the form creates or modifies a WordPress post directly.

If your business receives content from third parties, the bottleneck is almost never receiving it, but publishing it and keeping it up to date. That is where the value lies: whoever runs the site stops being the middleman for every new entry and every correction.

Create and update posts of any type

The post management action is added to a WS Form form and works for posts, pages, products or custom post types. You decide when it runs: when the form is saved, when it is submitted, or both.

• Post type: you choose what gets created.
• Status: published, scheduled, draft, pending or private. If you change nothing, new content is saved as a draft and existing content keeps its status.
• Author: by default, the signed-in user.
• Field mapping: you link each form field to the post field it corresponds to.

If you would rather not set it up by hand, the Post Management tab when adding a new form lets you pick a content type and the form is generated already configured, with the mapping done and checkboxes for the taxonomies associated with that type.

Edit existing posts from the front end

For that, the action's Post ID field indicates which post is modified:

• A fixed number, useful for testing.
• The current page variable, to edit the post where the form is displayed.
• The value of a form field, for example a hidden field that picks up the ID from the page address.

Combined with the auto populate option in the form settings, you get a front-end post editor. If you leave Post ID empty, a new post is always created, and its ID is available for use in other actions of the same form.

Custom fields: you need a separate fields plugin

WordPress does not manage custom fields on its own, so the plugin stores the extra data in the post metadata, but creating those fields is up to you with another plugin. It is compatible with ACF, ACPT, JetEngine, Meta Box, Pods and Toolset.

• Already handled: mapping form fields to meta keys, setting your own key-value pairs and avoiding duplicates by indicating which fields must be unique for the post type.
• Covered with another plugin: defining the custom fields and their structure (ACF, Meta Box or another compatible one).
• Covered by you: deciding what status each submission gets and who can edit what.
• Basic requirement: integrations do not work with the LITE edition of WS Form, the PRO version is required.

Control over who can touch each post

A form that modifies content is an open door if you do not close it. The plugin lets you restrict updates to the original author, who must also be signed in. If the post ID arrives through the page address, keep in mind that anyone can change it, so turn that restriction on when you let users edit content. For content you do not control, using draft or pending status lets you review before publishing.

Frequently asked questions

Does it work with WS Form LITE?

No. Integrations are not compatible with WS Form LITE.

Can I create WooCommerce products?

Yes, products appear among the possible post types. Check in the demo how shop-specific data such as price behaves, and map it as metadata if needed.

Can users edit their own posts?

Yes: you provide the post ID, fill the form with its current data and the action saves the changes.

Does it create the custom fields?

No, the fields plugin you use takes care of that. This one only fills in their values.