If you've been building WordPress websites for clients for any period of time, you'll have stumbled across the need to create Event Management, Staff Directories, Franchise Location listings, Services Listing or a Gallery Portfolio for those clients. Your first impulse might be to go find a plugin for that, but what if you could use ONE plugin in all those situations and be able to control the display of your content so it works with your theme? The Pods Framework is your solution! We will be showing how to plan out your Data structures (content modeling), Build those structures in Pods, Populate them and Prototype the display of your data using Pods Templates.

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Grow Beyond Posts & Pages
Introduction to the Pods Framework

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Jim True, @jimtrue
Project Manager
& Support Lead,
Pods Framework, @podsframework
http://pods.io

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Our Story Begins with
YOU, a WordPress
Developer

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Our Story Begins with
YOU, a WordPress
Developer

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You have a few Local Websites

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Then they start GROWING...

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You could just add some PAGES...
● Too much maintenance
● Too easy to make mistakes
● Lacks good SEO and really isn’t
WordPress

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OR You could find a PLUGIN...
● Too much overhead
● Too hard to make it match your theme
● Too hard to train your users

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Custom Post Types to the Rescue!
● This is what WordPress is GREAT at
● Managing Content in a Consistent &
Reliable Way

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Pods makes this easy & logical
• Add your Pod (Build it) in the Same Familiar Interface
• Link Pod to Pod (Relationships)
• Change Fields & Pods on the Fly, if need more fields or
relationships
• Extend existing Post Types: Users, Media, Comments,
Posts, Pages… even Custom Post Types from other
Plugins

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What is a Custom Post Type?
Posts, Pages, Media & Menu Items are ALL Post Types:
?post_type=post
?post_type=page
?post_type=attachment
?post_type=nav_menu_item
From the WordPress Codex:
https://codex.wordpress.org/Post_Types

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CONTENT is the KEY
• Think of the DATA you’re trying to represent in a Logical,
Structural way
• You’re looking at it as usable, searchable, organized
CONTENT

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CONTENT Modeling & Strategy
• How you structure your Data for presentation &
organization is Content Modeling
• How you use it and interact with it and how your audience
will use it on your site defines your
Content Strategy

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GYM Content Model
● Address
● City
● State
● GeoCode (for Maps)
● Phone #
● Gym Manager

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SALON Content Model
● Name
● Bio
● Picture
● SERVICES
● Service Name
● Price
● Picture
● STAFF
There is a RELATIONSHIP between Staff & Services.
Each Staff member can perform multiple Services.
Each Service can be performed by multiple Staff.

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What is a Custom Taxonomy?
Taxonomy is just a fancy name for a System of
Classification
• Species > Sub-Species > Family, etc. Used in
Anatomy
• WordPress: Categories & Tags
• Gym: Class > Class Type (Group Fitness, Aerobic)
• Salon: Services > Service Type (Hair, Nails, Facial)
• Franchise: Locations > Region (City, State)
From the WordPress Codex:
https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies

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MUSEUM Content Model
● Event Date
● Event Name
● Description
● EventBrite URL
● Event Type [Taxonomy]
Event Type is ASSOCIATED with the Calendar Post
Type as a Custom Taxonomy. It will be used to
Classify the events: Art Shows, Receptions,
Openings, etc.

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Installing Pods
From WordPress.org:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/pods/
From GitHub Repo [Latest!]:
https://github.com/pods-framework/pods
http://pods.io/latest/
Also grab, Pods Frontier Auto Templates:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/pods-frontier-auto-template/

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Building with Pods
1. Build your Custom Post Types with Pods
- Add Fields
- Add Custom Taxonomy if needed
- Add any Relationships between Pods (other Post types)
2. Populate your Pods
- Using the WordPress Admin screens, no training needed
3. Prototype the Display of your Pods
- Using Pods Templates
- Activated under Pods Admin, Components, Templates

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Using Pods Templates
Blend of HTML with “Magic Tags”, ex:
{@field_name}
{@related_field.field_in_other_pod}
Can also use Conditional Tags like:
[each][/each]
[if][else][/if]
For Reference:
http://pods.io/docs/build/using-magic-tags/
http://pods.io/docs/build/special-magic-tags/
http://pods.io/docs/build/template-tags-in-pods-templates/

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DEMO

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What else can you do with Pods?
• Custom Settings Pages
Useful for adding Customizer ‘like’ settings for adding
content the user will manage but you don’t want them to
mess up the style (ie, Business Hours, Social Links)
• Extending Users
Useful for when a Staff Directory needs to link to the user’s
of your website, so you don’t have to enter data twice or
you want to show your who’s working on a given day.
• Extending Media
Great for categorizing your Media Library or for associating
certain images to other post types for easy gallery display.

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Multiple Ways to Work with Pods
• WordPress Theme Hierarchy
• WordPress Meta Functions & the Loop
• Pods API (Find, Fetch, Field & Display)
• Pods JSON API (REST API under Development)
• Plugins: Conductor, CalderaWP Easy Pods, other plugins
that work with default WordPress Custom Post Types

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How to get Help with Pods
On our Website:
http://pods.io/forums/
On WordPress.org:
http://wordpress.org/support/plugin/pods/
On Slack Chat:
http://pods.io/chat/
http://podswp.slack.com #support

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We are a FREE Plugin (no paywall)

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Thank You!
WordPress Tampa Bay
http://www.meetup.com/Tampa-Bay-WordPress/
WordCamp Tampa 2015
September 25-27
USF Marshall Student Center
http://tampa.wordcamp.org