How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress

If you are a busy person trying to run a business or manage a team, time always seems to be in short supply.

There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have so many deadlines to meet, urgent tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to put out, appointments to make, schedules to keep and so on. The stress of trying to get things done on time never stops.

Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and maintaining your website updated with regular content and everything can start to feel unmanageable and overwhelming.

Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a team, you need to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, track your progress and daily accomplishments, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to members of your team efficiently.

One ”tried and true” tool that can help you save time, reduce stressful workloads, and allow you to gain some control is to use a “to do” list.

The Benefits Of Using To-Do Lists

A “to-do” list helps you monitor your progress as you work towards certain goals. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or act as a reminder of the things that need to be done today, tomorrow, this week, this month, etc.

Here are just some of the benefits of using to do lists:

Create Order

Having a to do list helps you create order, keep things organized and reach goals faster.

Be More Strategic

By creating and organizing your to-do list, you can view the larger picture and formulate a strategic plan for getting tasks done effectively.

Quickly Reorganize And Reschedule

Using to-do lists let you better deal with sudden and unexpected situations. If you find that a meeting gets cancelled or extra time is made available because some part of the project was completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with minimal loss of focus.

Ensures Accountability

With no accountability there’s no commitment to completion, and no motivation to take meaningful action. Lack of accountability can also allow excuses to creep in and take over your work day.

Better Work Delegation

A to-do list helps you assign work to other people better. This is also important when collaborating within a team (see further below).

As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to-do list, both in business and in your personal life. Creating to-do lists, prioritizing tasks and working towards completing the items on your list improves your business efficiency and productivity.

What about adding to do lists to your website?

In this tutorial you are going to learn how to easily add to-do lists to a WordPress website or blog to improve business efficiency and productivity using a customizable, multi-featured to-do list plugin called Cleverness To-Do List.

Cleverness To Do List

Plugin Download URL

http://wordpress.org/plugins/cleverness-to-do-list/

Plugin Description

This WordPress plugin provides users with a to do list feature.

Features

Note: the features listed below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.

You can set up the plugin to assign private to do lists for individual users, to have all users share your to-do list, or to have a master list with individual item completions.

The shared to do list option has a variety of settings available. You can assign to-do items to specific users (this includes emailing a new to-do item to the user) and optionally to have assigned items be viewable by that user. You can also assign different permission levels to different users based on user roles. There are also settings available to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is included as well as front-end administration.

A new menu item is added to the backend to help you manage your lists and the to-do list can also display on the dashboard widget.

A sidebar widget is available as well as short code to display the to-do list items on your blog. There are two short codes for front-end list administration. Category management is accessed through the back-end.

If you plan to set up a multi-author blog you can use the plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also install a copy of the developer’s premium plugin, Post Planner.

Installing The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

Inside your site’s admin area, go to the main menu and select Plugins > Add New …

In the Install Plugins screen, type in “cleverness” into the search field and click the Enter button on your keyboard …

Locate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin in the Search Results tab and click Install Now …

Click Activate Plugin …

Note: You can also activate the plugin in the Plugins area …

After the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …

Note: The ‘Settings’ screen can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from your dashboard menu …

This brings you to the ‘Settings’ area …

Let’s go through the plugin configuration process …

How To Set Up The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin

The Settings area is divided into four sections:

• To-Do List Settings – This section is where you can specify the main plugin settings.
• Advanced Settings – This section lets you customize your to-do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.
• User Permissions – This area is where you configure user permissions and capabilities for Master and Group List types.
• Import/Export – This section lets you export and import your to-do list data and plugin settings.

Let’s take you through each of these sections.

To-Do List Settings

Categories

Select ‘Enabled’ to organize lists into categories, otherwise leave this option set to ‘Disabled’.

Note: If you enable this option, a ‘Categories’ item is added to the To-Do List plugin menu …

This lets you add categories to your lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …

You can create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your lists.

Private categories will not be visible using sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)

List View

List View allows you to specify how your lists will be viewed. There are three types of list views you can select:

• Individual – Use this option if you want each user to be able to create and manage their own private to-do list.
• Group – Choosing this option lets all users share one to-do list.
• Master – This option allows you to have one master list for all users, where users have their own individual completion of items. If you select the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (see further below).

Sort Order

‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to order list items.

If you select Alphabetical, Category or ID options, items will be first sorted by priority.

Show Added By

If this option is enabled, you can display which users have added an item to your to-do list.

Note: This setting only works when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.

Show Date Completed

Enabling this option displays completion dates for to-do items.

Show Deadline

If enabled, you can specify deadlines for your to-do tasks …

Show Progress

If this option is enabled, you will be able to specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …

Show Admin Bar Menu

Enabling this option (‘Yes’) lets you display the ‘To-Do List’ menu in your WP Dashboard Admin bar …

Use WYSIWYG Editor

This option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …

Use Auto Paragraphs

Enable this option to display content in to-do lists using paragraphs.

Integrate with Post Planner

If you are running a multi-author website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, developed by the same author that provides you with a complete WordPress editorial solution …

To learn more about this handy plugin, go here: WordPress Post Planner – Plugin For WordPress

Once you have configured your plugin options in this section, remember to click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …

Advanced Settings

Once you have configured the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …

This brings you to the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

In this section you can customize your To Do lists, assign to-do items to other users and carry out database maintenance tasks.

Let’s go through how to configure the plugin’s ‘Advanced Settings’ section …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Customize The To-Do List

Here you can customize your To-Do List …

The following settings can be configured in this section:

Date Format

This section lets you specify how to display dates on your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)

Note: To learn more about how to format dates in WordPress, visit the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:

WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time

Priority Labels

Here you can customize labels for important, normal and lowest priority items …

Highest priority items display in red in the lists and lowest (low) priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …

Show To-Do Item ID

If this option is enabled, the item’s ID will show on your to-do list …

Show Date To-Do Was Added

If enabled, the date your to-do list was added will display on your To-Do Items table …

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings

If you have chosen ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the settings in this section and assign items to other users …

You can configure the following settings in this section:

Assign To-Do Items to Users

Enabling this option lets you assign to-do items to other users …

Note: This setting must be set to ‘Yes’ for the settings below it to work.

Show a User Only the To-Do Items Assigned to Them

If this option is enabled, you can display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled to display items to all users.

User Roles to Show

Checking the boxes in this section (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) displays the type of users that can be assigned todo items. If you don’t want to assign to-do items to a role, then leave its checkbox unticked.

Email Assigned To-Do Items to User

If you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send users an email with their assigned to-do items …

If you don’t want emails sent out to users, then leave this option disabled (‘No’).

Note: If you disable this option, skip the other settings in this section.

Add Category to Subject

If categories are enabled in your plugin settings and you have selected ‘Yes’ for this option, the to-do category will display in the subject of emails sent to users …

Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want categories to appear the subject of your emails.

Leave this option disabled if you don’t want to show categories in the subject of your emails.

Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email

Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This is a useful option if your site has multiple project managers assigning to-do items to users …

From Field for Emails Sent to User

Use this field to customize the “From” field when sending out emails to users. You can enter your company name, your domain, your name, or anything you like in this field …

From Email

In this field, enter the email address that you would like to display as the “sent from” address …

Subject Field for Emails Sent to User

Add into this field a subject field for the email that will be sent out automatically to users when a new item has been added in your to-do list …

Text in Emails Sent to User

In this field, enter the body of the email message that will be sent out automatically to users when a new item has been assigned to your to-do list.

To-Do List Advanced Settings > Database Cleanup

In this area of the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab you can perform database maintenance tasks associated with plugin data directly from your plugin settings area itself …

This is useful if, for example, you see that old items are still displaying on your site.

The tasks below can be performed in this section:

• Delete Tables – Remove any custom database tables that are no longer being used.
• Delete All To-Do Items – Erase all to-do items.

Any database operations carried out from this screen cannot be undone. If you are sure that you want to proceed with any of the database operations available in this section, then remember to backup your WordPress database first.

If you don’t want to back up your site manually, then consider using the services of a professional WordPress provider, or use a backup plugin. You can read about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to automate WordPress backups here:

• Back Up, Copy And Protect Your WP Sites With Backup Creator WordPress Plugin

User Permissions

Here you can configure user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types …

If you choose Individual List, the only permission that applies in this section is the View To-Do List permission …

If you are configuring user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types, select the highest level capabilities that you would like users to be able to perform for each option …

By default, general capabilities of each user role are as follows:

• Subscribers: Read
• Contributors: Edit Posts
• Authors: Publish Posts
• Editors: Edit Others Posts
• Administrators: Manage Options

Note: When using the Master list type non-administrator users should only be allowed to view and complete items, otherwise they will be able to edit the Master list itself.

Let’s now review the settings in the User Permissions tab:

View To-Do List

Here you can permit the chosen capability to view to-do items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.

Complete To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to mark to-do items as completed or not completed.

Add To-Do Item Capability

This setting permits the chosen capability to add new items.

Edit To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the chosen capability to edit existing items.

Assign To-Do Item Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.

View All Assigned Tasks Capability

Here you can allow the selected capability to view all tasks even if “Show Each User Only Their Assigned Tasks” is set to ‘Yes’.

Delete To-Do Item Capability

Here you can permit the selected capability to delete individual items.

Delete All To-Do Items Capability

Here you can permit the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.

Add Categories Capability

This permits the chosen capability to add new categories.

Import/Export

The ability to import and export to-do list data can be very useful. For example, you may need to transfer data from an existing to-do list to another website, or store your list data for backup or archiving purposes.

To access this function, click on the ‘Import/Export’ tab in your plugin settings area …

Now you can export or import your list and plugin settings …

Exporting To-Do List Data

To export and download your list data settings click on the ‘Download Export File’ …

This will open up a window allowing you to view or download the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage device (e.g. your hard drive) …

As well as exporting to-do list data from the ‘Import/Export’ section, you can also export data by going to your WordPress dashboard menu and selecting Tools > Export …

You can include to-do list data in an export file (in XML format), either by checking ‘All content’ (includes everything – posts, pages, etc…), or just select ‘To-Do’ from the ‘Choose what to export’ section and click on the ‘Download Export File’ button to save your file to an internal or external hard drive…

Importing To-Do List Data

To import a previously saved to-do list data file, click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …

Locate the file in your hard drive or external drive and click ‘Open’ …

Once your data file has been uploaded to your settings area, click on ‘Import Settings’ …

The data from the existing to-do file will be imported.

After configuring all plugin settings, you can start creating and editing your to-do lists.

How To Use The Plugin

To create a new to do list, go to your WordPress admin menu and select To-Do List > To-Do List …

This brings up the ‘To-Do List’ screen …

Adding New Items To Your List

There are several ways to add new to-do items to your list.

For example, you can add new items to your to-do list from your dashboard toolbar …

You can also add a new item to your to-do list inside your Dashboard by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …

You can click on the ‘Add New Item’ link in the ‘To-Do Items’ section (note: only use this option if your To-Do list already contains many items, since the link is only going to take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the screen) …

The above methods will take you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ section.

Depending on the way you have set up your plugin, you may or may not see certain options displayed when adding new to-do items.

Set up the options you have enabled for your to-do items, enter appropriate values and information into the relevant fields and click on the ‘Submit To-Do Item’ button to add the new to-do item …

Note: If you are using a list type that lets you assign responsibilities over items to users, select a user from the drop-down list and assign them the item …

You can also make multiple users responsible for the same item (click on ‘x’ to delete users) …

After the item has been added, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …

Repeat this process to keep adding items to your list …

Editing And Deleting To Do Items

To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons next to items under the ‘Action’ column …

Depending on how you have set up the plugin (discussed in the previous section), users assigned to tasks may also receive an email notification in their inboxes …

Once you have created your to do list, users can view the list from their own user dashboard …

When the user assigned with an item completes the task and ticks the item check box …

… the item disappears from the “To-Do” list …

And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ section located in the main screen of the ‘To-Do List’ plugin …

Additional Plugin Information

The Cleverness plugin offers additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your website using widgets, and insert a list into content inside a page or post using short codes.

Using The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Widget

To add a to-do list to your site using widgets, go to the ‘Widgets’ section (Appearance > Widgets) and drag the ‘To-Do List’ widget to the menu location where you want the list to appear …

Configure the settings in the widget and click the ‘Save’ button to update your settings …

The to-do list will appear on your site where the ‘to-do-list’ widget has been added (e.g. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)

To learn more about how to use WordPress widgets, see the tutorial below:

• Using Widgets In WordPress

Using The Cleverness Plugin Shortcodes

You can also add lists and checklists on your site by inserting shortcodes into your content.

To access the plugin’s short code documentation, select To-Do List > To-Do List from your dashboard menu …

Click the ‘Help’ tab on the top right hand corner of your screen …

Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ menu entry to access the Shortcode Documentation …

The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists on your pages and posts.

Once you know what type of information you want to add to your site, open up a new post or page and either type or paste the shortcode into the content editor …

Publish your post or page and you will see the list displayed where you have inserted the shortcode …

Visit the plugin website here for more information about this plugin:

• Cleverness To-Do List WordPress Plugin

Congratulations! Now you can create and add to-do lists to your WordPress site.

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