How To Create A To-Do List In WordPress
If you are running a fast-paced business, time is always in short supply.
There is just so much work to do and things to remember. You have deadlines to meet, project tasks to complete, meetings to attend, fires to extinguish, deliveries to make, schedules to keep and so on. The “doing” never seems to end.
Now … add the extra dimension of promoting and growing your business online and keeping your website or blog updated with fresh content and everything can quickly start to become unmanageable and chaotic.
Whether you run a business, website, blog, or manage a project, it’s important to be able to organize and prioritize your daily tasks, monitor your progress, and, if necessary, assign tasks and responsibilities to other people efficiently.
A proven method that can help you save time, create a sense of order and manageability, and allow you to gain some control is to use “to do” lists.
To Do Lists – Benefits
A “to do” list can help you measure your progress when trying to achieve a certain objective. Your to-do list can be minutely detailed and very specific, or serve as a reminder of what needs to be done over a given period of time.
Here are some of the benefits of using to-do lists:
A To-Do List Helps To Keep Things Organized
Having to do lists help you create order, stay organized and reach your goals sooner.
Strategize
By creating and organizing a to-do list, you can view the bigger picture and formulate a strategic plan to get tasks completed on time and on budget.
Quickly Reschedule And Reorganize
Using to do lists help you better handle changes in circumstances. If you find that an appointment gets cancelled or extra time has been made available because some task got completed sooner than expected, you can continue working with no loss of focus.
Reduce Stress
Stress can result from feeling overwhelmed by the thought that there are so many things that needs doing and very little time to do it all in. Creating a to-do list lets you work on urgent things that need to be completed immediately, and reschedule non-urgent items that can be addressed at a later time. This can help you stress less.
Collaboration
Using to do lists and other project management tools is essential for working with others on some of your larger or more complex projects.
As you can see, there are many benefits to using a to-do list, both in business and in your personal life. Create a list, prioritize your list items and work in a focused way and your business efficiency and productivity is sure to increase.
What about using to do lists on your WordPress website or blog?
In this detailed tutorial we are going to show you how to add a to-do list to your WP 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
Download The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin
http://wordpress.org/plugins/cleverness-to-do-list/
Description
This WordPress plugin provides users with a to-do list feature.
Cleverness To-Do List Plugin Features
Note: the plugin features described below will be discussed in more detail in the tutorial section.
You can configure Cleverness To Do List to have private to-do lists for individual users, to have all users share the same to-do list, or to have a master list with individual completion of items.
The shared to do list option provides different settings. You can delegate to-do items to specific users (this includes a setting to email a new to do item to the user) and optionally to have assigned items be seen by that user. You can also assign different permission levels using capabilities. There are also settings to display deadline and progress fields. Category support is also included in the front-end administration.
A new menu item is added to the admin backend to manage your list and the to do lists can also appear on a 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 shortcodes for front-end list administration. Category management is restricted to the back-end.
If you plan to run a multi-author blog you can use the plugin to create custom to do lists for your post planners if you also use a copy of the Post Planner plugin from the same developer.
How To Install The Plugin
Log into your WordPress administration area and click on Plugins > Add New …
In the Install Plugins screen, type in “cleverness” into the search field and click Enter on your keyboard …
Locate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin in the Search Results area and click Install Now …
Activate the plugin …
Note: You can also activate this plugin in the Plugins area …
When the plugin has been activated, click on Settings …
Note: The plugin’s ‘Settings’ area can also be accessed by selecting To-Do List > Settings from the admin menu …
This brings you to the plugin ‘Settings’ section …
Let’s set up the plugin …
How To Configure The Cleverness To-Do List Plugin
The “To-Do List” plugin ‘Settings’ screen is divided into four sections:
- To-Do List Settings – The options in this section let you specify the plugin’s main settings.
- Advanced Settings – In this section you can customize to-do lists, assign to-do items to other users and perform database maintenance tasks.
- User Permissions – This area is where you can set up user permissions and capabilities for Group and Master List types.
- Import/Export – The options in this section let you import and export your to-do list data and plugin settings.
Let’s now review each of these tabs.
To-Do List Settings
To-Do List 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 menu …
This allows you to add categories that you can use to organize your to-do lists (see ‘Plugin Usage’ section further below for more details) …
You can create ‘public’ and ‘private’ categories for your to-do lists.
Categories set to ‘private’ are not visible when using the sidebar widgets or shortcodes (only when ‘Sort Order’ is set to ‘Category’)
List View
List View allows you to specify how to-do lists are viewed. You can choose from 3 list views:
- Individual – Selecting this option lets each user create and manage their own private to-do list.
- Group – Selecting this option allows users to share the same to-do list.
- Master – This option allows you to create one master list for all users, where users have their own individual items to complete. If you choose the ‘Master’ list view, make sure that you configure the User Permissions appropriately in the ‘User Permissions’ tab (this is covered further below).
Sort Order
‘Sort Order’ lets you specify how to order your to-do list items.
If you choose Alphabetical, ID or Category, ID, Category or Alphabetical options, items will be sorted first by priority.
Show Added By
If enabled, you can display which of your users has added an item to the to-do list.
Note: This setting only applies when ‘List View’ is set to ‘Group’.
Show Date Completed
If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), completion dates will display for your to-do tasks.
Show Deadline
If this option is enabled (‘Yes’), you can specify deadlines for your to-do tasks …
Show Progress
Enabling this option lets you specify task progress indicators for your to-do items …
Show Admin Bar Menu
If this option is enabled, the ‘To-Do List’ menu displays in your WordPress Dashboard Admin bar …
Use WYSIWYG Editor
This menu option lets you add and edit items on your to-do list using the WordPress WYSIWYG Editor …
Use Auto Paragraphs
Enable this option (‘Yes’) to display content in to-do list items using paragraphs.
Integrate with Post Planner
If you plan to run a multi-author website or blog, you can integrate the Cleverness To-Do List plugin with a plugin called WordPress Post Planner, from the same plugin developer to help make managing a multi-author WordPress site easier …
For more details about using this WordPress plugin, visit this site: WordPress Post Planner
After you have finished configuring your options, click the ‘Save Changes’ button to update your settings …
Advanced Settings
After configuring the general settings, click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ tab …
This brings you to the ‘Advanced Settings’ screen …
In this tab you can customize your To-Do lists, assign to-do tasks to other users and perform database maintenance.
Let’s step 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 in your to-do lists (e.g. month/day/year, day/month/year, etc.)
Note: To learn more about how to format dates in WordPress, see the relevant section of the WordPress Codex below:
WordPress Codex – Formatting Date And Time
Priority Labels
In this section you can customize your labels for prioritizing important, normal and lowest items …
Items prioritized as “important” are color-coded in red and low priority items display in a lighter shade of grey …
Show To-Do Item ID
Enabling this option will show item IDs on the list …
Show Date To-Do Was Added
Enabling this option (‘Yes’) displays the date your table of items was added …
To-Do List Advanced Settings > Assign To-Do Items Settings
If you have selected ‘Group’ or ‘Master’ View for your to-do list, you can configure the options in this area and assign items to other users …
The following settings can be configured in this section:
Assign To-Do Items to Users
Enable this option (‘Yes’) to assign tasks 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
Enable this option to display to-do items only to users who have been assigned those items. Leave this option disabled (‘No’) to display items to all users.
User Roles to Show
Check the boxes in this area (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to display the type of users that can be assigned items. Leave the check box unticked for any roles that you do not want to assign to-do items.
Email Assigned To-Do Items to User
If you enable this option, WordPress will automatically send an email to users with their assigned to-do items …
Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want emails sent out to users.
Note: If this option is disabled, you can skip the remaining items in this section.
Add Category to Subject
If you have enabled categories in your plugin settings and select ‘Yes’ for this option, the to-do category will display on the subject of your emails …
Leave this option disabled (‘No’) if you don’t want to show categories in the email subject.
If you don’t want to display categories in the subject of your emails, then leave this option disabled.
Show Who Assigned the To-Do Item in Email
Enable this option to display the user who assigned the to-do item in the email. This option is useful if, for example, you have multiple project managers assigning to-do items to users …
From Field for Emails Sent to User
This field allows you to customize the “From” field when sending out emails. Type the name of your company, your domain, your name, or anything you like into this field …
From Email
Type into this field the email address that you want to display as the “sent from” email address …
Subject Field for Emails Sent to User
Add into this field a subject field for the email that will be automatically sent out to users when a new item has been added to your to-do list …
Text in Emails Sent to User
Type into this field 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
This section lets you carry out database maintenance operations related to plugin data directly from your plugin settings area without having to access your server …
This is useful if, for example, you see that previously deleted todo items are still showing on your site.
You can perform the tasks below in this section:
- Delete Tables – Delete any custom database tables that you are no longer using.
- Delete All To-Do Items – Delete all to-do items.
Any database operations you perform from this screen cannot be undone. If you are comfortable to perform database operations in this section, then remember to backup your database first.
If you don’t want to do site backups, then consider getting professional WordPress assistance, or use WordPress backup plugins. Learn about a great WordPress backup plugin that we recommend using to automate site backups here:
User Permissions
This section lets you configure user permissions and capabilities for Group or Master List types …
If you have chosen Individual List, the only item applicable for 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 have access to for each option …
The default general capabilities of each user role are configured as follows:
- Subscribers: Read
- Contributors: Edit Posts
- Authors: Publish Posts
- Editors: Edit Others Posts
- Administrators: Manage Options
Note: When working with the Master list type make sure that you only allow non-admin users to view and complete items, otherwise they will have the ability to edit the Master list itself.
Here is a description of the settings in this section:
View To-Do List
This option allows the selected capability to view items in the dashboard widget and on the To-Do List page under the ‘Tools’ section.
Complete To-Do Item Capability
Here you can allow the chosen capability to mark items as completed or not completed.
Add To-Do Item Capability
This setting allows the selected capability to add new to-do items.
Edit To-Do Item Capability
This option permits the chosen capability to modify existing items.
Assign To-Do Item Capability
Here you can enable the chosen capability to delegate to-do items to individual users.
View All Assigned Tasks Capability
This option enables 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 allow the selected capability to delete individual items.
Delete All To-Do Items Capability
This setting enables the chosen capability to purge all the completed to-do items.
Add Categories Capability
This enables 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 want to transfer data from one site to another, or export your data for backup or archiving purposes.
To access this function, click on the ‘Import/Export’ tab in your plugin settings section …
Now you can export or import your data and plugin settings …
Exporting To-Do List Data
You can export and download your list data settings by clicking on the ‘Download Export File’ …
This opens up a new window allowing you to download and save the data in a plain text file (e.g. Notepad) to a storage medium (e.g. your hard drive) …
As well as exporting data from the ‘Import/Export’ tab, you can also export data by going to your WordPress main menu and selecting Tools > Export …
You can include to-do list data in a WordPress 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 your hard drive…
Importing To-Do List Data
Importing a previously saved to-do list data file is easy. Just click on the ‘Browse’ button next to the ‘Choose File to Import’ field …
Select the previously saved to-do list data file and click ‘Open’ …
After your data file has been uploaded in your settings area, click on the ‘Import Settings’ button …
Your file will be imported.
Now that you have configured all plugin settings, you can start creating and editing to do lists.
How To Use Cleverness To-Do List
To create a new to do list, go to your WordPress dashboard menu and click on To-Do List > To-Do List …
This brings you to the ‘To-Do List’ screen …
Add New To-Do Items To Your List
There are several ways to add new to-do items.
For example, you can add a new item to your to-do list from your dashboard bar …
You can also add new items to your to-do list inside the ‘To-Do List’ dashboard section by clicking on the ‘Add To-Do item’ link …
You can also click on the ‘Add New Item’ link in the ‘To-Do Items’ section (note: only use this option if your To-Do list contains many items, since the link will simply take you to the “Add New To-Do Item” section further down the page) …
The above methods will take you to the ‘Add New To-Do Item’ section.
Depending on how you have set up your plugin, some options may not display when adding new items to your to-do list.
Configure 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 item to your list …
Note: If you have chosen a list type that allows you to assign items to specific 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 After adding a new item, it will be listed as an entry in the ‘To-Do List’ table …
Repeat the above process to add new items to your list …
Editing And Deleting To Do Items
To edit or delete an item, click on the ‘Edit’ or ‘Delete’ buttons associated with items under the ‘Action’ column …
Depending on how you have configured the plugin (discussed earlier), users assigned to completing tasks may also receive email notifications …
After creating your to-do list, users can view it when logged into their user dashboard …
When users assigned with completing an item tick the item check box …
… the item is then deleted from the “To-Do” list …
And appears in the ‘Completed Items’ table located in the ’To-Do List’ plugin screen …
Additional Plugin Information
The Cleverness plugin provides additional functions that let you display to-do lists on your WordPress site using widgets, and add lists to any post or page using short codes.
Widgets
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 to-do list to display …
Configure the settings in the widget and click on the ‘Save’ button …
Your list will appear on your site where you have placed the ‘to-do-list’ widget (i.e. the sidebar menu, footer, etc.)
To learn more about how to use WordPress widgets, see the tutorial below:
Using The Cleverness Plugin Short Codes
The Cleverness plugin also lets you add to-do lists on your site using short codes.
To access the documentation on using short codes, click on To-Do List > To-Do List from the WP admin menu …
Click on the ‘Help’ tab on the top right hand corner of your screen …
Click on the ‘Shortcodes’ menu entry to access the Shortcode Documentation section …
The documentation section explains different ways to configure and use short codes for displaying lists and checklists on your content.
Once you know what information you would like to add to your site, open up a new page or post and either type or paste the short code into the content area …
Publish your page or post and you should see the list displayed exactly where you have added the short code …
To learn more about this plugin, visit the plugin website:
Congratulations! Now you know how to create and add to-do lists in WordPress.
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