Client/Company Area question

  • Hi everyone,

    I need some feedback as to how I should go about this…

    I am designing a website for my small graphic design firm and so far everything is going along very well. I am using it mainly as a CMS with many pages, and it uses the Blog as well on a separate ‘Blog’ page. I am now in the process of creating a ‘Client Area’ where my clients can login and will be able to view mockup designs, comment on them, view uploaded PDF invoices (created in another application), update contact information, etc.

    So far I have the following working perfectly:
    – a custom ‘Client’ role [using ‘Members’ plugin]
    – Custom User Groups for each client company (e.g. ‘XYZ Company’ – multiple ‘client’ users can be added to that the client company group) [using Role Scoper plugin]
    – Auto-redirect to the ‘Client’ page when they login (instead of to my WP core) [using Peter’s Login Redirect]
    – The ‘Client’ page is only accessible by Admins and users in ‘Client’ role.
    – Under the ‘Client’ page are sub-pages for each client that are secure so only a particular Company User Group or a particular Client user can view it (I want to get rid of this as you’ll see below).

    Now the problem is…
    I can continue to manually create sub-pages for each client using custom templates, but that would be very tedious when my client base increases later on. What I would like is ONE client page that will somehow auto-populate the data on the page based on the User (I guess this would require a database?). Example: TestUser1 is a ‘Client’ role…. he logs in, and is automatically re-directed to the ‘Client’ Page. That page will display the Client’s name at the top of the page, their contact information, file uploads (from me), comments, etc. TestUser2 is also a ‘Client’… she logs in.. gets re-directed to the SAME ‘Client’ page, and the information (and file uploads, etc.) is tailored for her. With how I currently have it, each Client has their own Sub-page under the ‘Client’ page and the user gets re-directed to that sub-page and I have to manually create that page for each client.

    Instead of Sub-Pages for each client.. I would prefer sub-pages for each section… e.g. A ‘Client’ page that clients go to and the information and file uploads it shows is only for the particular user… and then have Sub-pages for each section such as ‘Mock-up Designs’, ‘Invoices’, ‘Contact Info’, etc.

    It’s almost likre a more advanced User Profile but with more sections for interaction to comment on mock-up designs and view file-uploads. I am already currently in the right track, I just want a streamlined and automated way of doing this for each Client user I create.

    Thanks so much in advance ??

Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

  • So you’re basically creating user accounts with each client, but on top of that having to create any subsequent pages for each client.

    Is there not a user creation hook, that you can hook a function onto?

    I know there’s functions for creating a post or page (if memory serves), assuming you can hook onto user creation, i can’t see any reason it wouldn’t be possible to automate a page or post creation upon adding a user account that has a particular role.. you’d just have to play with the relevant functions to see how they operate..

    Thread Starter hgws

    (@hgws)

    but i just want ONE page (e.g. domain.com/clients) not many pages (e.g. NOT domain.com/clients/client1)… so i would need one single page that only pulls data and any attachments/uploads for that specific client.

    It seems to me that you need a page with a template that uses get_currentuserinfo() to find the current user ID, and then queries the database for posts (or other data) for that user.

    It isn’t clear to me how the data for a client gets entered, or where it would be stored. You may need to create your own database tables with forms to manage the records. But if you can use a client id as a key, and associate each user with that client id, you should be able to do what you want.

    I have not used it, but perhaps the PODS plugin might help.

    Thread Starter hgws

    (@hgws)

    Thanks vtxyzzy!! That sounds like a good idea.. I’ll give that a try and report back later. Thanks ??

    Would you mind showing off your work?.. (temp login, or whatever)

    I’m simply curious to see your implementation… (i’ll not be offended if you say no though).. ??

    Thread Starter hgws

    (@hgws)

    I’m currently working on my localhost (not on the internet yet)… but I’ll provide a link once I go live ??

    Nice one, just bump a reply on the end of this thread when you’re all set.. ??

    Any luck with this? I am in the process of implementing something very similar on my company’s site, and I would love to see what you’ve come up with. Thanks!

    another bump, hgws. very, very interesting setup you got going. we wanna hear some good news.

Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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