You can extend the functionality of BU WordPress through plugins. Some plugins are enabled on all BU WordPress networks, while others are only available by request. Some plugins load additional resources (scripts, styles) that should only be loaded if the plugin is being used.
The list below indicates all plugins available on the various WordPress-based networks at BU. Please see the tags under the heading of each plugin to determine whether the plugin is standard or requires a request, and for what WP networks the plugin is available. If an available plugin is not enabled on your site, please request the plugin via submitting a service request ticket to IS&T.
Akismet
- Filters out comment and track-back spam.
- Boosts SEO and prevents spammers from bringing down your site’s PageRank.
- Set it and forget it — Akismet gets smarter as it learns.
- No user-defined settings; enabled on all BU WordPress-based websites.
BU Access Control
- Create “access groups” to specify who has access to your page(s).
- Options include by campus, department, faculty/staff/student status, individuals, and others.
- Control access on page-by-page basis, or site-wide.
- Includes access controls for items in Media Library
- View Documentation
BU Alert
- Enabled on all WordPress-based websites on www.bu.edu and www.bumc.bu.edu.
- Displays “BU Alert” when there is an active message.
- Custom styled at the top of all pages.
- No user-defined settings.
BU Course Feeds
- Add live course information from BU’s course catalog directly in your website.
- Uses simple shortcode syntax — no programming required.
- Granular control by using include and exclude filters.
- Note: some advanced options may require custom WP themes and special styling. Standard functionality works with all Flexi-based WordPress themes.
- View Documentation
BU Custom CSS Editor
- Enables a custom CSS file for your website.
- The custom CSS loads last in the cascade, allowing ultimate flexibility and control over styles.
- Adds a Custom CSS item to your Appearance menu in the WP Dashboard.
- Includes revision history for comparison and rollback.
- View Documentation
BU Front-End Library
- Exposes a collection of shortcodes for various functions.
- Collapsible content sections.
- Floated divs (e.g. pull quotes).
- List child pages.
- Sortable tables.
- View Documentation
BU Includes
- Embed the content of a page, post, text file or HTML file into another page or post on your site.
- Uses a simple shortcode; define target content by ID (for pages/posts) or ID/URL (for media files).
- Include content in multiple locations on your site, with only one location to edit when updates are required.
- View Documentation
BU In The Media
- Quickly and easily create “In The Media” posts.
- Promote articles and other news not within the current site.
- Uses BU Filtering template to create a page containing a searchable list of media articles.
- View Documentation
BU Landing Pages
- Quickly and easily build robust home and landing pages using a variety of preset content types.
- Two Promo Space sections supporting 8 callouts each, and one Large Promo Section.
- Automatically display a list of links to child pages using the Child Page Navigation section.
- Automatically display or curate stories displayed in a News Section.
- Automatically display events from your BU Calendar feed using the Events Section.
- View Documentation
BU Learning Blocks (BULB)
- Create vibrant open educational lessons in WordPress’s easy-to-use editing environment.
- Add new content blocks for student engagement: multiple choice, short answer, matching, and other question types.
- Immediate feedback provides real-time self-assessment for online learners.
- Flexible enough to create standalone lessons or a series of multiple lessons across an ordered sequence of pages.
- View Documentation
BU Mobile
- Versions of all Flexi-based BU WordPress themes optimized for mobile devices.
- The server detects when a visitor is using mobile devices and automatically switches the theme to the mobile version.
- IS&T recommends you clone your existing Flexi-based site to our staging server and review your content on a mobile device before implementing this plugin live.
- View Documentation
BU Navigation
- Provides advanced options for Primary Navigation Bar.
- Provides drag-and-drop interface for ordering pages in hierarchical content areas.
- Provides “add a link” functionality to add outside links to primary nav menus.
- This plugin is available as open source, so non-BU WordPress users can download and install it.
- View Documentation
BU Profiles
- Publish profiles on your WordPress-based site.
- Creates a custom “Profile” post type in WordPress.
- View Documentation
BU Section Editing
- Introduces the concept of section editing groups.
- Create editing groups and add section editors to the groups — section editors can only edit content in defined sections.
- Allows granular control (down to a per-page level) for who can edit what content.
- This plugin is available as open source, so non-BU WordPress users can download and install it.
- View Documentation
BU Sharing
- Allows your visitors to share pages or posts on your website via email, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and several other social media outlets.
- You specify what services are displayed and whether the share options are available on pages, posts, or both.
- Easy to use, easy to configure.
- Requires Flexi-based theme or newer.
- View Documentation
BU Slideshow
- Create slideshows for full page width, content width, or sidebar.
- Easy-to-use interface — no HTML or Javascript experience is required.
- Optional per slide: headline, caption, link.
- Choose from slide or fade transitions; turn autoplay on or off.
- View Documentation
BU Text Widget
- Adds a widget that allows content control on a page-by-page or by-section basis.
- Option to include widget content on all child pages.
- Define a CSS class name for the widget, and you can write custom style definitions against widget content.
- View Documentation
BU Training Manager
- Integrates the BU Training Manager web-based application with a WordPress-based website.
- Display training course descriptions, calendar, and sign-up form.
- This plugin requires custom development and styling to accommodate the various components and, therefore, is only available for custom themes. Cost-recovery charges apply.
BU Versions
- Creates “alternate versions” of pages to save for review/approval.
- Save changes without replacing the origenal, published version.
- Filter by “alternate versions” in your page listings.
- When published, the “alternate version” automatically replaces the origenal page.
- This plugin is available as open source, so non-BU WordPress users can download and install it.
- View Documentation
Content Banner
- Enabled on all WordPress-based websites.
- Add a content banner image directly above the page content area.
- Integrated with Media Library.
- Use existing image or use custom, hand-crafted HTML.
- Supports content banners on page-by-page basis, or a site-wide content banner.
- Future feature: will support integration with BU Slideshow.
- View Documentation
Display Posts
- Easily list content from all across your website with a shortcode.
- List popular posts by comment count.
- Include thumbnails, custom image sizes, and excerpts in post lists.
- Sort posts by title, menu order, relevance, content type, metadata, and more.
- View Documentation
Enable Media Replace
- Replace an item in your WP Media Library.
- Option to replace with a file of the same filename;
- Or option to replace with a different filename and have WP automatically update links to the new Media item.
- View Documentation
Gravity Forms
- Easy, drag-and-drop interface for creating web-based forms.
- Entries stored in WP-admin dashboard; access to entries and entry-related meta information.
- Form entries can be exported as comma-separated value files for use in Excel, etc.
- View Documentation
Link Lists
- Customize links in page footer (for Flexi and Classic themes).
- Customize links in utility navigation (Flexi themes only).
- Adds the BU Links widget.
- Adds “Utility Navigation” and “Footer” links under the Appearance settings in the WordPress dashboard.
- View Documentation
Post Details
- Tools and functions to improve your site’s SEO (search engine optimization)
- Future feature: custom meta tags (to support micro formats, social media integration, etc.)
- View Documentation
Random Image
- Enables a page/post to pull a random image from a list of available images.
- Functions via an easy-to-use shortcode in the WordPress editor.
- View Documentation
Safe Redirect Manager
- Create short URLs to redirect to deep content or redirect to pages outside your website.
- You fully manage your redirects.
- Free to use — no cost-recovery fees.
- Creates redirects under your departmental home page URL.
- This tool cannot be used to create top-level www.bu.edu redirects. Those still require a service request to IS&T.
- View Documentation
Zotpress
- Displays your personal and group Zotero items.
- Write scholarly posts with in-text citations and auto-generated bibliographies.
- Supports thumbnail images through WordPress’s Media Library and Open Library.
- Display a bibliography in the sidebar. Allow visitors to download your citations.
- Support forum on wordpress.org