Plugins Used with the UUA WordPress Theme
Part of Documentation
WordPress Plugins
Ask questions here about the recommended plugins for use with the UUA WordPress Theme for congregations, or about other plugins you are using.
A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. (Read more about plugins on WPBeginner.com)
Recommended Plugins for the UUA Theme
These plugins are useful or provide features for the theme. When you download the Theme, you download some of them as well. Follow these instructions to install these plugins. Some aren't absolutely required; you can use an alternative plugin if you prefer to provide that functionality. The links below bring you to informational pages about each plugin.
Carousels or Sliders
Recommended starting with UUA theme version 1.3.0:
- MetaSlider – A widely used and well-supported plugin with many options. The demo site includes a slider (a.k.a. carousel or slideshow) on the homepage. Here are instructions for creating a homepage slider.
No longer recommended, because of lack of support:
- CPT Bootstrap Carousel – Powers the rotating display of images and text on the homepage. If you update to version 1.10 (released in March 2019), your captions may disappear. Here's the fix, from UU Jim Gasparini: The plugin developer suggests that the problem has to do with plugin settings, which you can find from the Dashboard under Carousel > Settings. Previously there was one option to show the title and the caption. Now there are two options, one for title, one for caption. If you had the previous version then you now need to explicitly turn on captions; otherwise they will be hidden. After re-updating, both "Show Slide Titles" and "Show Slide Captions" were set to Show, but neither displayed. Jim was able to get the titles to display by setting "Show Slide Captions" to Hide (leaving "Show Slide Titles" set to Show.)
Page Formatting
- Custom Sidebars – Enables you to display different widgets on the sidebars or footers of any page of your site
- List Category Posts – Allows you to list posts by category
Sunday Services
- UUA Services – A custom-built plugin that comes installed with the UUA WordPress Theme for Congregations. It displays information about Sunday (or other) services: upcoming and past.
Events and Calendars
- Events Manager – Fully featured event registration management including recurring events, locations management, calendar, Google map integration, booking management
- WP FullCalendar - Formats your calendar nicely. Works with Events Manager. Once activated, you’ll see a new panel in the Settings section for editing the options for calendar display.
Testimonials/Member Stories
Recommended starting with UUA theme version 1.3.0:
- Jetpack – Includes a testimonial feature. See these instructions for setting up testimonials, which usually appear in the About > Our Stories section of the site.
No longer recommended, because of lack of support:
- Testimonials by WooThemes – A testimonials management system used by the UUA theme. Find out more about how the theme uses the plugin in the Our Stories Section.
Other
- Jetpack – Widely used plugin that adds powerful features, including testimonials, customization, traffic, mobile, content, and performance tools.
- SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle – A collection of useful widgets.
- WordPress SEO by Yoast – Improves your site’s “search engine optimization” (SEO) to make it more findable via Google or other search sites. Learn more about setting up the plugin at WPBeginner’s How to Install and Setup WordPress SEO Plugin, and more about general SEO principles on the UUA site.
Additional Plugins Congregations Are Using
Follow the links below to learn more and download these plugins, which are do not come with the UUA Theme.
Pop-ups and Banners
- Popup Builder - For featuring important, urgent announcements
Events and Calendars
- Simple Calendar - Displays Google Calendars in WordPress.
Podcasting
- Seriously Simple Podcasting – Enables podcasting (providing a feed of audio or videos recordings that people can subscribe to)
Members-Only Section
- Ultimate Member or Member - Creates a members-only section of the site
Staff Listings
- Staffer – Uses custom post types for people management, allowing you to create and manage an onsite directory of people (board, staff, etc.). This plugin was recommended with early versions of the theme, but unless you have a large staff, it's easier to create a page for each staff member and a page that lists everyone on the Minister and Staff page. Note: The last version that works well is version 2.0.2, available from Github. Don’t update to later versions.
If you have a plugin you recommend using with the UUA theme, let us know: app.support@uua.org.