[Resolved] Not sure which to use: post fields or user fields

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[Bob]

Hi there at wp-types,

I'm building a new website for our company.
Our services provides parents with a search engine through which they can find nannies for their children.
We have quite a large database of nannies (±400) to be searched. We also want new nannies to fill in a form that makes up their own profile page.

I'm new to your plugin and before I start building a template with custom fields I'd like to start off properly... Should I use user fields or post fields to accomplish this? I have the feeling that post fields provide more possibilities building and customising, while user fields are to be used for smaller groups of people with less options to be added??? I'm unable to find any conclusive articles about this topic.

Our current site hidden link

By entering a zip code one gets a summary of nannies in the vicinity. In our new site we will implement more search filters.

Thanks in advance!
Bob

[Shane]

Hi Bob,

I would recommend post fields.

The reason for this is that i'm assuming your users are creating their profiles that are stored in a CPT. Then you are able to search for a Nanny's profile through that CPT as you're not able to make a search for a user type view.

Please let me know if this helps.
Thanks,
Shane

[Bob]

Thank you Shane,

Actually all options are open. The database has to be filled all over again (currently it's in Drupal). I think we can accomplish this by importing an csv or xml into toolset... I'll look into that later. I'm game for which ever option is best suitable to meet our needs. Starting point is zero here.

If post fields provide more functionality/searchability over user fields we'll go for that. I assume post fields ca be filled by the user/nanny/customer using CRED?

Cheers!
Bob

[Shane]

Hi Bob,

The best way to do it is that after a user has been created you allow them to create a profile in a CPT called "Nanny Profile" or something that you can easily identify. Then you can add the custom fields to the Nanny Profile CPT.

This will allow you to easily be able sort the profiles. If you're not sure or unclear of anything please don't be afraid to ask.

Thanks,
Shane

[Bob]

Hi Shane,

By 'after a user has been created' you mean a new profile added through 'user fields', showing up in the lefthand 'users' tab?
Wouldn't that double the nanny profiles? e.g.:
User - Nanny A
CPT - Nanny A
etc.

Or are there advantages to this setup?

__________________________

The process we intend to set up is as follows:

01. A new nanny want's a profile on our website, so she can be found by a parent who is in need of a nanny.
02. She enters her name and email address on a sign-up form.
03. She receives a mail with password and link to an intake form.
04. On the intake form we want to know almost everything about her. Name, address, kids, marital status, pets, does she smoke, availability, etc.
05. An employee will check the filled in form, and if everything seems fine the CPT can be approved.
06. A selection of filled in fields should end up on the front end 'nanny page'. Some info (bank account, social security, etc.) should remain in the back end.
07. After approving the form, the nanny should receive a confirmation email.
08. The nanny can always return to the form to update certain fields. Again, these edits need to be approved by an employee.
09. All CPT information (only the front end stuff) about the nannies in our database will be filterable/searchable. We want to provide parents a search, based on a radius on a map and additional checkboxes, etc. to filter through the database.
10. Parents who are in the process of finding a nanny should have the 'add to favourite' option. Done by using cookies or perhaps a personal account in which they can save the found profiles for later reference.

Something like that. If you have any concerns or suggestions by any of these steps, please let me know 🙂

__________________________

Btw...
a. Is it possible to save a draft while filling in our intake form? We have a lot of questions we need to ask our new nannies, and there's always a risk of computer meltdown or declining attention span...

b. What would be the advantage of using an additional form generation tool like Gravity forms, apposed to using the Toolset options?

Thank you for your time!
Bob

[Shane]

Hi Bob,

The reason why I say the nanny creates a user and then creates a profile using a CPT is because for a user view you won't be able to do the search.

The user will only store her username and password etc. However her profile will have all the details you want and this will be searchable because a CPT view you can filter using the fields that are on the profile.

The steps you outline from 1 - 10 will all be possible if you use a CPT to hold their individual profile information.

Our CRED plugin allows you to create the forms and send out the notifications and the link so that they can build their profile. It can also allow them to edit this profile as well.

You can also set the profiles to be submitted as pending so that someone can go through and approve the information.

Please let me know if this helps.
Thanks,
Shane

[Bob]

Thanks again Shane, you're a big help 🙂

So the user are needed for registration purposes. That makes sense 😉

What about saving a form halfway the fill out procedure? Is that possible?
And what would be the additional bonus if I'd use Gravity forms as a complementary form builder? Is there any? Perhaps the 'save as draft' option?

I'm almost there! 😉

[Shane]

Hi Bob,

No problem i'm happy to assist.

Regarding saving the form half way and continuing later. Actually this isn't possible because once the form has been started it needs to be filled out because a post is created when the form is saved.

What you can do here is make some fields required and then other fields not required so they can essentially fill out the required fields and save the profile. Then they can come back later and edit their profile.

Our CRED plugin doesn't integrate with Gravity forms. However I do believe gravity forms is able to create custom posts though i'm not 100% sure of this.

Yes there is a save as draft option or you can set a post as pending.

Please let me know if this helps.
Thanks,
Shane

[Bob]

Problems solved,

Thanks Shane... you rock!