Jonathan Kingsbury has been building WordPress-powered websites for more than 10 years and runs a web design firm, Kingsbury Web. He wanted to find a way to make it easier and faster to build websites for his clients. That’s when he started using Toolset.
How did you build websites before using Toolset?
I usually had to hire three developers, including a lead developer, for each project. I also had to provide specifications and forms to fill out which obviously took a lot of time.
The process of building the website itself was incredibly time-consuming as there was always a back and forth between the developers about certain parts of the project. Also, we had to create custom coding to get what we wanted which also delayed things.
What made you decide to buy Toolset?
Well, I came across Toolset after some googling. I watched the Toolset introduction and saw how easy it was to use the tools in the WordPress backend. It was great to visually see someone clicking around the backend and creating a search for the frontend. Compared with the competitors, it seemed much easier to do what I wanted with Toolset with less coding.
I also read through the documentation which was well organized and very clear.
Before I decided to buy it, I emailed pre-sales who answered my questions relatively quickly and it convinced me it was worth the investment.
What did you think of the cost?
I think the price point is really great and I’m actually very excited about that. I think the licensing option is perfect for small businesses like myself.
Besides, I used WordPress Repository and saw the reviews were great, it was updated often and there were a lot of downloads. It felt like a no-brainer!
What was the best thing about using Toolset?
It’s definitely the front end forms and the simplicity of using them with Views. Those are my two favorite features. For example, last night I was able to create three list Views and three custom forms in something like half an hour. Imagine if I had to use PHP to make them? It would have taken a lot more time and a lot more headache.
I remember how easy it was to create my first front end form. It was one for jobs offered by businesses. When I made it all the fields emerged automatically. All I had to do was move them around. I easily published it on the website and was able to edit any of the jobs that I’d posted. It was very intuitive and saved me a ton of time.
What other features did you use?
As I mentioned, I loved using Views. The wizard was my favorite thing, it made perfect sense. You could choose the type of View you were creating and you can specify all the different sections. It’s organized perfectly. I love how you can filter based on conditions without needing the right PHP code.
For example, I wanted to create a page where someone could see all the jobs posted by one company rather than going to the overall list of just the jobs. It worked right away and I didn’t have to make any changes. I couldn’t believe it. I created this list view in a matter of minutes. If I hired a developer it would have taken at least a week or so. It’s unbelievable.
I was also blown away by Toolset’s custom post types and how easy it was to relate them to each other. I made custom post types for businesses and easily created a one-to-many relationship with their products, jobs and services.
How will your business improve thanks to Toolset?
It’s a big gamechanger. Our business has been growing and we have more clients small and large who need general websites with a lot of logic. With the custom features from Toolset, we don’t have to hire a bunch of developers. We can do a lot of stuff in-house.
I can now accept more jobs and finish them more quickly and easily.
It’s just easier to manage a customized website. You usually have two options when it comes to building one. The first is to install plugins for a member’s portal, another for a job board and another to have a list of services and so on.
However, the second option is with just Toolset. It has all this functionality which means you don’t need 10 plugins on your website, everything is there.
What would you say to someone thinking about buying Toolset?
I’d say do it! It’ll be one of the best decisions you’ll make!