Scholar Mini Blog

A lightweight WordPress plugin that gives each Scholar their own personal blog page and locked-down dashboard.

Description

Scholar Mini Blog creates a complete blogging and profile management system for scholars on your WordPress site. Each scholar gets:

• Personal Blog Page at /scholar/{username} with custom design
• Scholar Directory at /scholars showcasing all scholars
• Locked-Down Dashboard - Scholars can only manage their own posts
• Profile Management - Add expertise title, WhatsApp, and Instagram links
• SEO Optimized - Proper meta tags, Open Graph support, and clean URLs

Features

✅ Custom "Scholar" role with restricted permissions ✅ Personal scholar profile pages with post listings ✅ Scholars directory with grid layout ✅ Custom profile fields (title, WhatsApp, Instagram) ✅ Shortcode support: [scholar_directory] ✅ Responsive design with RTL support ✅ Full accessibility support (WCAG 2.1) ✅ SEO-friendly with OG tags and meta descriptions ✅ Settings page to customize URL structure ✅ Complete admin lockdown for scholars ✅ Nonce verification and security hardening ✅ i18n ready with full translation support

Installation

1. Download the plugin from WordPress.org
2. Upload to /wp-content/plugins/scholar-mini-blog/
3. Activate the plugin from the WordPress admin
4. Navigate to Settings → Scholar Settings to configure

Quick Start

1. Create a Scholar

1. Go to Users → Add New
2. Set role to "Scholar"
3. Save the user

2. Configure Profile

1. Edit the Scholar user
2. Scroll to "Scholar Public Profile" section
3. Add expertise title, WhatsApp link, Instagram link
4. Save

3. View Profile

Visit: https://yoursite.com/scholar/username

4. View Directory

Visit: https://yoursite.com/scholars

Or use the shortcode: [scholar_directory]

Shortcode Usage

Basic Directory

[scholar_directory]

With Custom Columns

[scholar_directory columns="2"]
[scholar_directory columns="4"]

With Custom Items Per Page

[scholar_directory per_page="20"]

Settings

Navigate to Settings → Scholar Settings to configure:

• Scholar Profile Base URL - Default: /scholar/
• Directory Base URL - Default: /scholars/

After changing URL settings, it's recommended to re-save your Permalink settings to flush rewrite rules.

Scholar Permissions

Scholars have the following capabilities:

✅ Read posts ✅ Create posts ✅ Edit their own posts ✅ Publish posts ✅ Upload files ✅ Delete their own posts

❌ Cannot edit other users' posts ❌ Cannot delete other users' posts ❌ Cannot access Users menu ❌ Cannot access Plugins menu ❌ Cannot access Themes menu ❌ Cannot access Settings menu ❌ Cannot moderate comments

Security Features

• Nonce Verification - All forms use WordPress nonce protection
• Capability Checks - Proper permission validation on all operations
• Data Validation - Input sanitization and output escaping throughout
• URL Validation - Social media URLs are validated before saving
• Admin Lockdown - Scholars are restricted to only their own content

Customization

Custom Styling

The plugin uses CSS custom properties (variables) for easy customization:

:root {
    --smb-primary: #1d4ed8;
    --smb-text: #111827;
    --smb-border: #e5e7eb;
    --smb-radius: 1rem;
}

Template Override

Add custom templates to your theme:

your-theme/
├── scholar-mini-blog/
│   ├── author-smb.php
│   └── scholars-directory.php

Hooks and Filters

Actions

// On plugin activation
do_action( 'smb_activated' );

// On plugin deactivation
do_action( 'smb_deactivated' );

Filters

// Modify scholars query args
apply_filters( 'smb_scholars_query_args', $args );

// Modify scholar card HTML
apply_filters( 'smb_scholar_card_html', $html, $scholar );

Compatibility

• Minimum WordPress Version: 5.8
• Minimum PHP Version: 7.4
• Multisite Support: Yes (per-site roles)
• WooCommerce: Compatible
• Elementor: Compatible
• RTL Support: Yes (Arabic, Hebrew, etc.)

Browser Support

• Chrome/Edge (latest)
• Firefox (latest)
• Safari (latest)
• Mobile browsers (iOS Safari, Chrome Mobile)

Troubleshooting

Profile pages show 404 error

1. Go to Settings → Permalinks
2. Click "Save Changes" (don't need to change anything)
3. This flushes the rewrite rules

Scholars see too many menu items

1. Ensure users have "Scholar" role (not Administrator or Editor)
2. Re-save their user profile to refresh permissions

WhatsApp/Instagram links not saving

1. Ensure URLs follow the correct format:
   • WhatsApp: https://wa.me/1234567890
   • Instagram: https://instagram.com/username

Directory shortcode not showing

1. Verify at least one Scholar user exists
2. Check that shortcode is placed in a page/post (not widget)
3. Ensure plugin is activated

FAQ

Q: Can multiple sites use this on multisite? A: Yes, each site has its own Scholar role and settings.

Q: Can Scholars edit other Scholars' posts? A: No, they can only edit their own posts.

Q: How do I delete a Scholar? A: Delete the user from Users menu. All their metadata will be cleaned up automatically.

Q: Can I customize the profile page design? A: Yes, you can override templates in your theme or modify CSS custom properties.

Q: Is this GDPR compliant? A: The plugin itself doesn't collect personal data. Standard WordPress privacy practices apply.

Q: Can I export Scholar data? A: Yes, WordPress has built-in tools for user data export under Tools → Export Personal Data.

Support

For issues, feature requests, or documentation:

• Plugin Support Forum
• GitHub Issues

Contributing

We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Changelog

2.0.0

• Major rewrite with security improvements
• Nonce verification on all forms
• Enhanced URL validation for social links
• Added Settings page for URL customization
• Improved accessibility (WCAG 2.1 compliance)
• RTL support
• Open Graph meta tags
• Admin CSS styling
• Better error handling
• Complete documentation

1.3.1

• Initial release

License

Scholar Mini Blog is licensed under the GPLv2 or later. See LICENSE for details.

Author

Mohammad Reza Rezaei

• Website: Melalweb.com
• GitHub: @irezaei

Credits

Built with WordPress best practices and community standards.

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Made with ❤️ for the scholarly community