Westin Test Events

Westin Test Events is a modular, production-ready WordPress plugin that provides a complete event management system, including custom post types, taxonomies, RSVP handling, admin tooling, and modern frontend templates. It is designed to demonstrate clean architecture, practical UX decisions, and real-world extensibility, while covering core WordPress development concepts such as REST API integration, caching strategies, security best practices, and unit testing.

Included features

• Custom post type: westin_event
• Custom taxonomies:
  • westin_event_type
  • westin_event_audience
  • westin_event_series
• Four admin meta boxes with six event fields:
  • event date
  • start time
  • location
  • venue address
  • speaker / host
  • capacity
• Admin columns for date, location, taxonomies, speaker, and RSVP count
• RSVP admin tools, including a dedicated management screen and an attendee meta box on each event
• Creative single and archive templates
• Shared archive-style hero/filter layout for:
  • the native Events archive
  • [westin_events]
  • the dynamic Gutenberg listing block
• Single event hero header layout using the featured image as the page banner
• Front-end filtering by keyword, type, audience, series, and date range
• Shortcodes:
  • [westin_events]
  • [westin_event_rsvp]
• Email notifications for:
  • site administrators when events are published, updated, or receive a new RSVP
  • RSVP attendees when events they registered for are updated
• REST support for the event post type and RSVP submissions
• Translation-ready strings plus sample .pot and .po files
• WP-CLI sample data command
• PHPUnit test scaffolding with broader core coverage and edge-case coverage examples
• Bundled sample data file for manual testing

Installation

1. Copy the westin-test-events folder into wp-content/plugins/.
2. Activate Westin Test Events from the WordPress admin.
3. Visit Settings > Permalinks and save once if rewrite rules need a refresh.
4. Optional: create test content with the WP-CLI seeder or use the bundled sample data file under /sample-data/.

Usage

Add and manage events

• Go to Events > Add New
• Fill in the title, main content, excerpt, and featured image
• Use the schedule, venue, speaker, and capacity meta boxes
• Assign one or more Event Types, Audiences, and Event Series terms
• Publish the event to make it appear in the archive, shortcode listing, and Gutenberg block output

Show event listings inside a page

Use:

[westin_events]

Optional shortcode attributes:

[westin_events posts_per_page="6" type="conference" audience="builders" series="spring-series" show_excerpt="yes"]

Gutenberg block

The plugin includes a dynamic block named Westin Events Listing.

• Add it from the block inserter
• Adjust posts per page, taxonomy filters, and excerpt visibility in the sidebar
• The block uses the same hero/filter/list layout as the shortcode and archive

RSVP form

The single event template already includes the RSVP form. You can also place it manually on an event page with:

[westin_event_rsvp]

Manage RSVP attendees in admin

The plugin adds Events → RSVPs so editors can:

• review RSVP submissions across all events
• filter by event
• search by attendee name or email
• remove RSVP entries that were submitted by mistake

Each event edit screen also includes an RSVP Attendees meta box with the latest submissions for that event.

Front-end archive filtering

The archive, shortcode output, and Gutenberg block support:

• keyword search
• event type filter
• audience filter
• series filter
• start date
• end date

Archive URL example:

/events/?event_type=conference&event_audience=builders&event_series=spring-series&start_date=2026-03-01&end_date=2026-03-31&s=summit

Sample data for testing

Option 1: WP-CLI seeder

Create demo content with:

wp westin-test seed-events --count=5

Option 2: Bundled sample data file

A manual sample dataset is included here:

/sample-data/westin-test-events-sample-data.json

That file includes five realistic sample events with titles, excerpts, content, taxonomies, and event meta you can use for QA or manual entry.

REST API

Events CPT

The custom post type is exposed through the WordPress REST API because show_in_rest is enabled on westin_event.

Typical endpoint:

GET /wp-json/wp/v2/events

Custom RSVP endpoint

POST /wp-json/westin-test/v1/rsvp

Payload example:

{
  "event_id": 123,
  "name": "Jane Doe",
  "email": "jane@example.com"
}

Notifications

When an event is published or updated, the plugin notifies the site administrator. If the event already has RSVP attendees stored, those attendees are also included in the update notification recipient list.

When a new RSVP is submitted, the site administrator receives a notification email with the attendee details. If mail delivery fails, the RSVP is still stored and counted so the visitor does not lose their place.

Testing

This repo includes PHPUnit scaffolding under /tests.

The current test suite covers core plugin behavior such as:

• post type and taxonomy registration
• meta sanitization helpers
• shortcode rendering
• RSVP storage success and duplicate protection
• RSVP validation failures
• notification recipient list building
• notification payload generation
• RSVP attendee lookup and admin row building
• admin column and action link helpers
• cache version changes and cache key stability

Typical flow:

composer install
bash bin/install-wp-tests.sh wordpress_test root '' localhost latest
vendor/bin/phpunit

The exact bootstrap still depends on the local WordPress test environment.

Notes on performance and security

• Event listing output is cached with a versioned transient strategy.
• Cache versioning is bumped whenever events or RSVP counts change.
• Event queries stay focused on the custom post type and relevant filters.
• Meta box saves and RSVP submissions use nonce verification.
• Public inputs are sanitized and validated before storage.
• The plugin keeps the event post type available in REST for external integrations.

REST API Examples

Get all events: GET /wp-json/wp/v2/events

Submit RSVP: POST /wp-json/westin-test/v1/rsvp

Example payload: { "event_id": 123, "name": "John Doe", "email": "john@example.com" }

Architecture Notes

• Modular class-based structure
• Separation of concerns (CPT, Meta, RSVP, Admin, Frontend)
• Transient caching with versioning
• REST-first design for extensibility