Pro Features

Frontend Submission

April 30, 2026 docsadmin 4 min read

Frontend Submission [Pro]

The frontend submission form lets logged-in members post listings without entering the WordPress admin. This is the heart of a self-service marketplace.

Pro feature. The free theme has no frontend submission — listings are admin-only.

The shortcode

[bc_submit_listing]

Drop this into any page. The WOW Feeder creates /post-a-listing/ with this shortcode pre-filled.

The shortcode renders a multi-step form:

  1. Category — pick a sub-category. Custom fields adjust to the choice.
  2. Details — title, description, price, location, condition.
  3. Photos — drag-drop up to 8 images (configurable).
  4. Custom fields — category-specific (cars: make/model/year; property: bedrooms/sqft).
  5. Contact — email, phone (defaults to the user’s profile).
  6. Package — free or paid (if packages are configured).
  7. Review & submit — preview before publishing.

Configuration

Classifieds Pro → Settings → Submission:

Setting Default Notes
Submit page /post-a-listing/ The page with the shortcode. Auto-populates from the WOW Feeder.
Require login On If off, anonymous users get a “log in to post” prompt. We don’t recommend turning this off — anonymous listings are a spam magnet.
Require approval Off If on, all submissions go to Pending status. Review at Classifieds Pro → Pending Listings.
Max images per listing 8 1–12 supported. More than 8 makes the form heavy.
Max image size (MB) 5 Server upload limit overrides this if lower.
Allowed image formats JPG, PNG, WebP HEIC support coming soon.
Max title length 80 Spam preventer.
Min description length 50 Quality preventer.

What sellers see

1 Category 2 Details 3 Photos 4 Fields 5 Step 2: Details Title Description 50 / 1000 characters

The form is mobile-friendly with touch-sized inputs and a clear progress indicator.

Categories drive the form

Picking a category in step 1 changes:

  • Which custom fields appear in step 4 (cars get make/model/year/mileage; jobs get salary/employment/remote)
  • Whether photos are required (services and jobs are usually fine without)
  • Which package options are shown (some categories may have category-only packages)

Categories are configured at Classifieds Pro → Settings → Categories. Each row controls:

Column Purpose
Slug Matches the WP category slug
Custom fields Which fields show in the form for this category
Photo required If on, listings without photos can’t be submitted
Default package Pre-selected on submission

Submission flow

Form submit Server validates required fields, length, files Package picked? Free vs Paid Free → Publish or pending Paid → Stripe or Razorpay popup After payment success → publish or pending

Validation

Server-side validation runs even if the JS is bypassed. Required fields, length limits, file types, image dimensions are all checked. Validation errors return as inline messages above each field, plus a summary banner at the top of the form.

To add custom validation rules:

add_filter( 'best_classifieds_submission_validate', function( $errors, $data ) {
    // Block listings priced under $1
    if ( ! empty( $data['_bc_price'] ) && (float) $data['_bc_price'] < 1 ) {
        $errors['_bc_price'] = 'Price must be at least $1.';
    }
    // Block listings with no contact info
    if ( empty( $data['_bc_contact_email'] ) && empty( $data['_bc_contact_phone'] ) ) {
        $errors['_bc_contact_email'] = 'Provide at least one contact method.';
    }
    return $errors;
}, 10, 2 );

Pre-publish hooks

Inject your own logic before/after the listing is created:

// Modify post args before insert
add_filter( 'best_classifieds_submission_post_args', function( $args, $data ) {
    // Auto-add a tag based on a custom field
    $args['tax_input']['post_tag'] = array( 'frontend-submitted' );
    return $args;
}, 10, 2 );

// React after a successful submission
add_action( 'best_classifieds_after_submission', function( $post_id, $data ) {
    // Send a Slack notification
    wp_remote_post( 'https://hooks.slack.com/...', array(
        'body' => json_encode( array( 'text' => 'New listing: ' . get_the_title( $post_id ) ) ),
    ) );
}, 10, 2 );

Spam protection

Three layers (all on by default):

  1. Honeypot field — hidden from real users, bots fill it. Submissions with a non-empty honeypot are silently discarded.
  2. Time-trap — minimum 3 seconds between page load and submit. Bots fail this.
  3. Rate limiting — same IP can submit at most 5 listings per hour. Configurable.

For sites under heavy spam pressure, plug in:

  • Akismet — set the API key in WP General settings; submissions are automatically checked.
  • hCaptcha — install the plugin, the form auto-detects and adds the challenge.
  • Cloudflare Turnstile — same.

Editing existing listings

Members edit from their dashboard ([bc_dashboard] → “My listings” → click “Edit”). The submission form re-opens pre-populated with the existing data.

To prevent edits to certain fields after publish:

add_filter( 'best_classifieds_submission_locked_fields', function( $locked, $post_id ) {
    // Lock category and price after publish
    return array_merge( $locked, array( 'category', '_bc_price' ) );
}, 10, 2 );

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