{"id":49,"date":"2026-04-30T23:15:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T23:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/2026\/04\/30\/frontend-submission\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T23:15:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T23:15:55","slug":"frontend-submission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/2026\/04\/30\/frontend-submission\/","title":{"rendered":"Frontend Submission"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Frontend Submission [Pro]<\/em><\/h1>\n\n\n

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

Pro feature.<\/strong> The free theme has no frontend submission \u2014 listings are admin-only.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\n

The shortcode<\/h2>\n\n\n
[bc_submit_listing]<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n
Drop this into any page. The WOW Feeder creates \/post-a-listing\/<\/code> with this shortcode pre-filled.<\/p>\n\n\n
The shortcode renders a multi-step form:<\/p>\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Category<\/strong> \u2014 pick a sub-category. Custom fields adjust to the choice.<\/li>\n
  2. Details<\/strong> \u2014 title, description, price, location, condition.<\/li>\n
  3. Photos<\/strong> \u2014 drag-drop up to 8 images (configurable).<\/li>\n
  4. Custom fields<\/strong> \u2014 category-specific (cars: make\/model\/year; property: bedrooms\/sqft).<\/li>\n
  5. Contact<\/strong> \u2014 email, phone (defaults to the user’s profile).<\/li>\n
  6. Package<\/strong> \u2014 free or paid (if packages are configured).<\/li>\n
  7. Review & submit<\/strong> \u2014 preview before publishing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n
    \n\n
    Configuration<\/h2>\n\n\n
    Classifieds Pro \u2192 Settings \u2192 Submission<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Setting<\/th>\nDefault<\/th>\nNotes<\/th>\n<\/tr><\/thead>
    Submit page<\/strong><\/td>\n\/post-a-listing\/<\/code><\/td>\nThe page with the shortcode. Auto-populates from the WOW Feeder.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Require login<\/strong><\/td>\nOn<\/td>\nIf off, anonymous users get a “log in to post” prompt. We don’t recommend turning this off \u2014 anonymous listings are a spam magnet.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Require approval<\/strong><\/td>\nOff<\/td>\nIf on, all submissions go to Pending<\/strong> status. Review at Classifieds Pro \u2192 Pending Listings<\/strong>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Max images per listing<\/strong><\/td>\n8<\/td>\n1\u201312 supported. More than 8 makes the form heavy.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Max image size (MB)<\/strong><\/td>\n5<\/td>\nServer upload limit overrides this if lower.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Allowed image formats<\/strong><\/td>\nJPG, PNG, WebP<\/td>\nHEIC support coming soon.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Max title length<\/strong><\/td>\n80<\/td>\nSpam preventer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Min description length<\/strong><\/td>\n50<\/td>\nQuality preventer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n
    \n\n
    What sellers see<\/h2>\n\n\n\n  \n  \n  1<\/text>\n  Category<\/text>\n\n  \n\n  \n  2<\/text>\n  Details<\/text>\n\n  \n\n  \n  3<\/text>\n  Photos<\/text>\n\n  \n\n  \n  4<\/text>\n  Fields<\/text>\n\n  \n\n  \n  5<\/text>\n\n  \n  Step 2: Details<\/text>\n\n  Title<\/text>\n  \n\n  Description<\/text>\n  \n\n  \n  50 \/ 1000 characters<\/text>\n<\/svg>\n\n\n
    The form is mobile-friendly with touch-sized inputs and a clear progress indicator.<\/p>\n\n
    \n\n
    Categories drive the form<\/h2>\n\n\n
    Picking a category in step 1 changes:<\/p>\n\n\n
      \n
    • Which custom fields appear in step 4 (cars get make\/model\/year\/mileage; jobs get salary\/employment\/remote)<\/li>\n
    • Whether photos are required (services and jobs are usually fine without)<\/li>\n
    • Which package options are shown (some categories may have category-only packages)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
      Categories are configured at Classifieds Pro \u2192 Settings \u2192 Categories<\/strong>. Each row controls:<\/p>\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Column<\/th>\nPurpose<\/th>\n<\/tr><\/thead>
      Slug<\/strong><\/td>\nMatches the WP category slug<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Custom fields<\/strong><\/td>\nWhich fields show in the form for this category<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Photo required<\/strong><\/td>\nIf on, listings without photos can’t be submitted<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Default package<\/strong><\/td>\nPre-selected on submission<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n
      \n\n
      Submission flow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n  \n  Form submit<\/text>\n\n  \n  \n\n  \n  Server validates<\/text>\n  required fields, length, files<\/text>\n\n  \n  \n\n  \n  Package picked?<\/text>\n  Free vs Paid<\/text>\n\n  \n  \n\n  \n  Free \u2192 Publish<\/text>\n  or pending<\/text>\n\n  \n  Paid \u2192 Stripe<\/text>\n  or Razorpay popup<\/text>\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n\n  After payment success \u2192 publish or pending<\/text>\n<\/svg>\n\n
      \n\n
      Validation<\/h2>\n\n\n
      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.<\/p>\n\n\n
      To add custom validation rules:<\/p>\n\n\n
      add_filter( 'best_classifieds_submission_validate', function( $errors, $data ) {\n    \/\/ Block listings priced under $1\n    if ( ! empty( $data['_bc_price'] ) && (float) $data['_bc_price'] < 1 ) {\n        $errors['_bc_price'] = 'Price must be at least $1.';\n    }\n    \/\/ Block listings with no contact info\n    if ( empty( $data['_bc_contact_email'] ) && empty( $data['_bc_contact_phone'] ) ) {\n        $errors['_bc_contact_email'] = 'Provide at least one contact method.';\n    }\n    return $errors;\n}, 10, 2 );<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
      \n\n
      Pre-publish hooks<\/h2>\n\n\n
      Inject your own logic before\/after the listing is created:<\/p>\n\n\n
      \/\/ Modify post args before insert\nadd_filter( 'best_classifieds_submission_post_args', function( $args, $data ) {\n    \/\/ Auto-add a tag based on a custom field\n    $args['tax_input']['post_tag'] = array( 'frontend-submitted' );\n    return $args;\n}, 10, 2 );\n\n\/\/ React after a successful submission\nadd_action( 'best_classifieds_after_submission', function( $post_id, $data ) {\n    \/\/ Send a Slack notification\n    wp_remote_post( 'https:\/\/hooks.slack.com\/...', array(\n        'body' => json_encode( array( 'text' => 'New listing: ' . get_the_title( $post_id ) ) ),\n    ) );\n}, 10, 2 );<\/code><\/pre>\n\n
      \n\n
      Spam protection<\/h2>\n\n\n
      Three layers (all on by default):<\/p>\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Honeypot field<\/strong> \u2014 hidden from real users, bots fill it. Submissions with a non-empty honeypot are silently discarded.<\/li>\n
      2. Time-trap<\/strong> \u2014 minimum 3 seconds between page load and submit. Bots fail this.<\/li>\n
      3. Rate limiting<\/strong> \u2014 same IP can submit at most 5 listings per hour. Configurable.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
        For sites under heavy spam pressure, plug in:<\/p>\n\n\n
          \n
        • Akismet<\/strong> \u2014 set the API key in WP General settings; submissions are automatically checked.<\/li>\n
        • hCaptcha<\/strong> \u2014 install the plugin, the form auto-detects and adds the challenge.<\/li>\n
        • Cloudflare Turnstile<\/strong> \u2014 same.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
          \n\n
          Editing existing listings<\/h2>\n\n\n
          Members edit from their dashboard ([bc_dashboard]<\/code> \u2192 “My listings” \u2192 click “Edit”). The submission form re-opens pre-populated with the existing data.<\/p>\n\n\n
          To prevent edits to certain fields after publish:<\/p>\n\n\n
          add_filter( 'best_classifieds_submission_locked_fields', function( $locked, $post_id ) {\n    \/\/ Lock category and price after publish\n    return array_merge( $locked, array( 'category', '_bc_price' ) );\n}, 10, 2 );<\/code><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
          The frontend submission form lets logged-in members post listings without entering the WordPress admin. This is the heart of a self-service marketplace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pro-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/docs.fasterthemes.com\/best-classifieds-wordpress-theme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}