Getting started with ClientCopy

Before you start

• WordPress 6.4 or newer and PHP 7.4 or newer.
• Any theme works. Advanced Custom Fields is optional.
• If you can, try it on a staging or test site first.
• ClientCopy sends email (invites, reminders, change requests) through your site's normal WordPress email. If your host's email is unreliable, install an SMTP plugin. See Troubleshooting.

Install

1. In WordPress go to Plugins, then Add New.
2. Search for ClientCopy Portal (it is listed on WordPress.org).
3. Click Install Now, then Activate.

A ClientCopy item appears in the left menu. Everything lives there: Projects, Review, Templates and Settings.

Create your first project

A project is one job for one client, such as "Bloom Dental website".

1. Go to ClientCopy, then Projects, then click New project.
2. Fill in the Project title, the Client name and the Client email. The email is used for the invite and for reminders.
3. Optionally set a Due date. Automatic reminders start once it has passed.
4. Under Start from a template choose Blank project, or a template such as 5 Page Business Site.
5. If you chose a template, leave Create a draft page for each section and map the items to it ticked. ClientCopy then creates a draft page for every section and connects each item to the field it will fill.
6. Click Create project.

Add what you need

On the project page, click Add item (or Add from template to add a set of items at once). For each item you choose:

• What do you need? The label your client sees, for example "Home page headline".
• Type Short text, rich text, image, gallery, file, URL or credentials.
• Instructions for the client A line or two of help, such as "A wide photo, at least 1600px across".
• Required Whether the item must be filled in. Required items count towards the progress bar.
• Section (page or group) Items with the same section are grouped together for your client.
• Write approved content into the site A switch, off by default. Turn it on to choose where the content goes: under Where should it go? pick the page and the field it is written to when you approve it. Leave it off to just collect the item.

You can reorder items with the arrows, edit them with the pencil, and remove them with the bin. Details of every type and destination are in Items and where they go.

Send the link

On the project page, the Client portal link box holds your client's private link.

• Copy puts the link on your clipboard so you can paste it into your own email or chat. Open shows you what your client sees.
• Email invite sends the link for you, together with the list of items you need and the due date. It needs a client email and at least one item.
• New link replaces the link. The old link stops working immediately, which is useful if a link was sent to the wrong person.
• Send reminder emails the client a list of what is still outstanding, whenever you like.

Your client does not need a WordPress account or a password. The link is the key, so treat it like a password.

What your client sees

• A greeting ("Hi Maya Chen!"), a progress bar ("0 of 10 items done") and their checklist, grouped by section.
• Each item says To do. They type into a box, paste a link, or drag a file onto the drop area (or click or browse). Rich text has a small toolbar for bold, italic, lists, headings and links.
• Their work saves automatically ("Draft saved"), so they can close the page and come back later.
• They click Submit on each item. It changes to Sent for review with the message "Thanks! We will review this shortly." After that it is locked, unless you ask for changes.
• If you ask for changes, the item shows Changes needed with your note under "Feedback from the team", and a Resubmit button.
• When everything is done they see "Everything has been submitted. Thank you!"

Review and approve

The Review tab lists everything waiting for you, oldest first. The badge on the tab shows how many items there are. Use the project filter in the top right to focus on one client.

Each card shows what the client sent and where it will be written. Then you choose:

• Approve & write to site saves the content to the page or field you mapped, then marks the item approved. You will see a green message such as "Home page copy": approved. Page updated. For an item with no destination the button simply says Approve.
• Request changes sends the item back. You must write a note (the box is labelled Note to the client) so they know what to fix. They are emailed, and the note appears in their portal.

The client changes it and resubmits, and it returns to your Review tab. The Activity tab on each project records who did what and when.

Where the content goes

Approved content is written into the page or field you chose, replacing what was there. By default ClientCopy only writes to pages that are drafts, pending or scheduled, so nothing changes on your live site by surprise. After approving, open the page in WordPress, check it, and publish it yourself.

• If the target page is already published, the item is still approved but not written, and you are told why. To allow writing to published pages, tick Allow writing to published content in Settings, then click Re-apply to site on the item.
• The site logo is the one exception: it is a whole-site setting, so approving a logo changes your live site immediately. ClientCopy warns you before you do it.
• Credentials (logins and passwords) are never written to a page.

Files and images

Everything a client uploads goes into your WordPress Media Library, named after the project and item.

• Download all client files (.zip) on the project page gives you every submitted file, organised by section and item.
• You always get the original. WordPress shrinks very large images for the web, but ClientCopy keeps and downloads the file exactly as the client uploaded it.
• View in Media Library shows just that project's files.

Reminders and emails

Under Settings you control what ClientCopy sends.

• Send automatic reminder emails: on by default. ClientCopy checks twice a day. A project is reminded once its due date has passed (or, with no due date, once the interval has passed since the project was created), then again every N days. The defaults are every 3 days, up to 5 reminders per project. Both are adjustable.
• Email me when a client submits an item and the address to send it to.
• Email the client when changes are requested: on by default.
• Email the client when an item is approved: off by default.
• Sender name: the name your emails come from.

Reminders use WordPress's scheduler, which runs when people visit your site. A site with very little traffic can send them a little late.

Free and Pro

ClientCopy Portal is free and has no limits on projects or templates. ClientCopy Pro is an optional add-on that adds your own branding to the portal and emails. See the pricing page.

Deactivating and uninstalling

Deactivating ClientCopy keeps all your data. Deleting the plugin also keeps your clients' data, because it is valuable. To remove everything on deletion, add this line to wp-config.php before you delete the plugin:

define( 'CLIENTCOPY_REMOVE_DATA_ON_UNINSTALL', true );

Files in your Media Library are never deleted.