Description
Volade Series gives WordPress something it does not have: a series. Posts that belong together are grouped under one series, each of them says which part it is and how many parts there are, and the previous/next links walk that series and nothing else. It connects your site to the Volade ecosystem with a clean, WordPress.org-compliant freemium approach.
Why this is different
Everything below is verifiable in the plugin files, not a promise:
- 17 languages, translated by the community. The interface is fully internationalised (text domain
volade-series) and localised through WordPress.org language packs, so translations are always current and update with WordPress. Languages are picked with SVG flag icons rather than emoji. - Rendering opens no connection. The indicator, its stylesheet and the series page are built from data WordPress has already loaded. The plugin’s only outbound request is the optional licence check, which gates no feature.
- One renderer per display, every placement through it. The automatic placement, the block, the widget, the
[volade_series]shortcode and thevolade_series()template function all call the same indicator code, and the table of contents is reached the same way by its own block, widget and shortcode, so markup can never differ from one placement to another. - Three presets chosen from live previews – default, compact and minimal – drawn with the stylesheet that actually ships, not described in a dropdown.
- The sequence is yours. Leave every part number empty and the series follows publication order; give each part its number and the indicator, the series page and the previous/next links all reorder together, because they all read the same column.
- A per-post switch in the editor box that turns off the automatic placement for one post without touching a template, while an explicit block or shortcode still wins.
- Nothing to fill in. No account, no API key and no configuration are needed before the first post shows an indicator.
Features
- A
volade_seriesseries taxonomy, available on every post type listed in the settings, with its own admin screen and a column on the post list. - Automatic indicator above (or below) the content of single posts that belong to a series: part counter, linked series title, previous and next part.
- Four ways to place it: the automatic placement, a “Series indicator” block in the editor, a widget for any widget area, and a
[volade_series]shortcode. volade_series()template function for themes and page builders, so the indicator can go anywhere the automatic placement cannot reach.- A page for every series, listing its parts in the order the editor gave them, newest part last by default and reordered the moment a part number is set.
- Previous and next links that step through the series only, never through unrelated posts, and follow the part numbers rather than the publication dates.
- A table of contents for a whole series: every part in order, the one being read marked in place, placed with a “Series list” block, a
[volade_series_list]shortcode or a widget for any widget area. - A “Latest series” widget for any widget area: the series whose newest part was published most recently, newest first, with the number of parts in each and a heading you can rename or clear.
- A dedicated Reorder Parts screen: every part of one series as a row you drag into place by its grip, or renumber by typing a position. Saving closes the series up into 1, 2, 3, and the indicator, the series page, the previous/next links and the table of contents all follow. Works with a keyboard, and works with JavaScript turned off, because the row that posts is a plain number field.
- Seven settings: master switch, post types, part counter, series title, previous/next links, placement and style.
- Three visual presets (default, compact, minimal) shown as live previews you click to choose.
- Hide the indicator on a single post from the editor box, without touching a template.
- Keyboard-visible focus ring, reduced-motion and higher-contrast support, print styles and a layout that wraps cleanly on a phone.
- Free features work out of the box, no external configuration required.
- Premium entitlements verified server-side via api.volade.com.
- No payments or checkout are handled inside this plugin.
- Graceful fallback: if the API is unreachable, the plugin treats the site as non-premium with a short cache, and never breaks the site.
- Dedicated top-level menu on the left of the dashboard, with a screen for Overview, Settings, Reorder Parts, License, Language, Tools and About.
- Interface localised in 17 languages through WordPress.org language packs, selected with flag icons (SVG, no emoji).
- Design and colour tokens taken verbatim from volade.com, so the admin screens match the site.
- Discreet marketing only: the Free vs Premium comparison, a review link and a newsletter link live on the plugin’s own screens. No global admin notice is ever displayed.
- Backup tools on Volade Series > Tools: export every setting to a JSON file, import one back, or restore the defaults. Each operation is capability-checked, nonce-checked and validated against a whitelist of this plugin’s own options.
- A System Information panel (plugin, WordPress and PHP versions, last check) that is read entirely locally: rendering it never sends a request.
- A short “Getting started” checklist on the Overview, computed from state already stored in your database. Nothing is locked behind it, and it sends nothing anywhere.
- Extension points for developers: actions and filters around the API call, the entitlement, the screens and the settings, plus
wp volade-seriesWP-CLI commands.
External Services
This plugin connects to an external service to verify Premium entitlements. The connection happens only when you run a premium status check yourself from Volade Series > Tools. The plugin never contacts this service automatically, in the background or on a schedule, and rendering a screen or a series indicator never triggers an outbound request.
Service provider: Volade
Service URL: https://api.volade.com/
What it is used for: Verifying whether the current site holds an active Premium entitlement.
Data sent:
- Site URL (
home_url()) - Domain (host extracted from the site URL)
- Plugin version (
VOLADE_SERIES_VERSION) - Plugin identifier (
volade-series) - Optional license key, only if one has been entered in Settings
- Optional
Authorization: Bearerheader, only if an API key has been entered in Settings
No personal user data, no email addresses, no payment data and no user identifiers are collected or transmitted by this plugin.
When it is sent: Only when a premium entitlement check is performed. Results are cached in a WordPress transient (1 hour on success, 5 minutes on failure) to minimize the number of requests.
Terms of Service: https://volade.com/en/terms.html
Privacy Policy: https://volade.com/en/privacy.html
Screenshots
Blocks
This plugin provides 2 blocks.
- Volade Series
- Volade Series List
Installation
- Upload the
volade-seriesfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory, or install it via the Plugins screen in WordPress. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress. Activating it also registers the series taxonomy and rebuilds the rewrite rules, so the series page is reachable at once.
- Edit a post, tick one or more series in the Series panel, and the indicator appears above the content.
- (Optional) Open the “Volade Series” menu on the left of the dashboard, then Settings, to tune the indicator and the API connection.
FAQ
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How do I create a series?
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In the editor, use the Series panel in the sidebar and type the name of a new series, or pick one you already made. The first series you create is also the name of the page that lists every part of it, reachable from the indicator and from the Series admin screen.
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How is a series ordered?
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By the part number in the Volade Series box on the side of the editor. Leave every part number empty and the series keeps publication order. Fill them in and the indicator, the series page and the previous/next links all follow those numbers – that is how you reorder a series, or give a part you wrote out of sequence its proper place.
The counter printed to the reader is always the position in that order, so a part you never numbered still reads “Part 3 of 7” rather than “Part 0 of 7”.
There is also Volade Series > Reorder Parts: pick a series, then drag its rows by the grip – or type a new position into the number field on each row – and save once. The whole series is renumbered 1, 2, 3 and every placement follows. Nothing is written until you press Save order.
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Where does the indicator appear?
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Above the content of single posts that belong to a series and whose post type is listed in Settings > Series. Leave that field empty to include every public type. The placement setting moves it below the content instead.
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How do I place it myself?
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Four ways, all driven by the same settings:
- The Series indicator block in the editor (search for “series”). It carries one option, the style, and follows your saved settings otherwise.
- The series widget, for any widget area of your theme.
- The
[volade_series]shortcode, which also acceptsstyle,show_part,show_seriesandshow_navattributes for one placement. - The
volade_series()template function, for themes and page builders.
On a post that already contains the block or the shortcode, the automatic placement steps aside so you never get two indicators. Archives are placement territory: the automatic placement only runs in the content of a single item.
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Is there a list of every part?
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Yes, and it is separate from the indicator on purpose. The indicator answers “where am I, what comes next”; the list answers “what is this series, and how much of it have I read”, which is the question a reader arrives with when they land in the middle of a sequence from a search engine.
Place it with the Series list block, with the
[volade_series_list]shortcode, or with its widget. The shortcode acceptsseries(a term ID or a slug),styleandshow_title. With noseriesgiven, the list belongs to the page it sits on: a post in a series, or the archive page of that series. The part the reader is on is marked in place, so the list doubles as a progress marker. -
Can I hide the indicator on one post?
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Yes. Open the post in the editor and tick “Hide the series indicator on this post” in the Series box on the side. That switches off the automatic placement for that one post only; an indicator you added with the block or the shortcode still shows, because an explicit placement is always more specific than a setting.
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Does it slow my site down or phone home?
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No. The indicator is built from data WordPress has already loaded, and its stylesheet is enqueued only on requests that can actually print one. A post that is not part of a series costs no extra query at all; one that is costs a single lookup of its sibling parts. Nothing in the series code opens a connection. The only outbound request in this plugin is the premium check, which runs when you start it yourself (see External Services below).
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Does this plugin handle payments?
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No. Upgrades and license management happen off-site at https://volade.com/. No checkout is processed inside this plugin.
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The plugin fails gracefully: it treats the site as non-premium and caches that result for a short period (5 minutes) to avoid repeated requests. The site keeps working normally.
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What data is sent to api.volade.com?
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See the “External Services” section below.
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Which languages are supported?
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Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. The selection only affects the Volade screens, never the rest of your site.
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Can I extend Volade from my own plugin?
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Yes. Volade exposes actions and filters, so you never have to edit its files:
volade_admin_capability– capability required to reach the Volade screens (defaultmanage_options).volade_api_url– final URL of the premium check request.volade_request_args– arguments handed towp_remote_post().volade_request_body– payload sent to api.volade.com, before it is encoded.volade_premium_result– the entitlement returned after the API answered, before it is cached.volade_premium_checked– action fired when a check reached the API and was cached ($is_premium). Not fired when the answer came from the cache.volade_upgrade_url– the off-site upgrade link.volade_export_payload– the settings download, before it is streamed.volade_option_updated– fired when one of the plugin’s own options changes ($option, $old_value, $value).volade_settings_imported,volade_settings_restored– fired after a backup import or a restore to defaults.volade_before_render,volade_after_render– wrap every Volade screen ($view).
Three WP-CLI commands are available too:
wp volade-series statusreads the stored state without any request,wp volade-series testperforms a premium check, andwp volade-series clear-cachedrops the cached result. -
Where are my settings backed up?
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Volade Series > Tools > Settings Backup. The export is a plain JSON file of this plugin’s own options, produced on demand from your database. It contains your API and license keys, so treat it like a password. Import re-runs every value through the same sanitiser the Settings screen uses, so a tampered file cannot write an unsanitised value. Nothing in that screen contacts a server.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Volade Series” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Volade Series” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.0
- Initial release.
- A
volade_seriesseries taxonomy, with its own admin screen and a column on the post list. - Series indicator above or below the content of any post that belongs to a series: part counter, linked series title, previous and next part.
- “Series indicator” block for the editor, a widget for any widget area and a
[volade_series]shortcode, all rendering through the same code path. volade_series()template function.- A page for every series, listing its parts in editor-defined order.
- A table of contents for every series, placed with a “Series list” block, a widget or a
[volade_series_list]shortcode, with the part being read marked. - A “Latest series” widget listing what was published most recently, newest first, with the number of parts in each series.
- A Reorder Parts screen: drag the rows of a series into place by their grip, or type a position on each row, then save once and the series is renumbered 1, 2, 3 – with the indicator, the series page, the previous/next links and the table of contents following.
- Previous and next links that walk the series only, in part order rather than publication order.
- Per-part number in the editor box, plus a per-post switch to hide the indicator.
- Three visual presets shown as live previews, placement switch and post type list.
- Accessibility and print polish: focus ring, reduced motion, higher contrast, phone-width wrapping.
- 17-language interface with SVG flag icons, colour tokens taken from volade.com.
- Premium entitlement verified server-side via api.volade.com, with transient caching and graceful failure.
- Settings export, import and restore to defaults, plus a locally read System Information panel.
- “Getting started” checklist on the Overview.
- Actions and filters around the API call, the entitlement, the screens and the settings;
wp volade-seriesWP-CLI commands.