Package contents
- WM Downloads plugin — Custom post type, meta, protected downloads, shortcode and admin
- WM Downloads — Latest — Widget for sidebars and block widget areas
Current version: 1.0.0
WM Open · WordPress
WM Downloads for WordPress
Free v1.0.0Free download manager plugin
Free download manager — the WordPress equivalent of the Joomla 6 WM Downloads package. Built for sites that need a clean document library: protected files, external links, categories, and a polished front-end list.
Requires WordPress 6.0+ · PHP 8.0+ · GPL-2.0-or-later
· Package wmdownloads
Why this package?
Sites that only need a simple, reliable way to:
- Store documents securely (not as open media URLs)
- Organise downloads by category
- Track download counts
- Mix real files with external links
- Present everything in a polished front-end list
WM Downloads focuses on that job — without the weight of a full document management suite.
Capabilities
What’s included
Features
- Files or links — upload documents or point to an external URL (new tab / nofollow)
- Protected storage — wp-content/uploads/wmdownloads/ with deny rules; no direct hotlinks
- Categories — hierarchical taxonomy (parent / child, subcategory filter on the front end)
- Hit counting — increments on every download or link open
- Publishing window — start and finish dates so items appear and disappear on schedule
- Ordering — manual order for list priority
- Front-end list — search, sort (date, title, author, size, category), type icons
- Latest widget — sidebar/block-area “latest downloads”
- CSV import — bulk-create records for files already in storage
- Common formats — PDF, Office, images, zip, and more
Admin
- Custom post type: Add New with file upload or external link
- Hierarchical categories (parent / child)
- Author, description, order and publish start/end dates
- Hit counts tracked per item
- CSV import for files already in uploads/wmdownloads/
- Settings integrated with native WordPress admin
Front end
- Shortcode list on any page or post
- Search downloads on the page
- Sort by date, title, author, size or category
- Optional category filter via shortcode attribute
- Show/hide author, date, size, hits, category, title
- Type-aware icons for common formats
- Controlled download endpoint — no public file URLs
Widget & shortcode
- Shortcode: [wmdownloads category="your-slug"]
- Optional attributes: show_author, show_date, show_size, show_hits, show_category, show_title, limit
- Appearance → Widgets → WM Downloads — Latest
- Category filter and show/hide meta options
[wmdownloads category="your-slug"]
Best suited for
- Schools, associations and member sites
- Resource hubs that need a simple free library
- Document lists without a heavy commercial plugin
- Anyone who wants the same idea as the Joomla package, native in WordPress
Documentation
Install, configure & use
- Upload wmdownloads-wordpress-1.0.0.zip via Plugins → Add New → Upload.
- Activate WM Downloads.
- Settings → Permalinks → Save once (registers /wmd-download/{id}/).
- WM Downloads → Categories — create your library sections.
- Add New — file upload or external link; set author, order, publish dates.
- On a page, insert [wmdownloads category="your-slug"].
- (Optional) Appearance → Widgets → WM Downloads — Latest.
- (Optional) WM Downloads → CSV Import for bulk records.
Files never sit on public URLs — they live in a locked uploads/wmdownloads/ folder and are served through a controlled download endpoint. CSV columns: filename, title, description, category_slug, author, created_date, hits.
License
GPL-2.0-or-later
This software is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
A copy of the license is included in the package as LICENSE.txt.
Full text:
gnu.org · GPL v2.
- GPL-2.0-or-later — free for the community
- Install on as many of your own WordPress sites as you like
- Support and custom development available on request
Support
Get help
For install questions, bug reports or custom work, contact WM Studios via the form below.
Also free from WM Open
Support & custom work
Built for real production use — including document-heavy resource libraries. For support, branding tweaks or custom features, contact WM Studios.