Description
thevitaminshots Blog Pro is a single-plugin solution that combines a beautifully styled blog listing page with a lightweight newsletter — no third-party email service required.
Drop the [tvsblog_page] shortcode on any page and get a professional, mobile-friendly blog layout with a featured post, category filter, sort options, pagination, and a built-in newsletter signup at the bottom.
Key Features
- Pre-styled blog page — featured post, article cards, sticky category bar with scroll arrows, sort dropdown, and pagination — all rendered from a single shortcode
- Built-in newsletter — subscribers stored in your own database, no external email platform needed
- Manual send trigger — when you publish a new post, it’s flagged as “ready to send” and appears on the Send Post Email screen. You choose the subject and intro text, then send when ready — no auto-sends
- Gmail Primary inbox optimized — minimal HTML emails with a personal from-name and List-Unsubscribe header land in Primary more reliably than heavy marketing templates
- Fully configurable — hero title, tagline, publisher name, newsletter copy, welcome email content, accent color, posts-per-page, and more — nothing brand-specific is hardcoded
- Privacy-conscious — IP storage is toggleable; a one-click “delete all data on uninstall” option is available
- Translation-ready — all strings pass through WordPress i18n functions
- Schema.org JSON-LD — Blog and BreadcrumbList markup generated automatically for SEO
How it differs from other newsletter plugins
Most newsletter plugins are either huge platforms (MailPoet, Newsletter, etc.) that require SMTP setup and heavy configuration, or thin frontends for external services (Mailchimp, ConvertKit). This plugin sits in a different spot: a single-plugin solution that renders the blog page AND handles the newsletter, with a manual send-on-publish workflow rather than automatic drips. It’s for site owners who want a beautiful blog listing page plus simple, controllable email notifications — nothing more.
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to
/wp-content/plugins/or install via the WordPress admin - Activate through the “Plugins” menu in WordPress
- Go to Blog Pro Settings and configure your hero title, publisher name, newsletter copy, and email settings
- Add the shortcode
[tvsblog_page]to any page — this becomes your blog listing page - When you publish new posts, they’ll appear on the Blog Pro Send Post Email screen ready for manual send
FAQ
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Does this send emails automatically when I publish a post?
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No. Publishing a post flags it as “ready to send” and it appears on the Send Post Email screen. You review the subject and intro text, click Preview if you want, and then click Send when you’re ready. This is intentional — most site owners want a chance to double-check before blasting subscribers.
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Do I need SMTP or a third-party email service?
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The plugin uses WordPress’s built-in
wp_mail()function. For reliable delivery, we recommend pairing it with an SMTP plugin (WP Mail SMTP, FluentSMTP, or similar) connected to a transactional email provider (SendGrid, Postmark, Amazon SES, etc.). Without SMTP,wp_mail()uses your server’s default mail settings which often land in spam. -
Can I customize the blog page design?
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Yes — the accent color is a setting, and all text (hero, buttons, newsletter block) is configurable. For deeper design changes, override the CSS in your theme’s stylesheet — all classes are prefixed with
tvsblog-. -
What data does the plugin store?
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The plugin creates one custom database table (
{prefix}tvsblog_subscribers) that stores: email address, subscription date, IP address (optional — toggle in settings), status, and an unsubscribe token. Settings are stored in thetvsblog_settingsoption row. -
Will my data be deleted if I uninstall the plugin?
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Only if you tick the “Delete all plugin data on uninstall” checkbox in settings. Otherwise, the subscribers table and settings are preserved so you can reactivate without losing data.
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Can I export my subscribers?
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Yes — the Subscribers page has an Export CSV button that downloads all active subscribers as a CSV file.
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“thevitaminshots Blog Pro” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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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
- Blog page shortcode with hero, category filter, sort, featured post, pagination
- Newsletter signup with welcome email
- Manual send-on-publish workflow for new post notifications
- Gmail Primary inbox optimized email templates
- Full settings for all displayed text and colors
- CSV export of subscribers
- Optional data deletion on uninstall