Hire Toolset Developers

Toolset is a collection of premium WordPress plugins developed by OnTheGoSystems (the same company as WPML). The suite covers the full stack of custom content development: Types handles custom post type and taxonomy registration and custom field groups; Views handles querying and displaying that content on the front end without writing PHP queries; Forms handles front-end post submission and editing; Access handles user role and capability management per post type.

Toolset’s key selling point is that a skilled site builder can create complex custom content applications – directories, booking systems, membership content, job boards – without writing PHP. Views provides a visual query builder and a template system using Toolset’s own shortcodes to output field values, loop through related posts, and apply conditional logic.

Toolset is distinct from ACF and Pods in that it bundles the display layer (Views) and the front-end data entry layer (Forms) alongside the data modelling layer (Types). This makes it a more self-contained solution for non-PHP developers, but also means it has a steeper learning curve and a larger plugin footprint than using ACF for fields alone. Toolset Types.

Toolset is appropriate in these situations:

• Building a directory or listing site where content editors submit and manage their own listings through front-end forms without WordPress admin access.
• Building a job board, property portal, or event platform where the data model, display, and submission are all handled within the Toolset suite.
• Sites with complex relationships between content types – properties linked to agents linked to agencies, for example – where Toolset’s relationship manager handles the data linking.
• Complex user-facing content management where Access controls what different user roles can see and edit.
• Existing Toolset sites that need new features, bug fixes, or performance work.

Toolset is a large suite and individual developer experience varies significantly between components. Ask specifically which Toolset components the developer has worked with – Types and Views are the most common; Forms and Access are less frequently used and have their own learning curve.

For Views work, ask how they approach performance. Toolset Views can generate complex database queries, and Views that query large post sets with multiple relationship joins can become slow. A developer who knows how to optimise Toolset queries – caching View output, limiting relationship depth, using server-side pagination – is more valuable than one who builds Views without considering performance.

Note that Toolset is a large, proprietary suite. Sites built heavily on Toolset are difficult to migrate away from. If the long-term plan involves moving to a different content management approach, discuss this before committing to a Toolset-heavy build.

Common Toolset problems: Why Toolset Types Content Looks Broken After A Builder Redesign.

• Views not displaying content – the View’s query filter is excluding the target posts, or the View is placed on the wrong page type. Use Toolset’s View debug mode to see what query is being run and what it returns.
• Relationship fields not saving – a configuration issue with the relationship definition, or a PHP memory limit being hit when saving posts with many related items. Check the PHP error log for the specific error.
• Front-end Forms not submitting – a JavaScript conflict, a nonce verification failure, or a server-side validation error. Check the browser console and the Toolset Forms error log.
• Access rules not applying correctly – the access rules are configured at the wrong level (role vs user vs post), or caching is serving cached pages that ignore access restrictions. Review the Access configuration and exclude protected pages from caching.
• Slow page load on Views-heavy pages – the View is running an unoptimised query or is not using caching. Enable Toolset’s View caching and review the query complexity in the View settings.

Toolset releases updates across its multiple components, and the components need to be kept in sync – running an old version of Types with a new version of Views can cause compatibility issues. Test Toolset updates on staging before applying to production for sites with complex Views or Forms implementations.

Toolset licences are annual. Expired licences allow existing functionality to continue but block updates, creating growing compatibility risk over time.

When posting a Toolset project on Codeable, specify which Toolset components are in use (Types, Views, Forms, Access) and describe the content architecture. Include the Toolset version and WordPress version – Toolset compatibility issues are often version-specific.

For new builds, mention whether Toolset is specifically required or whether you are open to alternative approaches. A developer can assess whether Toolset is the right fit for the specific requirements.