Documentation

Installation

1. Install the plugin — Search for “DS Client Portal” in Plugins → Add New, or upload the .zip file via Upload Plugin. Click Install Now.
2. Activate — Click Activate Plugin. The plugin will create the necessary database tables, file directories, and user roles automatically.
3. Configure your settings — Upload your logo, pick an accent color, and customize your portal from the Settings page.
4. Activate Pro (optional) — If you purchased a Pro license, go to Client Portal → Settings → License tab. Paste your license key and click Activate to unlock invoicing, webhooks, and advanced customization.

Quick Start Guide

Get your portal up and running in under 5 minutes:

1. Add your first client — Go to Client Portal → Clients and click Add New. Enter their name and email. No password needed — they’ll use OTP login.
2. Create a task — Go to Client Portal → Tasks and click Add New. Assign it to your client, set a status, and add a description.
3. Share the portal link — Send your client the portal URL: yoursite.com/portal/. They enter their email, receive a login code, and see their tasks immediately.

Managing Clients

Clients are WordPress users with the Portal Client role. They can only access the portal — they never see WordPress admin.

Adding a Client

1. Go to Client Portal → Clients and click Add New.
2. Enter their full name and email address.
3. Optionally add a company name.
4. Click Save. A welcome email is sent automatically with their portal login link.

Client Isolation

Each client can only see their own data. They cannot access other clients’ tasks, files, or invoices. This is enforced at every level — database queries, template rendering, and file downloads.

Managing Tasks

Tasks are the core of your client communication. Use them for requests, deliverables, revisions — anything you’d otherwise handle over email.

Creating a Task

Go to Client Portal → Tasks → Add New. Fill in:

• Title — A clear name for the task
• Description — Details, requirements, or context (rich text supported)
• Client — Assign to a specific client
• Status — Set the current stage (see Task Statuses)
• Due Date — Optional deadline
• Assignee — Assign a team member from your admin users
• Project — Group tasks under a project name
• Files — Attach reference files directly to the task

Time Tracking

Log hours spent on each task from the task detail screen. Time entries are visible to the client on their task detail view, providing transparency on work performed.

Task Lifecycle

Comments & Discussion

Each task has a comment thread visible to both you and the client. Comments support rich formatting (bold, italic, links, lists) and file attachments. Comments are single-level — no nested replies — for simplicity.

When you post a comment, the client gets an email notification (and vice versa).

Client Approval

When a task reaches “On Review” status, the client sees an Approve button in their portal. Clicking it moves the task to “Completed” automatically.

Activity Log

The system automatically logs key events in each task’s comment thread:

• Task submitted — When a client submits a new request
• Status changes — When an admin or client changes the task status
• Client approval — When the client approves work on review

Activity entries appear inline with regular comments, marked with a “System” label to distinguish them from user comments.

Billing Status

Completed tasks can show a billing status (Billed or Paid) when linked to an invoice. This is managed automatically based on the linked invoice’s status.

Managing Invoices Pro

Create and track invoices directly from WordPress admin. Clients view them in the portal.

Creating an Invoice

1. Go to Client Portal → Invoices → Add New.
2. Select a client from the dropdown.
3. Add line items with description, quantity, and rate. You can also link existing tasks as line items.
4. Set the issue date. The due date auto-calculates based on your payment terms (configurable in Invoice Settings).
5. Add optional notes for the client.
6. Set status to Sent to notify the client by email.

Invoice Numbering

Invoices are auto-numbered with a configurable prefix. Default format: INV-001, INV-002, etc. Change the prefix and starting number in Invoice Settings.

Invoice-Task Linking

When adding line items to an invoice, you can link existing tasks directly. Linked tasks automatically update their billing status based on the invoice — showing Billed when the invoice is sent and Paid when marked as paid.

PDF Download

Clients can download any invoice as a professionally formatted PDF directly from the portal. The PDF includes your logo, company information, line items with amounts, and the footer text configured in Invoice Settings.

Overdue Detection

A daily background process checks for invoices past their due date. Unpaid invoices are automatically marked Overdue and the client receives an email reminder.

Managing Files

Files can be uploaded to tasks (by you or the client) and attached to comments. All files are stored securely.

Where Files Are Stored

Files are stored in a private directory outside the standard uploads folder. This means they aren’t publicly accessible or indexed by search engines. Direct access is blocked by server rules.

Upload Limits

Downloading Files

All downloads go through a secure endpoint that verifies the user has permission to access the file. Clients can only download files from their own tasks.

Dashboard & Analytics

The admin dashboard at Client Portal → Dashboard gives you an overview of your portal activity.

KPI Cards

Charts

Two visual charts help you spot trends at a glance:

• Tasks Overview — Doughnut chart showing task distribution by status.
• Revenue Breakdown — Bar chart comparing paid, unpaid, and overdue amounts.

Action Required

A quick list of items needing your attention: overdue tasks and tasks awaiting your review.

Client Login (OTP)

DS Client Portal uses passwordless authentication. Clients never need to create or remember a password.

How It Works

• Codes expire after 15 minutes.
• Each code is single-use — it’s deleted after successful login.
• Rate limited to 3 requests per 15 minutes per email to prevent abuse.

Client Portal: Tasks & Requests

The tasks page is the main dashboard your clients see after logging in. Tasks are grouped by status for easy scanning.

Viewing Tasks

Clients see their tasks organized into status groups. Each task card shows the title, ID number, date, current status, and assigned team member (with avatar). Click any task to view its full details, comments, and files.

Search & Filtering

Clients can quickly find tasks using:

• Live search — A search bar that filters tasks by title as you type
• Project filter — A dropdown to filter tasks by project name (visible when multiple projects exist)

Notification Badges

Navigation links in the portal sidebar show unread count badges for tasks and invoices. This helps clients quickly see when new activity requires their attention.

Creating a Request

Clients click the Add Request button to submit a new task. They can:

• Enter a title and description (rich text editor with bold, italic, lists, links)
• Attach files to the request
• Submit for your review

New requests appear in your admin with a Request status.

Approving Work

When you set a task to On Review, the client sees an Approve button. Clicking it marks the task as completed.

Client Portal: Files

The Files page shows all files across all of the client’s tasks in one place. Files can be filtered by type:

• All — Every file
• PDF — PDF documents
• Images — JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG
• Documents — Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Other — Everything else

Each file shows its name, size, which task it belongs to, and the upload date. Clients can download or delete their own uploaded files.

File Preview

Clients can preview files directly in the portal without downloading. Click any file to open an in-page modal preview that supports:

• Images — JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG displayed at full size
• PDFs — Rendered inline with page navigation
• Text files — Plain text and code files displayed with formatting

Drag-and-Drop Upload

The Add Request form includes a drag-and-drop file upload zone. Clients can drag files from their computer directly onto the drop area, or click to browse. Multiple files can be attached to a single request.

Client Portal: Invoices Pro

Clients can view all their invoices, filtered by status: All, Sent, Paid, or Overdue. Each invoice shows the invoice number, amount, dates, and current status.

Clicking an invoice shows the full detail view with line items, totals, and any notes you’ve added. A Download PDF button is available on each invoice detail page, allowing clients to save a professionally formatted PDF copy for their records.

Client Portal: Profile

Clients can update their profile from the portal:

• Avatar — Upload a profile photo
• Full name — Update their display name
• Email — Displayed but cannot be changed (for security)
• Notification preferences — Toggle emails for task updates, new comments, and invoice alerts

Settings Overview

All plugin settings are at Client Portal → Settings. Settings are organized into tabs:

Branding & Customization

Logo

Upload your logo in Settings → General. It appears in the portal header, the login page, and all email notifications. Recommended size: 200×50px or similar horizontal format.

Accent Color

Pick a color in Settings → General. This color is used for buttons, status badges, links, and email call-to-action buttons throughout the portal.

Welcome Message

In Settings → Customization, set a welcome heading and note displayed on the client’s tasks page. Use the placeholder [dscp_client_name] in the heading to show the client’s name. Example: “Welcome back, [dscp_client_name]”.

Client Instructions

Write a help guide in Settings → Customization. This appears as a help modal accessible from the portal. If left empty, the help button is hidden. Supports rich text.

Footer

Customize the portal footer text in Settings → Customization. Use the shortcodes [dscp_year] for the current year and [dscp_site_title] for the site name. Default: © [dscp_year] [dscp_site_title].

Email Notifications

The plugin sends HTML emails automatically. Toggle each type in Settings → Email.

All emails use your logo and accent color. Clients can override their notification preferences from their portal profile.

Invoice Settings Pro

Configure invoice defaults in Settings → Invoice.

Portal URL

By default, the portal is accessible at yoursite.com/portal/. You can change this in Settings → Portal.

Examples

Task Statuses Reference

Invoice Statuses Reference

Security

DS Client Portal is built with security as a priority.

Blocked File Types

The following file extensions are always blocked from upload, regardless of other settings:

.php .php3 .php4 .php5 .phtml .exe .sh .bat .cmd .com .pif .scr .vbs .js .jar

Requirements

Developer Hooks Pro

DS Client Portal provides actions and filters that let developers customize and extend plugin behavior. All hooks use the dscp_ prefix.

Portal Access & Authentication

These hooks control who can access the portal and how authentication works. Use them to create public portals, demo environments, or integrate with external auth systems.

Public/Demo Portal (bypass all auth):

// Make the entire portal publicly accessible (no login required)
add_filter( 'dscp_portal_requires_auth', '__return_false' );

Demo Mode (read-only with auto-login):

// Enable demo mode: auto-login as demo user, block all writes
add_filter( 'dscp_demo_mode', '__return_true' );

Bypass OTP for a specific email:

add_filter( 'dscp_otp_bypass', function( $bypass, $email, $user ) {
    if ( $email === 'demo@example.com' ) {
        return true;
    }
    return $bypass;
}, 10, 3 );

Task Lifecycle

Invoice Lifecycle

Add tax to invoice totals:

add_filter( 'dscp_invoice_total', function( $total, $items, $post_id ) {
    $tax_rate = 0.10; // 10% tax
    return $total * ( 1 + $tax_rate );
}, 10, 3 );

File Handling

Email Notifications

Override email template:

add_filter( 'dscp_email_template', function( $html, $heading, $greeting, $body, $url, $btn_text ) {
    // Return your own HTML email template
    return $custom_html;
}, 10, 6 );

Portal Templates

Custom portal template from theme:

add_filter( 'dscp_portal_template_path', function( $path, $page ) {
    $custom = get_stylesheet_directory() . '/dscp/portal-' . $page . '.php';
    if ( file_exists( $custom ) ) {
        return $custom;
    }
    return $path;
}, 10, 2 );

Settings

Access Control

Available Shortcodes

DS Client Portal provides shortcodes you can use in portal settings fields such as the footer text and welcome heading.

Usage Examples

Footer text — In Settings → Customization → Footer:

© [dscp_year] [dscp_site_title]. All rights reserved.

Renders as: © 2026 DS Client Portal. All rights reserved.

Welcome heading — In Settings → Customization → Welcome Heading:

Welcome back, [dscp_client_name]

Renders as: Welcome back, Jane Smith

Integrations Pro

DS Client Portal connects to thousands of external apps through outgoing webhooks. Instead of building individual integrations for each service, the plugin provides a single webhook system that fires HTTP POST requests when portal events occur — compatible with Zapier, Make (Integromat), IFTTT, n8n, or any custom HTTP endpoint.

Setting Up Webhooks

1. Go to Client Portal → Settings → Integrations tab.
2. Enter your Webhook URL — the destination for POST requests (e.g. a Zapier Webhooks catch hook URL, a Make webhook URL, or your own endpoint).
3. A Secret Key is auto-generated on first save. This key signs every request with HMAC-SHA256 so your endpoint can verify payloads are authentic.
4. Check the events you want to fire. Only checked events send HTTP requests.
5. Click Save Settings.
6. Use the Test Webhook button to send a sample payload and confirm your endpoint responds with a 200 status.

Available Webhook Events

Payload Format

Every webhook sends a JSON payload with a consistent structure:

{
  "event": "task.created",
  "timestamp": "2025-01-15T14:30:00+00:00",
  "site_url": "https://yoursite.com",
  "data": {
    "task_id": 142,
    "title": "Update homepage banner",
    "status": "request",
    "client_id": 5,
    "client_name": "Jane Smith",
    "client_email": "jane@example.com"
  }
}

The data object varies by event — task events include task fields, invoice events include invoice fields, and so on. See llm/integrations.md for the complete payload reference for every event.

Security

Every request includes an X-DSCP-Signature header:

X-DSCP-Signature: sha256=a1b2c3d4e5f6...

Verify the signature on your endpoint by computing HMAC-SHA256 of the raw request body using your secret key and comparing it to the header value. This ensures the request came from your portal and hasn’t been tampered with.

Delivery & Retries

• Webhooks are dispatched in the background via WordPress cron to avoid slowing down user actions.
• Failed deliveries (non-2xx response or timeout) are retried up to 3 times with increasing delays: 5 minutes, 30 minutes, then 2 hours.
• The Delivery Log at the bottom of the Integrations tab shows the last 10 delivery attempts with event type, HTTP status, and timestamp — useful for debugging without server access.

Roadmap

Here’s what’s coming next for DS Client Portal. Features move through three stages: Exploring (researching feasibility), Planned (confirmed and designed), and Coming Soon (actively in development).

Troubleshooting & Common Issues

Solutions to the most common issues encountered when setting up and using DS Client Portal.