The 4 Best WordPress Document Management Plugins

Online businesses generally have a host of sensitive documents that they need to store online. Good document management is at the heart of every successful business. From contracts to supply orders to receipts, everything must be stored and referenced neatly. 

Using a WordPress document management plugin is ideal for all businesses to keep their important documents in one place. Without one, you are going to face quite a few problems in finding important documents when you most need them.

What Is a WordPress Document Manager?

Although a WordPress document manager works as an FTP client, it’s much more efficient and versatile. It gives you the ability to seamlessly switch between multiple sites and work with a wide variety of files and media. You can download, upload, edit, delete and open documents directly from your WordPress dashboard.

This way, you don’t have to go through the hassle of using FTP clients to store and manage server files. You have all your files accessible in a secure and central location, streamlining communications and increasing productivity.  

Why You’d Want to Use a WordPress Document Management Plugin

File Management and Security

Most businesses have expansive archives of documents, ranging from legal contracts and tax records to customer details and a lot more. They need a simple way to allow their employees to locate and access documents. 

The most popular solution to this is a shared network folder. But, the problem with shared network folders is that they have poor organization, security, and folder structures. Their usage often results in the loss of valuable resources and exposes your sensitive documentation to major security risks.

A WordPress document management plugin built into your CMS organizes and protects your resources. It sorts and filters your files in a way that makes it easy to search and sift through multiple documents. As a result, your documents stay in one central location, reducing security risks and promoting accessibility. 

Selling Products for eCommerce

As an eCommerce business owner, you need to stay up to speed with boatloads of financial and customer data. From product media to earnings and discount codes, there’s so much to commit to memory. A document management plugin works as an organizational assistant, sorting your eCommerce information and making your job a whole lot easier. 

Tracking Client Records

Every business needs a functional filing system to keep track of client records. Every business needs a document management system to control the flow of information. Think of it as an online filing cabinet that ensures that everything remains in one place. 

A document management plugin ensures you have fast and easy access to your client files at any given time. This helps your business maintain a professional and stress-free relationship with your clients for the long haul. 

Who Should Use a WordPress Document Management Plugin?

Digital agency owners, startup founders, and e-commerce store owners are some of the many users who prefer using WordPress document management plugins. Essentially, if your website is based on WordPress, you may want to consider using a WP document management plugin. 

It helps in regulating the flow of information throughout your business and allows you to ensure that all sensitive and important documentation, such as contracts, employee records, and other important documents.

Since it’s a plugin, you can seamlessly manage your documents directly through your WordPress CMS.  

The Best WordPress Document Management Plugins

SP Project & Document Manager

First up on our list is the SP Project & Document Manager.

The WordPress document management plugin is loaded with many powerful administrative features to promote customization and user flexibility. You get plenty of leeways to personalize your filing system. 

The best part: the plugin is simple to install and use. You can perform high levels of customization without extensive coding knowledge. 

Some features that make the SP Project & Document Manager stand out include:

• Ability to create unlimited folders and subfolders and maintain vast hierarchical 
• Simple functions to edit existing folders.
• User-friendly layout to get you started without extensive learning. 
• Option to password-protect individual files. 
• Support for media files, images, and YouTube videos. 
• WordPress role integration to increase security and link file retention dates with the recycle bin. 

When it comes to pricing, the basic plan is free. However, it has limited features compared to their premium plan, which starts at 75$/year and comes with renewal discounts.  

To make sure you’re choosing a paid plan best-suited to your needs, try the SP Project & Document Manager product builder. You can select all the features you think you’ll need. The builder will then list some plans that fit your preferences. 

File Manager

Simple as its name, File Manager is one of the most convenient and user-friendly document managers for WordPress platforms.

The plugin has a clean and intuitive interface. At times, you feel like you’re navigating the Windows File Explorer on your Windows OS. This considerably cuts the learning curve and speeds up basic management operations. 

That said, ease of use doesn’t mean any shortage of features or functionality. Some powerful File Manager features include:

• Ability to perform various folder operations, such as cut, copy, paste, and rename. 
• No restriction on file size. 
• Option to share files via email. 
• Root Directory lets you access both Internal and external WordPress files. 
• Support for PDF files. 
• Cross-device functionality with Responsive UI. 

You don’t have to pay for the plugin’s basic features. However, the more advanced features, such as short coding and folder creation, are only available on File Manager Pro.

The good news: File Manager premium plans have some of the most competitive pricing on the market. For only a one-time 25$ payment, you get access to almost all premium functionality. 

FileBird

FileBird is a document management system specifically designed to manage heavy loads of media. This is great for WordPress users who want a large and organized repository of images and videos. 

This WordPress Document Management plugin has simple drag and drop tools to create virtual folders and store your files efficiently. This ensures that any permalinks associated with your images and videos aren’t broken down during transfers. Some of the plugin’s most popular features are:

• Intelligent context menu to edit folders: You can create, delete and rename similar to how you would on an operating system like Windows. 

• A single, centralized sidebar to control all created folders and upload media. 
• Cross-migrations lets you migrate any folders associated with third-party plugins. 
• An advanced search feature to locate folders and files. 
• Eight different built-in sorting systems to categorize files and folders.
• Ability to limit admin-folder access, meaning each admin can only access the folders they have created or have access to. 

FileBird is also very handy if you don’t have an extensive media library. There are many features to keep non-media documents safe and organized. 

With FileBird Basic, you only have access to limited features. For a more enhanced and well-rounded user experience, you can opt for FileBird Pro. FileBird Pro has the same affordable pricing as File Manager. You only have to pay 25$/site to get full premium access. 

Easy Digital Downloads 

We’ll round things up with a WordPress document manager that’s great for eCommerce businesses. Easy Digital Downloads can do it all, from selling digital downloads to offloading documents and media. 

Easy Digital Downloads is a very compact plugin. Instead of providing a long line of features and functionalities, it limits you to the ones you need. This makes the plugin lightweight, complete, and extremely easy to navigate. Some of the plugin’s features that eCommerce users love to include:

• Frontend shopping cart to allow customers to browse catalogs and add items to review their potential purchases.
• On-site checkout without the need to visit intermediary websites. 
• Payment support for various payment options, including Stripe and Apple Pay.
• Ability to view a complete record and history of customer purchases. 
• Detailed eCommerce reports showing an electronic trail of sales, refunds, and earnings. 
• Another great thing about Easy Digital Downloads is its multi-theme compatibility. No matter your WordPress theme, it will fit right in!  

The personal pass starts from $99, though most people prefer the Professional Pass, which costs $299 annually. The Professional Pass, which gives you access to all extensions, is $499 annually. 

A Quick Overview

Are There Any Alternatives?

Depending on what you’re looking for in a file management platform, Atarim could be for you. We built Atarim to help web design agencies ditch the endless back and forth on communication platforms like Slack or a disarray of support software with requests coming in from dozens of places.

Instead, Atarim centralizes communication in a single, central source of truth.

Interesting Read: 5 Unique Things You Can Only Do With Atarim

So, whether you’re working on a web design project or tweaking site features, you and your client can communicate with each other from a single, secure location. This streamlines client and project management like clockwork. Clients can leave comments and assign tasks, and the team can respond to them.

Here’s a brief overview of how it works:

• The Atarim dashboard shows your active websites, projects, and client requests. From here, you can monitor your team’s activity in the past 24 hours. You can also check which of your client’s feedbacks are critical and which of them are complete or in progress. 
• Clients can leave detailed comments for making changes. This way, you know exactly when and what the client wants instead of having to go back and forth.
• You can turn a client request into a task and assign it to a team member. You can also set the task’s priority and organize it through a Kanban board. 
• Finally, you can track all your requests and tasks in the task center to make sure everyone’s up to speed and on the same page, as shown below. 

Atarim isn’t just for document management, as you can tell. It’s an all-inclusive web design management platform we built to make it effortless for web designers and developers to collaborate with clients and work better.

Here’s what it offers:

• Clients can highlight specific points on a screenshot and leave comments on the changes they want. This significantly reduces back and forth. 
• There’s an in-built messenger through which developers and designers can securely communicate with clients. You can leave comments to highlight and explain specific functions of the site.
• The centralized dashboard makes it easy for developers to keep track of different clients and the status of the work. 
• Tasks can be assigned to specific team members, along with time estimates. This makes it easy to track deliverables. 

The Bottom Line – WordPress Document Management Plugins

All WordPress document management plugins have a different set of features. You have to find a tool that’s best-suited for your business needs and preferences. This starts with analyzing your client management and your business processes. Tools like Atarim are making collaboration much easier, making them a viable solution for businesses that want to scale up. 

Learn more & get started here.