Create An Online Media Library

I wrote a post a while ago on how to use the WP Download Monitor Plugin to organise and display downloadable files on your WordPress website. The latest version of this awesome plugin by Mike Jolley goes another step further by allowing you to create a dedicated Downloads Page.  

• The layout is attractive and easy to navigate
• Files include thumbnail images
• Each download category is presented in its own box
• Clicking on the images or titles takes you to a more detailed page showing your file’s description, categories, date uploaded, version, no. of times downloaded, tags and a button to download/view the file
• You can also add a More Info button linking to a post or page inside your WordPress site
• You can add customised text to appear underneath the download button

View my new Downloads Page in action…

How to Create Your Media Library

If you already use this plugin, you may need to upgrade to the latest version. If you don’t, download the WP Download Monitor Plugin and activate on your plugins page. You should be able to complete both these actions inside your WordPress admin.

1. See my previous post for instructions on setting up Download categories and uploading your files.
2. Create an image for each of your files (this could be the cover or first page or you could create a special graphic to represent the file as I have done).
3. Upload each image to your site and copy the image url, then Go to the Downloads section inside your WordPress admin and paste the url into the image thumbnail box on the appropriate file.
4. At the same time, check that you have added a description of your file and tags (keywords or phrases).
5. If you have a page/post on your website containing more information, check the post id, then on your downloads page, add a custom field called post_id and paste the post id into the value field.
6. Don’t forget to save your changes.

Create a Downloads Page

Add or edit a page on your website where you would like your media library to display and add the code (see right) to your content box. To change the number of files appearing in the Popular downloads, box just change the number 6 for your preferred number.

You can also see this plugin in action on the Weekend Gardener Supplements Page.