Toolset

What it is

Toolset is a suite of plugins for WordPress, and the company's own description is exact: "a suite of plugins for developing WordPress sites without writing PHP." It is a builder for site makers who need more than pages and posts. The pages point to custom post types and fields, dynamic content, and a library of Toolset blocks that work inside the WordPress block editor.

The reader it is for is a WordPress developer, freelancer or agency who builds sites with a custom content structure and wants to do it visually rather than by hand in PHP. The copyright line on the site belongs to OnTheGoSystems Limited, and the site runs in English, French, German and Spanish.

What you build and how

The documentation menu is the clearest map of what Toolset is for. It lists Custom Post Types and Fields, Directory and Classifieds Sites, Real Estate Sites, WooCommerce Sites, Business Sites and Membership Sites. Those are the site types the company writes guides for, and they share one trait: the content is more structured than a blog. A property listing, a classified ad or a directory entry has fields that a plain post does not.

The editor you work in is the WordPress block editor. Toolset publishes its own Toolset Blocks Library, and the company's support staff give a direct recommendation: the "safest bet" is the WordPress block editor with Toolset blocks. The feature pages reinforce it with titles such as "How to Build Advanced Sites With Gutenberg and No Coding" and "Shortcodes in Gutenberg - Dynamic Sources." Dynamic Sources are how a block pulls in a field value or other site data instead of fixed text.

The data layer is WordPress's own content system, extended by Toolset. The site lists "Toolset Components" and a "Site Building with Toolset" guide as top-level sections, and it keeps legacy features documented separately. A "Maps for Advanced Directory Sites" feature page shows maps as part of the directory use case, so a directory or real estate site can place its entries on a map rather than only in a list. Alongside the guides, the documentation has a Getting Started path, a set of Lessons, a Toolset and WordPress Glossary and a Frequently Asked Questions page, which together show how the company expects people to learn the suite: step by step, through worked lessons for each kind of site.

Other page builders are supported with caveats. A support reply points to Toolset's lessons on using Toolset with Elementor and with Beaver Builder, and warns that the Elementor list of known issues carries items marked OPEN or WON'T FIX that you need to check for workarounds. The same thread asks whether to use BeTheme with its builder or Elementor, and the answer is to prefer the block editor. So a team that already standardizes on another builder has dedicated lessons for it, and a known-issues list to work through first.

There is a "Programmer Information" section in the documentation for people who do want to write code alongside the visual tools. The company also offers "Toolset vs. Alternatives," a comparison page, and a Showcase of sites built with the suite.

On publishing and hosting, Toolset sits inside WordPress, so your site is hosted wherever your WordPress runs, and the finished directory, store or membership site is an ordinary WordPress site to its visitors. WooCommerce has its own documentation track, which places online stores with custom product data inside the suite's scope.

The site itself is localized. Its language menu offers English, Français, Deutsch and Español, and the same support thread appears under a French version of the page with the navigation translated, such as "Librairie de blocs Toolset" (Toolset blocks library) and "Acheter maintenant" (buy now).

The evidence

Toolset is a paid product: the header carries a "Buy Now" button, and only Toolset clients can post in the support forum. The pages that describe it publish no prices or plan names.

Support is the most detailed part of the site. The forum states that "Toolset support works 6 days per week, 19 hours per day." It is described as the technical support forum for Toolset, and it is public to read: "Everyone can read this forum, but only Toolset clients can post in it." It sits under the name Toolset Professional Support. In the example thread, posted on January 30, 2023, a client asks whether BeTheme is compatible and which builder works best alongside Toolset, and a named supporter, Christopher Amirian, answers the same morning with links to the relevant lessons. The page adds a warning that old tickets may contain obsolete advice, because the thread is 3 years and 8 months old.

Around the forum sit several help resources. These are Known issues and solutions, Frequently asked support questions, a Support tickets archive, a way to "Get help from experienced contractors," a "Meet Toolset support team" page, and a Customer Support Policy. There is also a page on how to remove personal information from your database for support, which matters if you share a site copy with the vendor, and a form for telling the company something about the quality of support.

The company also publishes a blog, press mentions and press resources, and lists About Us, Jobs and Contact Us under its company links.

Who it suits and who it does not

Toolset suits developers and agencies who build structured WordPress sites for clients: directories, classifieds, real estate listings, WooCommerce stores with custom content, business sites and membership sites. If you already know WordPress and want to avoid writing PHP for custom post types and listing templates, the product is aimed at you. The professional support forum and the long documentation menu suit teams that expect to look things up.

It is less suited to someone who wants a one-click template site, or a hosted builder that handles domains, databases and automation. It sits on top of WordPress, so WordPress remains your responsibility. If your team already lives in Elementor or Beaver Builder, the compatibility lessons and known issues are a real caveat, since the vendor itself recommends the block editor. Toolset is also a commercial product with support reserved for clients, so a freelancer weighing it for one small site should price it against the project.