Job boards can look imposing, full of various information and features. If you want to create your own, you might assume that it will be time-consuming and expensive. You may expect to be forced with a choice between learning how to do it yourself or hiring a costly developer.
However, this doesn’t have to be the case. You can easily add helpful features to your site and save time and money, simply by using WordPress and a specialized job board plugin. With the right tool, you can offer more value to your audience and even earn additional revenue.
In this article, we will look at what job board plugins can do. Then we’ll explore five of the best options available. Let’s get to it!
Job boards are among the most popular websites there are. 30% of all Google searches are job-related, with a fifth of all hires worldwide happening via job boards. What’s more, job boards account for almost half of global job applications.
So what is a job board? It’s a nutshell, it’s a website or subsection of a website that lists open positions at one or more companies. Employers can publish detailed job offers for available vacancies, and job seekers can typically filter the jobs and search for the positions they want. Users usually submit their applications through online forms, and may also be able to upload resumes and cover letters.
There are two main kinds of job boards. Some are part of a larger site, taking up a dedicated page or section. This is useful for advertising positions at a single company, or on websites with separate primary interests. These might include industry websites, or local newspapers.
Other job boards are self-contained websites. You are better off using this approach when your sole aim is advertising jobs. Most often, this type of job board will include positions at many different companies. It’s also often revenue-based, requiring employers and/or job seekers to pay in order to post jobs and submit applications.
If you’re creating an entirely standalone site, you will also require hosting and a domain. We’d recommend building your website with WordPress, as it’s free, user-friendly, and flexible. It also allows you to add themes and plugins to your site, many uniquely tailored to specialized needs.
However, WordPress doesn’t come with job board functionality built-in. So no matter what type of job board you’re creating, you’ll need a dedicated plugin. Fortunately, there are plenty of options.
When making your choice, some key features you may wish to consider include data collation, filtering, new post types, ease of use, and mobile-friendliness. It’s essential that users can find the jobs they’re looking for easily, and that your website is simple to use.
Finally, it’s important to note that nearly 83 percent of Americans are mobile internet users. Ensuring that your job board works flawlessly for these users is essential.
Now that you know a little more about what you’re looking for, let’s review five of the best job board plugins for WordPress. Any of these tools could be an excellent way to add the required functionality to your new or existing website.
First up, WP Job Manager is one of the most popular job board plugins available. It’s developed by Automattic, the same company behind WordPress, so it maintains the high standard as other well-known plugins such as WooCommerce and Jetpack.
This plugin relies on shortcodes to make things simple. There’s a clear focus on ease of use, with listings created through the familiar WordPress posting interface.
WP Job Manager also tries to make things easy for your users, with filters on the front end and a submission form for applications. Job seekers can even subscribe to RSS feeds and get alerts when your board adds new positions.
In terms of styling, you can edit everything to fit your existing theme. However, note that this is primarily done through CSS, meaning you will need some expertise in that language.
Key Features:
Price: WP Job Manager is free to download, with a series of paid add-ons that start at $19 per year.
WP Job Openings is a highly-rated plugin that lives up to its reputation. As with WP Job Manager, this tool puts usability front and center. It’s straightforward to set up and use, but still offers an impressive feature set.
That includes Ajax filtering and search, two different layouts (grid and list), an application form, a notification manager, and a clean UI. There are also flexible options for filtering, and plenty of hooks for developers to customize the feel of the job board. Plus, the plugin automatically formats applications as PDFs.
WP Job Openings makes it easy to add job listing schema for Google, which has the potential to boost your listings. With only one tab for displaying content, however, this plugin is best for adding vacancies to an existing company website, rather than creating a dedicated jobs website.
Key Features:
Price: There is a free version of WP Job Manager, and a premium version starting at $49 per year.
Next on our list, Simple Job Board is perhaps the most comprehensive of all the plugins listed here. This tool does everything you might expect, allowing you to list jobs, display them using shortcodes, and add application forms.
However, you can also organize your jobs using various categories such as location and type, and add your company profile. Other advanced features include an email verification system, user filters, user-submitted vacancies, and the ability to add attachments.
Despite these features, this plugin remains lightweight. It also comes in 14 languages, making it ideal for multilingual sites. While perhaps not as easy to use as some other entries on this list, Simple Job Board still keeps things simple using the familiar WordPress interface.
Key Features:
Price: Simple Job Board is free to download, but offers paid add-ons starting around $10.
If you’re looking for a balance between ease of use and power, Jobs For WordPress provides a range of crucial features. Listings can be customized via an easy drag-and-drop system, allowing you to add modules, structure, and paragraphs.
On the front end, users can search the listings with plenty of filters. All creation and management is done through the familiar WordPress interface, making the plugin simple to learn and use.
Jobs For WordPress will also automatically format your job listings with structured data. This allows your listings to be effectively read by search engines, increasing the odds that they’ll be displayed in relevant searches.
You can also adjust the style of your job advertisements, and display them via shortcodes or PHP. Finally, applications are protected from spam by an invisible “honey pot” and Google reCaptcha.
Key Features:
Price: Jobs for WordPress is completely free to use.
Last but not least, easy.jobs is another all-in-one package that’s simple to use and has a straightforward interface. This plugin focuses heavily on style, allowing you to create a visually-appealing brand profile with several ready-to-use layouts. It also includes support for the popular Elementor page builder.
Among its many features, easy.jobs comes with advanced filtering options to allow you to track and analyze applications, with a full range of analytics. You’ll also get access to plenty of categories and job types.
If you’re looking to move to the premium version, easy.jobs goes even further. The premium packages provide quizzes, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools, remote interview options, smart workflows, and more.
Key Features:
Price: The easy.jobs WordPress plugin is free. You’ll also need to sign up for the easy.jobs service, which offers a free tier and premium plans ranging from $7.99 to $39.99 per month.
If you’re looking to add a job board to your WordPress website, you’ll need the right tool. Dedicated plugins can give you access to filtering and categories, analytics, and plenty of other key features.
Let’s review our five recommended job board plugins for WordPress:
Do you have any questions about choosing the best job board plugin for WordPress? Let us know in the comments section below!
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