A searchable document library for any website

For years, Document Library Pro has helped organizations turn a pile of files into a fast, searchable library on their WordPress site. Today we are bringing that same library to any website, whatever platform it runs on.

Document Library Pro began as a WordPress plugin, and it still is one. But when we looked closely at the organizations using it, we found that many of them don't run their websites on WordPress at all. That is why we have also built a version that works anywhere.

Our customers aren't only on WordPress

Document Library Pro runs on more than 13,000 websites. We sat down to work out who those customers really are, and the same four types of organization came up again and again:

• Nonprofits and charities publishing reports, toolkits and guides.
• Clinics and health organizations sharing patient resources and clinical guidance.
• Councils and government bodies posting agendas, minutes and policies.
• Membership and professional associations giving members a library of resources.

Example uses range from a members-only board library where directors upload their own minutes, to a research library of around 1,000 PDFs that visitors filter by year.

A large share of these organizations are not on WordPress. Instead, they run on other platforms like Squarespace, Wix, Google Sites, a company intranet, or a completely custom site or CMS. Until now, Document Library Pro only worked on WordPress, so many of the organizations that needed it most couldn't buy it.

So we had a choice. We could keep building the best document library plugin for WordPress and reach only part of our market, or we could give people the same library wherever their site lives. We chose the customer over the platform.

Publishing your library on any website

Whatever your site is built with, you can now give it a full document library. You build the library in one place, then publish it where you need it. There are two ways to do that:

• Add it to an existing siteAdd your library to any site with a simple embed code, whatever platform it runs on.
• Publish it as its own websiteHave us publish your library as a standalone site on your own domain, with nothing for you to host or maintain.

Either way you get the same fast, searchable library, and we take care of the hosting for you.

Adding the library to a site is a copy-and-paste job. Here is a parish council dropping the embed code into a Google Sites page:

Give people a library they can search and filter

A good document library does the work your visitors would otherwise have to do themselves. They can search by keyword, filter by category, date or file type, and preview or download a document in a couple of clicks. You decide who gets in, so you can open it to the public or restrict it to specific people such as members, staff or a board.

That covers a public resource center on your main website, and a private library on an internal site that only your team can reach.

Why not just use SharePoint or Google Drive?

If you have ever gone looking for a tool like this, you will know the choices are thin. SharePoint is built for storing and collaborating on files internally, behind a corporate login, which is a different job.

Google Drive and Dropbox are great for storing and sharing files. Putting a branded, searchable library of those files on your own website is a separate job. That's exactly what document library software like Document Library Pro is designed for. And now you can do it on any platform.

WordPress plugin or hosted version: Which is right for you?

There are now two ways to use Document Library Pro:

• If your site runs on WordPressUse the original plugin. You install it, host it and manage it from your WordPress dashboard, and it is better value when you are already running WordPress.
• If your site runs on anything elseUse the hosted version. We host it and handle the updates, and you add your library to any website with no plugin to install.

The hosted version will not suit everyone. If you are already comfortable running WordPress, the original plugin gives you more control and costs less than paying us to host it. The hosted version is for the people who want a document library without running WordPress at all.

Both share the same name, the same features and the same fast, searchable library. The only real difference is where it lives. The original plugin stays here on barn2.com, and the version for any platform has its own website and documentation at documentlibrary.pro.

Do you already use Document Library Pro?

Nothing changes for you. The WordPress plugin is here to stay, fully supported, and your site carries on exactly as before. If you would like to publish your library somewhere beyond WordPress as well, get in touch and we will help you move it across. We have also updated the Document Library Pro page so you can pick the option that fits your site.

Put your documents where people can find them

WordPress is a brilliant platform and we're in it for the long-run. However, our job is to solve a problem for the people who publish documents, and that problem does not care which platform a website runs on.

Whichever platform you use for your website, your visitors should be able to find your documents in seconds. Whether you need a document library for WordPress or any other platform, get started with Document Library Pro today.