5 Best Job Board Plugins for WordPress: Advice from a Senior WordPress Developer

If you’ve got some open internal positions for your business or want to attract top talents in your industry, you’d be glad to know WordPress has plugin support. Now, you can rest assured with WordPress plugins that offer robust features for displaying vacancies. Some may even include tools for managing resumes and other recruitment processes.

In this article, I’ll review five of the best job board plugin options for your WordPress site and tips for getting started. To begin, let’s cover the basics of job board plugins: what they are and why they’re great for showing off any current employment positions you might have:

What’s a Job Board Plugin (And Why Does Your Site Need One)?

A job board plugin is an add-on that enables you to create, batch, and handle all of your online job listings and applications directly from your WordPress site. This type of plugin brings employers closer to the talents they seek, which makes it crucial for you to choose the right one.

An immediate benefit of a job board plugin is automation. While you could manually add job listings to your site, we advise against it. You’d immediately see why once the applications start pouring in.  Essentially, a job board plugin automates various aspects of the job posting process, reducing your workload and saving time.

Automation also means your job board stays current and relevant to job seekers.

Job board plugins typically come packed with features to handle nearly the entire job search process. Some of them include:

• Posting job descriptions, listings category, incoming applications management
• Depending on your chosen plugin, custom application forms allow for resume uploads and parsing.
• Automated job alerts and search options.

I’ve established that job board plugins are becoming an essential item for any WordPress site looking to build and manage its online job marketplace more efficiently. In this article, we’ll consider some of the best job board plugins currently available.

How to Get Started with a WordPress Job Board

Deciding how to create your job board on your WordPress website comes down to your experience level. If you enjoy coding and have plenty of time to update listings, consider building the board with HTML from the ground up.

Another more convenient option is choosing a job board-specific theme from one of WordPress’s premium directories. These themes typically have built-in features like custom page layouts and enhanced search options.

If you already have the WordPress theme, consider using a job board plugin immediately. Most plugins add simple job board functionality to your site via shortcodes compatible with any theme. The user interface won’t be cumbersome, especially if you’re familiar with WordPress.

Below are the steps we’d recommend you take when getting started with your WordPress job board:

Step 1: Set Up the Site

You’ll need to set up a WordPress host to get things running. You’ll also need to decide on a domain name and check its availability. Note that some hosts might include the domain name in their pricing. 

Next, you can download the WordPress platform and upload it to your host. Depending on the hosting plan you settle for, the setup process can take minutes. You can also create staging and development sites to test your job board.

Step 2: Install a Job Board Plugin

After setting up WordPress on your hosting platform, go to the Plugins menu in the admin dashboard. Use the Add New option to search the plugin directory for your available job board plugins. 

Once you find the right plugin, click Install Now. After installation, click the Activate button to complete the setup.

Step 3: Configure the Plugin Settings

After activating the plugin, you’ll have the option to use the Setup Wizard. Click Run Setup Wizard and decide whether to share your data with the plugin’s developer.

You can also set up the plugin manually. For now, we recommend that you select Start Setup to review the various options.

You can decide which pages you want the job board plugin to create on the setup menu. For example, if you don’t allow employers to post jobs from the front end, unselect the Post a Job page option.

Once configuring these settings, click Create Selected Pages to complete the setup.

Now, you’re ready to start adding job listings to your site. On the final setup page, you can add a job listing via the front end or from your admin dashboard – totally your choice.

Step 4: Post Some Job Listings

Now, you’re all set up and ready to go. It’s time to post a job listing from your new plugin dashboard. Navigate to the Job Listings tab and select Add New.

The screen will look familiar if you create a WordPress page or post. You’ll have fields where you can add the job title and a brief description.

Below the editor, there are other fields to fill in details about the job listing, such as your business name, Twitter handle, company information, location, and even a video upload. You can also set an expiration date for the job listing.

Once you’ve added all the necessary information, click the Publish button in the upper right-hand corner.

If you want to view your new job listing, click All Jobs in the WordPress dashboard. Here, you can edit, delete, or monitor the status of each job listing.

You can also create ‘job types’ by selecting the Job Types menu item. These function like categories for WordPress posts and pages. You can use preset job types, such as full-time or part-time, or create your own to fit your needs.

Additionally, the Add-ons menu offers over 30 plugins to expand your job board plugin’s functionality. These range from resume management tools to WooCommerce-powered payment gateways for accepting payments from companies that want to list on your site.

You might have sprung for a free plugin, but the add-ons typically come with fees or subscriptions. Please take a look at the add-on bundles if you intend to use your job board plugin across multiple sites.

Integrating Job Board Plugins and Themes

Now that I’ve laid the groundwork for setting up a basic job board with a job board plugin, let’s explore themes tailored specifically for these sorts of websites. These themes are marketed as comprehensive solutions for creating job boards, offering expanded options for customization.

Some theme options come pre-built with some job board plugins and include numerous ready-made page layouts to help you get started quickly.

Alternatively, standalone WordPress themes offer the same clean, engaging page designs. 

I recommend that you purchase a WordPress job board theme with additional features like Google Map integration and advanced search capabilities.

Paul Olorunsola, a Senior WordPress Developer

5 Best Job Board Plugin for WordPress: Advice from a Senior WordPress Developer

Below are five of the best job board plugins for WordPress websites. I’ve compiled the list in no particular order but also provided a ranked table. First, let’s discuss their feature sets.

WP Job Manager

I start the list with WP Job Manager, a plugin whose USP is seamless WordPress integration for job boards of any size. The product is developed by Automattic, one of the leading WordPress contributors. This puts the plugin firmly in the must-have category if you prioritize optimal compatibility with your WordPress website.

Some of its core functionalities include:

• Shortcodes support for quick integrations with searchable and filterable job boards.
• Front-end forms for listings management without back-end access.
• Customizable RSS feeds
• Google’s Job Posting Schema support for optimal search engine visibility.
• Support for email or dedicated link job applications

Pricing

The core WP Job Manager plugin is free, but optional paid extensions are available. All these extensions come as a bundle; you can buy them at $159 per year for a single site license or $329 for an unlimited developer license.

WP Job Manager plugin can also fit a variety of site types, thanks to its no-cost customizations.

Job Manager and Career

ThemeHigh is another WordPress contributor that has a job board plugin, and it’s great. Job Manager and Career plugins also offer many of the robust functions you’d need to streamline your entire job recruitment process. Specifically, If you’re focused on application management, this plugin is the right fit.

Its feature sheet includes:

• Job openings creation and management
• Direct candidate applications through a dedicated on-site career page.
• Application management tools to generate insights into applicants’ details.
• Advanced search functionality.
• Document upload support
• Automated email notifications.

Pricing

Job Manager and Career plugin pricing starts at a single-site license for $49 per year. You can have licenses for five sites at $99 per year or 25 site licenses for $149 per year. A free version is also available to try out the plugin’s features before committing.

WP Job Openings

The WP Job Openings plugin is another worthy job board plugin alternative you can count on for your WordPress website. Its strong suit is designed to suit organizations of all sizes, with enough sleekness around the user interface to keep things running as they should. Some of its main features include:

• A career page creator with pre-built layouts.
• The application tracking system with single screen access from WordPress dashboard.
• Email notification templates
• Application forms customizations.
• Hooks for developer-side plugin customizations.

Pricing

You can get the WP Job Openings plugin for a $69 single-site license. It has a professional pricing plan, which costs $139 for access to five sites. If you require more extensive support, you can spring for the Agency plan, which costs $399 for unlimited licenses. Need to decide on any of these plans? There’s a free version available for that as well.

WPJobBoard

WPJobBoard plugin provides the high adaptability necessary to set up and manage your job boards on WordPress by yourself. It’s also best fit for both general and technical use cases.

Below are some of its main features:

• Integrations to third-party payment services, including PayPal and Stripe
• Schema Markup 
• RSS feeds
• Drag-and-drop visual editor for listings, application forms, and resumes
• Job listings syndications to other job boards like Indeed and SimplyHired
• Extensive documentation and responsive support.

Pricing

WPJobBoard is available in a Personal license use, which costs $97 for one site. There is a business plan that gets you plugin access to as many sites as you need for $199. While both tiers offer basically the same feature offering, the business tier gives you a selection of business extensions as well.

JobSearch WP

We round out this list with JobSearch WP, a versatile premium-only solution that provides all the extensive customization options for your job boards.

Check out its top features:

• Direct WooCommerce integration
• Full WPML plugin support for translating job listings.
• Extensive job listings and resumes organization capabilities
• Multiple display options support
• Extensive shortcode support for lists, searches, and more.
• User dashboard page template with social media login options.

Pricing

A regular license for JobSearch WP costs $79 and covers a single site. According to the vendor’s policy, this only includes six months of support. It might be small, but the plugin’s extensive functionality makes it a valuable solution for your job board website.

Rankings

WP Job Openings and WP Job Manager are excellent plugins, with the former slightly edging the latter as the best on my list. They are both free and offer the option to extend the functionality with paid add-ons. This lets you scale as your hiring needs and budget grow.

But that’s not to say the other plugins on this list aren’t worth considering. Each one offers unique features tailored to specific user needs, so be sure to explore all of them.

Rank	Name	Standout Feature	Price Range	Free Version?
🏅	WP Job Openings	Scalability of listings	$69–399 per year	Yes
🥈	WP Job Manager	Fantastic compatibility with WordPress	$159–329 per year	Yes
🥉	Job Manager & Career	Excellent, competitive pricing	$49–149 per year	Yes
4	JobSearch WP	WooCommerce and full WPML support	$79	No
5	WPJobBoard	Job listing syndication options to third-party sites	$97–199 per year	No

Other Tools You Might Need

Job board plugins are great, but you must understand that a full-fat job board will take more than that, especially when building one for your business from scratch. Below are the other tools necessary to help you get the best out of any job board plugin you choose:

SeedProd – for Landing Pages

SeedProd is a popular website and landing page builder for WordPress, assisting you in creating custom job board designs without writing any code. 

It’s got dozens of built-in website templates with various designs, all fully customizable using a drag-and-drop builder. You can import a template with a single click and quickly modify it to set up your job board site.

The drag-and-drop builder makes it dead-easy to create custom login pages, registration pages for candidates, and more. You can customize your website’s layout, background, images, fonts, and colors easily.

Getting started with SeedProd is a breeze, and you can design a unique website for your job board without any coding knowledge.

Apply Online – For Classified Ads

Apply Online is a classified ads management plugin for your WordPress site that allows users to respond quickly to listings. It also allows you to easily add a job board to your website and start accepting applications immediately afterwards.

The plugin has robust features, such as ad categories, filters, customizable application form fields, and email notifications.

However, there is a slight hitch: You cannot use Apply Online to create a paid job listing website. To implement subscription plans, you must add a membership plugin or use a contact form plugin to accept orders.

JobRoller – for Job Board Theming

JobRoller is a versatile WordPress job board theme that offers an excellent monetization option: You can charge for job listings on your site. It includes dedicated sections for creating a blog or adding landing pages directly to your job board website.

But that’s not all: the theme supports employer and job seeker accounts, features a resume/CV bank, and includes a job submission form. Thanks to Ajax, JobRoller also comes with a beefy search and filter capability.

JobEngine – for Multilingual Job Board Theming 

JobEngine is another WordPress app theme worth considering for your on-site job board. It’s been designed to create a powerful job board website from the ground up. 

It features a special front page template to welcome visitors. It also allows users to create accounts and list jobs on the fly. You can monetize the job listings by charging per job or offering premium plans. 

Alternatively, you can sell featured listings separately. It supports payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, 2Checkout, and Authorize.net.

As a theme, JobEngine offers extensive color customization options and design controls to manage your job board’s appearance. You can customize it on the front end with the built-in page builder. To cap it all off, the theme is translation-ready for multilingual websites.

Wrapping Up

A job board might initially seem like a minor website feature, but it can be crucial if you care about an in-house, on-site hiring process. It enhances your industry reputation by effectively sharing relevant job openings, and a job board facilitates finding top talents for your next key hires.

Unless you’re highly technical, and don’t mind the stress, a job board plugin is the best way to start and manage your WordPress job board. The top job board plugins currently on the market enable you to set up listings and manage applications efficiently. 

We’ve given an extensive list of the best job board plugins you can get for your website today. Of that list, we particularly recommend WP Job Openings and WP Job Manager, thanks to their free model and the wide range of features and functionalities they offer overall.

Job Board Plugins FAQs