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Assistant Pro Review: Cloud-Based Tool for Faster WordPress Workflows
If creating or managing websites is something you do regularly, Assistant Pro can be a great tool to help you cut off redundant tasks from your routine. With Assistant Pro, you don’t have to upload, download, install files on a different website. Instead, you can simply install the Assistant plugin and import your files in minutes.
The traditional method is to send JPEGs, SVGs, and other media files using a file hosting service such as DropBox or Google Drive. But when it comes to WordPress workflows, this is not the most efficient way to transfer and share assets as you need to download, upload, share links, and if you are dealing with multiple files, this can get annoying pretty easily.
In this article, we will look at Assistant Pro and see how it can help you streamline your WordPress design workflow.
Assistant Pro: Quick Overview
Assistant Pro is an easy-to-use tool that lets you export, import, and save creative assets, theme settings, and page builder templates across websites using a cloud storage account.
Simply put, it’s like Dropbox but comes with features specifically built for WordPress developers and WP power users. You can upload and share wireframes, starter content, image files, theme customizer settings, color codes, page builder templates, etc.
Assistant Pro comes with a free plugin that lets you manage your website via a handy sidebar and link assets on your cloud storage to your websites. You don’t necessarily need to connect the Assitant pro plugin with your cloud account as you can use it as a standalone solution to help you manage all your media, pages, etc. from the front-end.
The plugin has a free version that offers one user account and public libraries access. However, if you want to host your assets and files in a private library, you can go with the premium account that costs $15 for a single user account.
If you manage multiple websites or create websites as a professional, Assistant Pro can make your job a lot easier. You can skip the tedious process of exporting, importing, and storing files repeatedly by organizing them in easily accessible cloud libraries.
Assistant Pro: Features
Cloud Storage For Page Builder Content
Apart from storing images and color codes, you can store page builder content on the cloud. While the Beaver Builder team developed the product, you also get seamless integration with other page builders such as Elementor, Divi, and Gutenberg. You can save templates, sections, and modules to use across websites.
Handy Front End Sidebar
While you can manage your assets from the Assistant Pro interface, you can also take an overview of your website and perform many operations from the handy front-end sidebar. To expand the sidebar, you need to click on the Assistant Pro logo or the pencil icon in the upper right corner of the screen and then you can select the respective app to work with.
Multiple Asset Types Supported
With the Assistant cloud storage, you can upload, save, and use multiple creative assets such as images, posts, archives, pages, custom post types, page builder content, Gutenberg blocks, colors, and customizer settings.
You can simply save starter files or any other content on the cloud storage and use it on another website to help you set up websites quickly.
User-Friendly Interface
You can access and manage your assets from the libraries page and the website with the Assistant plugin connected. The sidebar interface is divided into six apps or sections.
- Home app – This tab gives you an overall picture of your site’s media and content.
- Content app – This tab lets you manage the content of your websites like page builder content, WooCommerce products, posts, and pages.
- Media app – Media app lets you sort and browse media files. You can also upload new media files from this app.
- Comments app – This app lets you approve, trash, spam comments from a single window.
- Updates app – This app lets you manage and update themes and plugins.
- Libraries app – This tab will let you connect your website and access your assets on the cloud.
- Apps + Settings – This tab lets you adjust the labels, appearance of the Assistant plugin sidebar.
You can easily navigate between apps by clicking on the respective app in the sidebar.
In the assistant pro account, you can edit and access your assets and libraries in a clean account interface.
Team Members Access
Assistant Pro comes with many features that are designed with teams in mind. You can create multiple teams and restrict access to specific libraries. In addition, each user can be configured to have unique access controls. This feature makes it easy to share and organize files with team members. While the team plan only comes with three team member accounts, you can add more accounts by paying $5 per additional account — more on this in the pricing section.
Community Assets and Public Libraries
As an Assistant Pro user, you get access to a community where you can share your assets with the community and browse and use the files shared by other community members.
If you have a free account, all of your assets will be publicly available, and if you want to restrict files on your cloud, you can do that with a personal or team plan.
Reliable Support and Instructional Guides
Assistant Pro is created by the Beaver Builder team and comes with a highly experienced support team to back it up. You get premium support with Personal and Team plans. Free users can reach out in the Assistant plugin support forum. You can also use the detailed plugin documentation to help you get started or resolve any problem you might have.
Hands-On with Assistant Pro
In this section, we’ll install and use Assistant Pro on a test website.
Installation Process
The installation process of the Assistant plugin was pretty straightforward. You can install the Assistant plugin easily and connect it to your Assistant Pro library in no time.
Go to your WP admin dashboard > Plugins > Add New. Search for Assistant Pro and install it.
Once activated, you can connect it with your Assistant Pro account. But first, you need to create an account. It is a simple sign-up process and can be completed in a minute.
Once you have your Assistant Pro account, click on Assistant in your Admin Dashboard. You can find it in the top admin header.
Now go to the Libraries tab or app and click on the Connect to Pro button.
Log into your account, and you are done. Now you can start accessing your assets on the cloud library.
Managing Assets
Managing assets on the cloud from the Assistant plugin is relatively easy.
To upload the files on the cloud, you can go to the Assistant sidebar window and open the Libraries app. Here you can create a new library by clicking on the plus icon and giving it a proper name. You can open an existing library and upload your assets there.
Once uploaded, you can access these files on any website you have the same account connected to or by logging into your Assistant cloud account.
Navigating across apps is just a click away. For example, if you want to moderate comments, you can click on the comments app and trash, approve, or spam comments.
Assistant Pro Pricing and Plans
Assistant Pro has a free version that comes with one user account, connectivity with unlimited sites, unlimited libraries, one-click import, and the option to create only public libraries. So, technically with the free version, you can only save your assets in a public library where others can access your files too.
With the Personal plan ($15 per month), you get everything in the free plan, and in addition, you get private personal libraries to store your files. In this case, you can choose to save your assets in public libraries or personal libraries.
If you plan to use Assistant Pro for your team, you can go with the Team plan that costs $20 per month. This plan comes with three user accounts, and every additional user account costs $5. In addition to everything in the Personal plan, you get a team account and access to private team libraries.
Verdict: Assistant Pro
Even if you are a freelancer or developer creating websites for clients, Assistant Pro can help you streamline many tasks. This way, you will have more time for essential tasks rather than downloading and uploading files.
Whether you should go for the paid plan depends on your project requirements and the sensitivity of the files. Going with a paid plan is advised if you can’t risk sharing your assets or files with others as you get personal libraries to store your assets. If you are just starting and don’t mind sharing your assets, you can start with the free plan and upload your files on public servers. In this case, other users can go to your profile to download/duplicate your assets.
So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and download the free plugin to start managing your website and link with your Assistant Pro cloud account. If you are not sure about going with a premium plan, you can start off with the free version and when you are ready, you can go with a premium account.
What are your thoughts on the Assistant Pro plugin? Can you see yourself using this plugin for your upcoming projects? Tell us in the comments below!