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Free Plugin by Automattic v0.11.0

Zone Manager

Content curation made easy! Create "zones" then add and order your content!

Zone Manager

The facts

Rating
5★ from 3
Active installs
2k+
Price
Free
Last updated
25 Apr 2026
Added
Apr 2011
Requires WP
6.4
Tested up to
WP 6.9.7
Requires PHP
7.4
Downloads
130,869

Our analysis

AI-assisted

Zone Manager (Zoninator) is a WordPress plugin that allows you to curate and manage content by creating zones for your posts. You can add, edit, and delete these zones, as well as assign and order posts within them. This plugin is suitable for users who want to organise related stories on their site effectively.

With features like user permissions for zone management and a locking mechanism to prevent editing conflicts, it provides a structured way to handle content. The plugin is designed for those who need to manage multiple posts and custom post types in an orderly fashion.

Best for: This plugin suits content creators and site managers looking to organise posts into themed zones.

What it does well

  • Free to use from the WordPress.org directory
  • Allows creation, editing, and deletion of content zones
  • Supports adding and ordering posts within zones
  • Includes user permissions for managing zones
  • Has a locking mechanism to prevent editing conflicts

Where it falls short

  • Limited information on additional features or user experiences

Verdict

Zone Manager (Zoninator) offers a straightforward solution for content curation in WordPress. It is particularly useful for those needing to manage and display related posts effectively.

From the developer

Automattic's own description of Zone Manager, lightly tidied.

This plugin is designed to help you curate your content. It lets you assign and order stories within zones that you create, edit, and delete, and display those groupings of related stories on your site.

This plugin was originally built by Mohammad Jangda in conjunction with William Davis and the Bangor Daily News.

Features

  • Add, edit, and delete zones.
  • Add and remove posts (or any custom post type) to or from zones.
  • Order posts in any given zone.
  • Limit capabilities on who can add, edit, and delete zones vs add content to zones.
  • Locking mechanism, so only one user can edit a zone at a time (to avoid conflicts).
  • Idle control, so people can’t keep the zone locked.

Function Reference

Get an array of all zones:

z_get_zones()

Get a single zone, accepts either ID or slug:

z_get_zone( $zone )

Get an array of ordered posts in a given zone, accepts either ID or slug:

z_get_posts_in_zone( $zone )

Get a WP_Query object for a given zone, accepts either ID or slug:

z_get_zone_query( $zone );

More functions listed in functions.php.

Read the full description on the official page →

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