Professional-grade cataloging, census management, and catalog archives for the philatelic community — built on WordPress.
Stamp societies, census maintainers, and catalog publishers have been managing world-class catalogs with the wrong tools. There's a better way.
Spreadsheets, PDFs, image folders, inconsistent labels. Your catalog data is spread across a dozen formats with no standard structure, no search, and no way to share it publicly.
Generic database plugins don't understand philatelic taxonomy. They can't handle census numbering, cover classifications, date wildcards, or the hierarchical categories your catalogs require.
Proprietary systems hold your catalog data hostage. When the vendor disappears or changes terms, decades of curatorial work are at risk. Your data should live in your WordPress database, not someone else's cloud.
WyzVault is designed for organizations that manage serious philatelic data. Here's how to know if it's right for you.
WyzVault runs on your existing WordPress site. No separate servers, no cloud accounts, no migration headaches.
Upload to WordPress and activate. WyzVault registers its Custom Post Type, taxonomies, REST routes, and search table automatically.
Create a census, catalog, or journal catalog. Choose a preset or define custom fields. Add categories and tags to organize your records.
Use WP-CLI to migrate from legacy databases, spreadsheets, or other systems. Or enter records manually through the admin interface with inline editing.
Drop a shortcode on any page — [wv_catalogs] for the full hub, [wv_catalog id=X] for a single catalog, or [wv_catalog ids="5,12"] to stack multiple on one page. Visitors get search, browse, and record detail pages instantly.
No proprietary cloud. No vendor lock-in. WyzVault stores everything in standard WordPress data structures you already control.
Records are Custom Post Types. Catalogs, categories, and tags are taxonomies. Fields are post meta. Images use the Media Library. A lightweight custom search index (full-text plus word-position tables for proximity search) powers fast queries — everything else is standard WordPress data.
Export via standard WordPress tools. Back up with any WordPress backup plugin. Migrate with WP-CLI. Your catalog data is never trapped in a proprietary format.
GPL-compatible code. REST API with full CRUD. WP-CLI for automation. Any WordPress developer can extend, customize, or integrate with WyzVault. No black boxes.
Designed by someone who understands philatelic data. Every feature exists because real census maintainers, catalog publishers, and society archivists need it.
Partial dates with Y/M/D components and ? wildcards. Perfect for covers where only the year is known, or census entries with approximate dates.
Type natural search queries: AND, OR, NOT, "exact phrase", word* wildcards, and -exclude terms. Bare words match by prefix automatically — typing alban finds Albany; wrap a term in quotes for an exact phrase. Short words like state abbreviations (AL, TX) are handled automatically via LIKE fallback.
Click any field in the DataTable to edit it in place. Changes save via REST API instantly. No page reload, no separate edit screen.
Every option on Collection, Catalog, Category, and Settings pages carries a ? icon. Hover or focus to read what it does and when to use it — over 100 contextual tips, all bundled, dark-mode aware.
Three configurable modes per collection: Scoped (search within one catalog at a time), Global (cross-catalog search with quick-search cards), or Hybrid (both). Plus catalog-level inline search and category-scoped search.
Every image has a side attribute — front or back. Sequence numbers control display order. The admin shows thumbnails with drag-and-drop reordering.
Census pre-populates 14 fields (Scott #, dates, cities). Journal starts with 6 fields plus Content Type and Authors as built-in taxonomies. Catalog starts empty for custom schemas.
Each catalog stores its own default sort order as term meta — an array of field/direction pairs. DataTables respects it automatically on first load.
Each field declares its search behavior: like, exact, date_range, integer_range, fulltext, or exists. The search panel renders the right widget automatically.
Assign Subject Matter Experts per category. Member submissions go to “Pending” — SMEs see yellow badges, review and approve with one click. Email notifications keep reviewers informed. Audit trail tracks every status change.
Records appear in WordPress site search with custom title, thumbnail, field preview, and direct link. Integrates with Relevanssi Premium and SearchWP. Falls back to custom FULLTEXT hooks when no search plugin is active.
DataTables, Select2, GLightbox — all bundled in vendor/ directories. No CDN calls, no external dependencies. Works on intranets and air-gapped networks.
Hierarchical tag dropdown in the search bar. Category-aware: shows only relevant tags. Selecting a parent includes all children. Tags on record detail pages display as clickable breadcrumb paths: Parent › Child › Grandchild.
Advanced Search fields run the moment you tab or click away — no button to hunt for. Active filters appear as removable chips below the search bar, and matched terms are highlighted in gold in the results table.
Breadcrumbs integrate into Genesis via genesis_page_crumb filter. Page titles update dynamically per drill-down level. Frontend colors align with your theme, not the admin palette.
A dropdown on every frontend page lets visitors choose their language. Preference saved in a cookie for one year. Supports ?lang= URL parameter for direct linking.
A WordPress dashboard widget shows all pending records grouped by catalog and category with direct review links. SMEs know what needs attention the moment they log in.
When a member submits a record for review, the site admin and all assigned SMEs receive an email with the submitter’s name, the catalog/category, and a direct link to review.
The public catalog, search, and record pages are mobile-friendly — large touch targets, no iOS zoom-on-focus when you tap a search field, and single-column layouts on small screens so visitors can browse comfortably away from a desktop.
Optimistic concurrency protects your data when two people work at once. If a second SME saves a record that someone else already changed, they get a clear “this record changed” warning instead of silently overwriting the first edit.
Every catalog — census, catalog, or journal — is a WordPress Custom Post Type with its own taxonomy. Define catalog types with presets (14 fields for census, 6 for journals) or start from scratch. A census IS a catalog — all catalogs support the same features.
Six field types — text, textarea, integer, date_partial (Y/M/D with wildcards), select, and boolean — each with searchable, sortable, and required properties. Per-field search types: like, exact, date_range, integer_range, fulltext, and exists. Select fields can use their own options or draw from a shared Option List (see below).
Four-level organization: collections, catalogs, categories, and tags. Collections group catalogs with custom label aliases and configurable search modes (scoped, global, or hybrid). Hierarchical tags with frontend search dropdown, category-aware filtering, and clickable breadcrumb paths on record detail pages. SME access control per category.
Find what you're looking for, even when keywords aren't side-by-side. Search supports phrases, AND/OR/NOT, wildcards, and exclusions. Two-letter state codes (AL, TX, NY) are handled correctly — not silently dropped like default WordPress search. Proximity mode finds words appearing within a few words of each other — useful when you remember a postmark mentioned "Boston" near "received" but not the exact phrase. Results are ranked by relevance and integrate with Relevanssi Premium or SearchWP for site-wide search.
Two display modes: gallery (unlimited images with GLightbox) and pair (front/back with 3D CSS flip card). Per-image front/back metadata. Drag-and-drop reorder in admin. Uses the WordPress Media Library — no proprietary storage. Per-catalog or per-record mode override.
Pagination, multi-column sorting, per-column filters, and inline field editing — all server-side via REST API. Handles 17,979+ records without breaking a sweat. Bundled locally — no CDN dependencies.
Two-column field layout built dynamically from catalog schema. Per-field search types on plain text inputs that search as soon as you tab out of a field — no button click needed. A NOT checkbox beside every field inverts the match, and includes records that have no value for that field. Tag dropdown with hierarchy. Active filter chips with per-filter clear. Search result highlighting. Date auto-advance (MM→DD→YYYY). Input validation. "Filtered from N total" counts.
Collection → Hub → Catalog → Category → Record drill-down. Configurable search modes per collection. Catalog pages with inline cross-category search. Genesis breadcrumbs and dynamic page titles. Grid/table toggle. Quick-search catalog cards in global mode. Every collection and catalog gets a clean URL out of the box — /wyzvault/catalog/your-slug/ works the moment you create the catalog, no theme template required.
New catalogs open in grid view by default; toggle to table with a single click, persisted via URL parameter. Set the default per catalog (or inherit it from the collection). Catalog pages show category cards by default with a table view option.
Full API under wv/v1 namespace: DataTables server-side processing, inline field editing, global search, field schema + tag endpoints, autocomplete field values, and migration tools. Public context=frontend for read access; admin-only writes with capability checks.
Command-line tools for every workflow: wp wv seed-sample-data for demos, wp wv reindex-search for FULLTEXT and positional index rebuilds, wp wv philjournalsearch for legacy journal migration (9 subcommands), wp wv test for the built-in smoke-test suite, and wp wv normalize-dates for date_partial backfill. Idempotent, scriptable, CI-friendly.
Contextual-help tabs in the admin cover catalogs, fields, tags, settings, option lists, and the SME workflow. A public help page at /wyzvault/help/ walks visitors through search syntax, submitting records, and customization — in plain-language sections. A "Help" link on every plugin page jumps straight to the relevant section. Drop a [wv_help] shortcode anywhere to embed it in your own pages. All bundled, no external CDN.
Frontend fully translated into English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, and Japanese. A language switcher appears on every page. Preferences are saved via cookie for one year. Field names can be translated via standard WordPress .po files.
Six shortcodes for any layout: [wv_collection id=X] for a collection hub with custom labels and search mode, [wv_collections] and [wv_catalogs] for the all-collections and all-catalogs hubs, [wv_catalog id=X] for a single catalog (or multi-ID variants like [wv_catalog ids="5,12"] to stack several on one page), and [wv_category id=X] for a single category. Drop [wv_help] to embed the help page anywhere.
Assign Subject Matter Experts per category. Non-SME submissions go to “Pending” status. SMEs and site admins receive email notifications. SMEs review, edit, and approve records. Audit trail logs every status change and every inline field edit with user, timestamp, before/after values, and source.
Every catalog and collection gets a clean URL the moment it's created — no manual page setup, no theme changes. Share a link like yoursite.com/wyzvault/catalog/columbia-river-1880s/ and visitors land on a fully-styled catalog page. Works with any WordPress theme out of the box.
Tune Landing Page Appearance from the WordPress admin: tile grid layout, rounded or sharp corners, search bar position, sidebar visibility, gradient colors. Set defaults at the collection level and override them per catalog when one needs to stand out. Fifteen tuning knobs in total — all without touching templates or CSS.
Show a different sidebar on catalog pages than the rest of your site uses — set it once for the whole plugin, refine it per collection, or override it for one specific catalog. Works with Genesis, block themes, and classic themes without theme edits. Useful when an active catalog needs a contextual sidebar (recent updates, related links) that wouldn't make sense site-wide.
Decide per field how rich the text should be: plain, lightly formatted (bold, italic, paragraphs), or full HTML for trusted authors. Catalog and category display names support italic and bold for sub-titles and accents; their descriptions support paragraphs, bold, and italic via a familiar WordPress editor. Visitors submitting records always get sanitized input regardless of the field's setting, so SME workflows stay safe. Configured with a dropdown when you define the field — no plugin code, no template overrides.
Bring decades of journal archives into WordPress in one run. Point WyzVault at your legacy MySQL database, click Start, and watch live progress as articles, sections, authors, and PDFs come across. Re-run safely if something needs adjusting — already-imported records are skipped automatically. Available in the admin or via WP-CLI for hands-off batch runs.
Bring legacy .accdb census databases straight into WyzVault — from the admin or via wp wv import-accdb. Two common census formats are auto-detected, embedded image attachments are extracted and added to the Media Library, and every image is de-duplicated by SHA-256 so re-runs never pile up copies. Idempotent: import again any time without creating duplicate records.
Switch any catalog (or a whole collection) to open records in an in-session overlay instead of a full-page jump. Click a record and its detail slides in over the live list — your search, sort, page, and scroll position are all kept, so closing the modal drops you right back where you were. Image zoom and the front/back flip card work inside the modal too, and SMEs and admins can edit a record in place — the edit form loads right in the overlay and saves without leaving the list. Prefer classic navigation? Leave it on full-page mode.
Build your catalogs on a staging site, then move the data to production in one run. wp wv export writes a portable bundle — a metadata tarball with streamed images, every image de-duplicated by SHA-256; wp wv import (or Pull directly from a remote site) applies it, auto-backing-up first. Each import is tagged with a session ID, so wp wv import-rollback can cleanly undo a bad push. Drive it from the command line or the Sync admin page.
A read-only System Status admin page shows plugin and schema versions, schema-drift badges, custom-table row counts, search-index health, and recent errors at a glance. Confirm an install is healthy — or spot what needs attention — without opening a database console.
Beyond the per-record SME trail (above), a dedicated Audit Log page records structural admin actions — field-schema add, rename, and remove; catalog create, update, and delete; and SME assignments — each with the user, a timestamp, and before/after detail. Know who changed the shape of your archive, and when.
Build a controlled vocabulary once — states, grades, issue names — and share it across as many Select fields and catalogs as you like. Managed under WyzVault → Option Lists: edit the list in one place and every field that points at it updates. Each list tracks how many fields use it, and the dropdown order can be alphabetical or a curated list order. Option Lists travel with the Sync bundle, so dev and production stay in step.
See how WyzVault compares to the alternatives philatelic organizations typically use.
| Capability | WyzVault | Generic WP Plugins | Spreadsheets | Custom-Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philatelic taxonomy | ✓ Purpose-built | Generic only | Manual | Depends |
| Census support | ✓ 14-field preset | No | Manual | Depends |
| FULLTEXT search | ✓ Boolean mode | Basic LIKE | Ctrl+F | Depends |
| Image front/back metadata | ✓ Per-image side | Gallery only | No | Depends |
| Hierarchical tags | ✓ Built in | Flat only | No | Depends |
| Dynamic field types | ✓ 6 types | Limited | Text only | Depends |
| Server-side DataTables | ✓ REST-powered | Client-side | No | Depends |
| Advanced search panel | ✓ Per-field types | Basic | No | Depends |
| SME moderation workflow | ✓ Email + audit trail | No | No | Depends |
| Multi-language frontend | ✓ 6 languages | Rarely | No | Depends |
| Flexible shortcodes | ✓ 6 shortcodes | Limited | N/A | Depends |
| Proximity search (find words near each other) | ✓ Built in | No | No | Depends |
| Clean catalog URLs (no theme setup) | ✓ Automatic | Manual | N/A | Depends |
| Landing page appearance controls | ✓ 15 admin toggles | No | No | Depends |
| Catalog-specific sidebars | ✓ 3-tier cascade | No | No | Depends |
| Contextual help on every page | ✓ Built in | No | No | Depends |
| REST API | ✓ Full CRUD | Limited | No | Depends |
| WP-CLI tools | ✓ Migrate + seed | No | N/A | Depends |
| MS Access (.accdb) import | ✓ Built in | No | Manual | Depends |
| Tag search with hierarchy | ✓ Category-aware | No | No | Depends |
| Tag autocomplete on submissions | ✓ Type-ahead picker | No | No | Depends |
| Site-wide search integration | ✓ Relevanssi + SearchWP | Basic | No | Depends |
| Multi-catalog hub | ✓ 3 search modes | No | No | Depends |
| Runs on your WordPress | ✓ Your server | ✓ Yes | Desktop | Varies |
| Ongoing maintenance cost | Predictable annual | Free/cheap | Free | High hourly |
Yes, WyzVault uses annual licensing. Your license includes one year of updates, with support purchased separately. If you choose not to renew, the plugin continues working — you just won't receive the new features. You can re-subscribe anytime.
Nothing. Your data lives in your WordPress database — Custom Post Types, taxonomies, and post meta. The plugin continues to function. You just won't receive updates or support until you renew.
We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans. Install WyzVault, set up your catalogs, and if it's not the right fit, email us within 30 days for a full refund.
No. Everything is managed through the WordPress admin: creating catalogs, defining fields, adding categories, uploading images, and configuring search. WP-CLI tools are available for power users but not required.
Yes. WyzVault includes WP-CLI migration commands for importing from legacy databases and other systems. We also offer paid migration services for organizations that need hands-on help restructuring their data. The Philatelist Pro plan and above include migration assistance.
Functionally, nothing. A census IS a catalog. The only difference is the preset: census catalogs start with 14 philatelic fields (Scott #, dates, cities, etc.) while catalog catalogs start empty so you define your own schema. All catalogs support the same features: records, categories, tags, images, search, and SME access.
WyzVault uses MySQL FULLTEXT indexes in BOOLEAN MODE with smart query parsing. You can use AND, OR, NOT, "exact phrases", word* wildcards, and -exclude terms. Short abbreviations like state codes (AL, TX) work automatically. Text fields offer autocomplete suggestions as you type. Active filters display as removable chips, and matched terms are highlighted in gold in the results. Each field can declare its own search type: LIKE, date ranges, integer operators, and exists (?).
Yes. WyzVault uses WordPress user roles for access control. Administrators have full access. Editors can be assigned as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for specific categories, giving them management rights over their section without access to the entire catalog.
Yes. WyzVault is distributed as GPL-compatible WordPress plugin code, consistent with WordPress licensing norms. The annual license covers updates, support, and premium features — the standard model used by Gravity Forms, Paid Memberships Pro, and other leading WordPress plugins.
Images are stored in the WordPress Media Library. Each record can have any number of images, each with a front/back side attribute and a sequence number for ordering. The admin provides drag-and-drop reordering. The frontend uses GLightbox for full-screen gallery browsing. No proprietary storage — your images are standard WordPress attachments.
Yes. The REST API supports a context=frontend parameter that provides public read access. The frontend shortcode renders a full browsing experience: hub search, catalog grids, category pages with advanced search, and individual record detail pages — all accessible to anonymous visitors.
Six types: text (single line), textarea (multi-line), integer (whole numbers with range search), date_partial (Y/M/D with ? wildcards), select (dropdown from defined options), and boolean (true/false with toggle widget). Each field has properties for searchable, sortable, required, help text, and search type.
Yes. WyzVault uses standard WordPress template rendering and CSS classes. It's optimized for the Genesis Framework but works with any theme. Frontend colors are separate from the admin Wyzaerd purple theme and align with your site's existing design.
Yes. We offer paid onboarding packages that include data migration, taxonomy normalization, image cleanup, catalog restructuring, and training. This is especially valuable for organizations converting from spreadsheets, legacy databases, or inconsistent file systems. Contact us for a quote.
A collection groups related catalogs under a single hub page with custom terminology (e.g., "Census" instead of "Catalog"). Each collection has a search mode: Scoped (search within one catalog at a time, ideal for censuses), Global (cross-catalog search with quick-search cards), or Hybrid (both). This lets you tailor the search experience to how your users browse.
Yes. WyzVault records are included in the main WordPress site search. Results show the record's thumbnail, catalog and category location, and key field values. WyzVault integrates with Relevanssi Premium and SearchWP for enhanced search quality, and falls back to its own FULLTEXT engine when no search plugin is active.
Yes. WyzVault includes a full REST API under the wv/v1 namespace with endpoints for records (DataTables server-side processing), fields (schema + tags), catalogs, search, autocomplete field values, inline editing, and migration tools. Public endpoints use context=frontend; write operations require manage_options capability.
Segment-based pricing that aligns with the value WyzVault delivers to your organization. Not just site count — the right tools for the right role.
We’re not accepting new customers right now. The plans below are shown for reference — join the waitlist and we’ll notify you, with founding-member pricing, when enrollment reopens.
Pricing is being finalized. Join the waitlist and we’ll notify you when enrollment reopens.
Join the waitlistWe’re currently at capacity while we onboard our founding philatelic societies and collectors. Add your name to the waitlist and we’ll reach out the moment the next onboarding window opens — founding members get first access and locked-in early pricing.