When we wanted to add glossary terms to our site, we realized it is not so easy to find a plugin for doing that. We installed and tried with couple of free versions available on WordPress plugins repository but to our surprise no single free plugin can be used for building a decent glossary index. It looks those free glossary plugins are merely used for marketing the pro version defeating the purpose of available for free. This is true including free version of CM tooltip glossary plugin and we caution readers to stay away from free glossary plugins having limited features.
Then we decided to go for an upgraded version and come to a conclusion of buying CM tooltip ecommerce version plugin for $69 for single site license with one year free updates. After used the plugin for a while we would like to share the experience for the users who are desperately want to buy premium version of CM tooltips glossary plugin.
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CM Tooltip Glossary Plugin Plans
The plugin is offered with multiple versions to cover various needs of the users.
- Free version
- Pro version – $29 per site for one year support & update
- Pro+ version – $49 per site for one year support & update
- Ecommerce version – $69 per site for one year support & update
- Ecommerce + Add-ons – $99 for 2 sites
In addition to these plans they have also lot of add-ons which are to be bought separately.
Features and Pricing
Basically the plugin will help to build three important things:
- A-Z glossary index page
- Individual glossary term page
- Mouse over tooltip for glossary terms
There are large set of options to configure glossary index, term and tooltip depending on the premium plan you have. With ecommerce plan you can even integrate Amazon advertising API to your tooltips and enable monetization on your glossary terms. The complete list of features comparison is given below for choosing the plan suiting your need:
| Feature | Free | Pro | Pro+ | Ecommerce |
| A-Z Glossary Index Page | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Glossary Term & Tooltip | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Multi Language Support | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Related Posts / Terms | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Enable Ads in Tooltip | N | N | N | Y |
| Featured Image | N | N | N | Y |
| Audio & Video in Tooltip | N | N | N | Y |
| API Embed | N | N | N | Y |
| Glossary Search & Shortcode | N | N | Y | Y |
| Glossary Term Import / Export | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Mobile Support | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Custom Permalink | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Categories | N | N | Y | Y |
| Tags | N | N | N | Y |
| Sharing and Glossary Widget | N | N | Y | Y |
| PRICE | FREE | $29 | $49 | $69 |
From pricing aspect, we think it is competitive if all features are well utilized on your site. Besides the pricing and features below are some inputs based on our experience:
Compatibility with Theme and Existing Plugins
Ensure the free version is not having any major conflict with your theme before going for a premium version. We have initial problem with the custom post type used in our theme and adjusted the layout to suit glossary index page. CM glossary plugin will create custom post types for tags, terms and categories (based on the premium plan you have). You need to ensure all glossary content are part of your Sitemap and submitted to search engines for indexing in search results.
Unfortunately, the plugin was having poor CSS that will not matching with our theme (we have tried on multiple themes to find the same issues). You have to adjust the CSS in order to align the plugin with your theme.
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Ease of Use
Once installed the plugin you will see an admin menu “CM Tooltip Glossary Ecommerce” added having many sub-menus. The first step is to activate the plugin with the license key obtained from cminds site and configure the settings for glossary index page, term page and tooltip. It may take sometime for you to understand all the available options and we recommend using the plugin on test site and check all the settings before using them on live site. Since the license can only be enabled on a single site, you need to deactivate it on a test site before activating it on a live site.
Initially we misunderstood some options but then we clarified with the support to correct our understanding. CM tooltips also offer a built-in widget with random glossary terms and search box which are very useful to display on the sidebar / footer of your site.
One of the problems on usage is the regular update. For every new update, you need to deactivate and delete the existing plugin files. Then download the latest version from cminds site and upload it on your site. During this process the users on your site may get affected and there is no auto update process available for this plugin. Now, you have automatic update available from WordPress admin panel.
Support
After raised many tickets, we would rate the support as “good”. We addressed an issue of tooltip not detecting the browser’s viewports and the initial response was accepting this as a bug. Once the issue was fixed they even sent the bug fixed version personally. Though the documentation is useful we do not rely on it really since the features shown includes add-ons. For example, you should not come to conclusion by buying an ecommerce version, you will be able to make a tooltip like the one shown on the demo pages. Those tooltips are made with separate add-ons not part of the plugin which needs to be paid separately.
Additional Add-ons
You may not need the ecommerce version for $59, may be a pro version with an add-on can fulfil your need. In our opinion the add-ons should be part of the high end ecommerce version or only add-ons should be offered to enhance the free version. As we explained above, even the ecommerce version does not have an option to choose the skin for tooltip which is a separate add-on and you need to pay for it. This may be confusing factor hence we recommend you to check the features of the plans and the add-ons together to get better understanding of what you will get.
Bugs and Improvement
CM tooltips glossary plugin is undoubtedly a class plugin on this category. But the big problem is the bugs and in past one year we addressed many bugs which are basic in nature. The plugin also have minor bugs, especially after every update you need to really cross check the settings are as before and also check the site is looking good. Also the look of social sharing icons widget is awkward makes the whole page very dull which can also be improved with attractive icons. Importantly they can create a good-looking demo site for each plan separately. This will really help in understanding the features customers will get with that particular plan.
Problems We Faced with Premium Version
Here are some of the basic questions you should know before trying to purchase the plugin.
The plugin will stop working and the worst part is you will not be able to download the plugin from cminds website. They will first ask you to renew the license to download the plugin.
No, the plugin will not support breadcrumb. If you use theme’s default setup, it will not work in many cases. In case, if you use Yoast breadcrumb then the support team will ask you to order custom development services for doing that. In our opinion, this is cheating bt selling the plugin for free one-year update and support and ask to pay for breadcrumb integration. In fact, most custom post types plugin in WordPress allow you to create post type archives so that it will show up in default breadcrumb. However, CM Tooltip plugin does not have an option to include glossary index in the breadcrumb trail. 
No, the premium version of the plugin will work only if you activate the license key. Therefore, you can’t install the plugin on localhost.
Though they have a refund policy, there are lots of clauses. If you have problems with conflict with theme then they will not refund. This is absurd as the plugin will create conflict due to the nature (like breadcrumb needs index page in the navigation).
Yes, however that will never work. We have tested with as many as themes. It may work with simple themes like GeneratePress but not with complex commercial themes.
First their demo is one of the poorest demo you can find without showcasing all the plugin’s features. For example, the plugin has few sidebar widgets and you will not see anywhere on the demo. Similarly, the tooltip, share box, term and index pages will not align with your theme’s style. You have to adjust the CSS to make the visibility good.
Summary
CM tooltips plugin definitely offers the possibility of converting your WordPress site into a glossary site; especially we do not see any other companies offering such a plugin service. But there are too many varieties of plugin and add-ons creating confusion at the start. Also definite improvements are required for modern look and offering standard features. If you are fine with minor modifications on your own and ignore some awkward settings then this will be one of good glossary plugin for your WordPress site.
Pros
- Complete glossary solution for WordPress.
- Sidebar widget, related items and search.
Cons
- High price, after license expiry you can’t download the item from the site.
- CSS and scripts will load on all pages of your site. This will slow down the page and there is no option to load the resources only on the glossary posts.
- Breadcrumbs, custom template and many other features is not working with many themes.
- Once in a day support and you need to order additional service for custom development to align the plugin with your theme.
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