It sounds like you’re diving into some interesting stuff with your WordPress site and the TotalContest plugin! Setting up AJAX for form submissions can be a bit tricky, especially when you want to save data correctly and keep things running smoothly. Here are some ideas that might help you out:

First off, to make sure the post author is set correctly in your AJAX handling, you usually need to grab the current user’s ID when they’re submitting the form. You can do this using the WordPress function get_current_user_id(). So, before you call wp_insert_post(), store the user ID.

Here’s a tiny example of how you could set that up:

        <?php
        add_action('wp_ajax_submit_entry', 'handle_submission');
        add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_submit_entry', 'handle_submission');

        function handle_submission() {
            // Check nonce for security
            check_ajax_referer('submission_nonce', 'nonce');

            $post_data = [
                'post_title'   => sanitize_text_field($_POST['entry_title']),
                'post_content' => sanitize_textarea_field($_POST['entry_content']),
                'post_type'    => 'contest_entry',
                'post_status'  => 'pending',
                'post_author'  => get_current_user_id(), // Set the author here
            ];
            $post_id = wp_insert_post($post_data);

            if ($post_id) {
                wp_send_json_success(['message' => 'Entry submitted successfully!']);
            } else {
                wp_send_json_error(['message' => 'Failed to submit entry.']);
            }
            wp_die();
        }
        ?>
    

Regarding nonces, yes, you definitely need them! Nonces are a way to secure your AJAX requests. You can generate a nonce in your PHP and then pass it to your JavaScript. For example:

        <?php
        function enqueue_scripts() {
            wp_enqueue_script('my-ajax-script', get_template_directory_uri() . '/js/my-script.js', array('jquery'), null, true);
            wp_localize_script('my-ajax-script', 'myAjax', array(
                'ajaxurl' => admin_url('admin-ajax.php'),
                'nonce'   => wp_create_nonce('submission_nonce'), // Create nonce
            ));
        }
        add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'enqueue_scripts');
        ?>
    

In your JavaScript file, include the nonce in your AJAX call like this:

        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
            $('#myForm').on('submit', function(e) {
                e.preventDefault();

                var data = {
                    action: 'submit_entry',
                    nonce: myAjax.nonce, // Add the nonce here
                    entry_title: $('#entryTitle').val(),
                    entry_content: $('#entryContent').val(),
                };

                $.post(myAjax.ajaxurl, data, function(response) {
                    if (response.success) {
                        alert(response.data.message);
                    } else {
                        alert('Error: ' + response.data.message);
                    }
                });
            });
        });
    

This way, when your AJAX request is sent, it includes the nonce for security, and on the server side, you can validate it using check_ajax_referer(). If the nonce is valid, you proceed to handle the submission.

I hope this helps a bit! AJAX can seem overwhelming at first, but it really adds a nice touch to user interactions on your website. Good luck with your project, and don’t hesitate to ask more questions if you get stuck!