Questions tagged [plugin-development]
WordPress Plugins allow easy modification, customization, and enhancement to a WordPress blog. Instead of changing the core programming of WordPress, you can add functionality with WordPress Plugins.
6,618
questions
138
votes
36
answers
18k
views
Objective Best Practices for Plugin Development? [closed]
Starting a community wiki to collect up objective best practices for plugin development. This question was inspired by @EAMann's comments on wp-hackers.
The idea is to collaborate on what objective ...
125
votes
7
answers
106k
views
add_menu_page() with different name for first submenu item
The add_menu_page documentation says to pass the menu title as the second parameter:
add_menu_page('Page Title', 'Menu Title', ...);
When adding more pages later via add_submenu_page, the main page ...
- 1,533
108
votes
2
answers
60k
views
Uninstall, Activate, Deactivate a plugin: typical features & how-to
I'm making a WordPress plugin. What are typical things I should include in the uninstall feature?
For example, should I delete any tables I created in the install function?
Do I clean up my option ...
- 2,439
108
votes
5
answers
74k
views
Best way to initiate a class in a WP plugin?
I've created a plugin, and of course being me, I wanted to go with a nice OO approach. Now what I've been doing is to create this class and then just below create an instance of this class:
class ...
- 1,193
99
votes
7
answers
18k
views
Where to put my code: plugin or functions.php?
Is there an easy to understand scheme to decide what kind of code belongs to a plugin or the theme’s functions.php?
There are many cases and many debates about that topic, mostly because there are ...
- 106k
83
votes
3
answers
28k
views
Autoloading & Namespaces in WordPress Plugins & Themes: Can it Work?
Has anyone used autoloading and/or PHP namespaces within a plugin or theme?
Thoughts on using them? Any harm? Pitfalls?
Note: namespaces are PHP 5.3+ only. Assume, for this question, that you know ...
- 21.3k
80
votes
9
answers
181k
views
How to include PHP files in plugins the correct way
My problem is when on the main plugin file I include a PHP file something like this:
include(WP_PLUGIN_URL . '/wordpress-group-buying/ipn/paypal-ipn.php');
// or
include_once(WP_PLUGIN_URL . '/...
- 67.5k
75
votes
18
answers
7k
views
WPSE Plugin Repository: The plugins that came out of WP-Answers
Link your WPSE-Plugins
If you answered a question and made a plugin out of your code, than this is your place to share it.
The Idea:
An old comment from @MikeSchinkel during the beta phase where he ...
75
votes
27
answers
12k
views
Software for WordPress Theme and Plugin Development? [closed]
What software do you use for your WordPress related needs?
Please state your OS.
On windows XP I use:
filezilla (FTP)
notepad++ (for reading of PHP / CSS files)
firebug (a firefox extension to ...
67
votes
2
answers
113k
views
How can I add an image upload field directly to a custom write panel?
I've added a new page under "Pages" in the wordpress admin, and added several custom fields. I'd also like to be able to add an upload image field to the page editor - is there some way to do this via ...
- 893
61
votes
4
answers
36k
views
Difference Between Filter and Action Hooks?
I have been looking at the plugin API a bit more in depth recently and I was wondering what real differences there were between action and filter hooks. They both are events that receive data as a ...
- 945
59
votes
1
answer
22k
views
A tool to analyze rewrite rules? [closed]
Is there a good tool to analyze my rewrite rules? I always get confused with the regexes and the parameter replacements.
I have created something myself and will post it here so others can use it, ...
- 30.4k
56
votes
5
answers
82k
views
How can you check if you are in a particular page in the WP Admin section? For example how can I check if I am in the Users > Your Profile page?
I'm building a plugin and I want to add bits of javascript in the admin head but only for certain admin pages. I don't mean pages as in a WordPress page that you create yourself but rather existing ...
- 1,555
54
votes
10
answers
30k
views
How to structure a plugin
This isn't a question about how to build a WordPress plugin. Rather, what, if any, guides could be applied to how to put together the file architecture of any plugin.
Some other programming languages ...
52
votes
7
answers
67k
views
Creating a table in the admin-style?
What is the recommended way of creating a page with a table, in the style of the tables showing posts or users in the admin area?
I am expanding the Cache Images plugin, and it contains a table with ...
- 30.4k
52
votes
16
answers
13k
views
How do you debug plugins?
I am pretty new to plugin authoring and was having a hard time debuging.
I used lots of echo and it is sloppy and ugly.
I am sure there is a better way to do this, maybe an IDE with a debugger that ...
52
votes
6
answers
9k
views
framework for plugin/theme options panel? [closed]
I found that the longest part of a plugin or theme development is creating the options panel, at least in my case.
So i like to know what's your take on that.
Do you use a ready made framework or ...
- 67.5k
51
votes
1
answer
9k
views
What's the preferred method of writing AJAX-enabled plugins?
I'm wondering what the preferred method is for dealing with AJAX calls. Should one use the same plugin php file to process the POST or a separate one? Which is cleaner or safer?
- 625
45
votes
1
answer
11k
views
Should I use custom post types or a custom database tables for plugin development?
I'm fairly new to writing wordpress plugins, but I've jumped in the deep end already and I want to make sure I'm doing it "right" on my upcoming big project.
I'm going to be heavily extending ...
- 2,515
44
votes
3
answers
34k
views
What are the differences between WPINC and ABSPATH?
It's common for plugin developers to protect their plugins from direct access. I saw two ways to do that:
if ( ! defined( 'WPINC' ) ) die;
and
if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) exit;
What are the ...
- 1,186
43
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Add multiple plugin directories
The task
You can register add additional Themes directories using register_theme_directory() for your WP installation. Sadly core doesn't deliver with the same functionality for plugins. We already ...
- 50.5k
41
votes
2
answers
119k
views
How to get the path to the current theme?
This code is used to get the directory of the current plugin: plugin_dir_url( __FILE__ ).
What should I use to get the directory of the current theme?
- 791
40
votes
5
answers
153k
views
ajaxurl not defined on front end
I am trying to create a ajaxform on the front side. I am using the code
jQuery.ajax(
{
type: "post",
dataType: "json",
url: ajaxurl,
data: ...
- 503
40
votes
1
answer
25k
views
Settings API with arrays example
I'm using the Wrox WordPress plugin development book as a primary reference for getting started with a new plugin and I understand all settings can be saved as 1 array but the book does't give an ...
- 702
39
votes
2
answers
65k
views
How to add a shortcode button to the TinyMCE editor?
How to make any plugin icon in wordpress post? The code I want to insert in plugin code and will appear in post bar [wp-admin/post.php].
Like this image:
Output: If I click the icon it automatically ...
- 653
39
votes
4
answers
40k
views
How to make a plugin require another plugin?
I'm building a plugin that adds extra functionality to a main plugin. Ideally in the plugins administration screen, the "activate" link should be disabled and an inline note should be added that tells ...
- 1,454
38
votes
3
answers
55k
views
Should I use wpdb prepare?
I'm new to SQL and am wondering if I need to use wpdb->prepare for the following query to a table I've created
global $wpdb;
$tablename = $wpdb->prefix . "my_custom_table";
$sql = "SELECT * ...
- 661
37
votes
10
answers
13k
views
What process do you use for WordPress development? [closed]
I'm interested in how other people develop themes and plugins for WordPress. To me, the in-browser editor in the admin panel just doesn't cut it. Currently, I'm just using an IDE with a PHP plugin (...
36
votes
5
answers
29k
views
What's the difference between term_id and term_taxonomy_id
The title says it all. At the moment in my custom taxonomies I'm getting the terms using the term id and taxonomy name.
Thought this question would've been asked before but can't find it anywhere! So ...
- 665
36
votes
4
answers
10k
views
Where do I put the code snippets I found here or somewhere else on the web?
Many posts here or somewhere else contain code, but they do not say where to put it.
Example:
I have found this post: How do I turn off 301 redirecting posts (not canonical)?
I'm a newbie with PHP. ...
- 361
34
votes
7
answers
3k
views
What Plugins Demonstrate Great WP Plugin Development? [closed]
I'm going to be tackling my first plugin soon and I'm looking for plugins which you feel are of very high quality, under the hood. Stuff I can use as an example while I design the framework for my ...
32
votes
3
answers
21k
views
Why does WordPress use outdated jQuery v1.12.4?
While checking the source code, I saw that WordPress uses jQuery v1.12.4. Why does WordPress use this outdated version of jQuery?
- 454
32
votes
5
answers
28k
views
Post meta vs separate database tables
When developing plugins that requires data storage, what's the pros and cons of using one method or another ?
The explanation given in the codex is not detailed:
Before jumping in with a whole new
...
- 423
32
votes
5
answers
10k
views
Is there any plugin development framework
Since I am new to WordPress plugin development I have been examining the internal structure of many plugins. I have found that most of them don't fit any pattern and so understanding how they work can ...
32
votes
1
answer
9k
views
Is it possible to reuse wp.media.editor Modal for dialogs other than media
To expand: I'd like to utilize the same Modal code/appearance ( as used in wp.media.Modal, wp.media.FocusManager ) to open a modal of my own custom dialog, not the Media Editor. In the past, I've ...
- 481
30
votes
5
answers
86k
views
How to add a javascript snippet to the footer that requires jQuery
I know I can add a script file to the footer of wordpress that requires jquery using this code:
<?php
function my_scripts_method() {
// register your script location, dependencies and version
...
- 604
30
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Enhance Media Manager for Gallery
I would like to enhance the Media Editor, after WordPress 3.5, on the gallery view.
I want to add a new select field on the right side and send the selected values to the gallery shortcode.
I think, ...
- 17k
29
votes
5
answers
30k
views
How to add an admin notice upon post save/update
I have a post type the uses post_save to take the address from the post-meta and retrieve the lat/lng coordinates from the Google API. I need a way of notifying the user if there was an issue with ...
- 403
29
votes
4
answers
55k
views
How do I create a custom role capability?
I wish to create a custom capability for accessing the interface of my plugin.
Should the plugin manage adding this capability to all the administrator accounts on activation?
If so: Does WordPress ...
- 2,290
28
votes
10
answers
32k
views
is_plugin_active function doesn't exist
I'm using WordPress 3.0.5 and have tested with 3.1rc4. In the main PHP file of my plugin, when I try to call is_plugin_active I get Call to undefined function is_plugin_active(). I can call add_action ...
- 383
27
votes
5
answers
28k
views
How do I add CSS options to my plugin without using inline styles?
I recently released a plugin, WP Coda Slider, that uses shortcodes to add a jQuery slider to any post or page. I am adding an options page in the next version and I would like to include some CSS ...
- 20.6k
26
votes
3
answers
48k
views
How to include a file using get_template_part() in a plugin?
A very simple question may be, but I'm struggling. In theme development, I worked with get_template_part() many times, and I understand its basics. But when I's developing a plugin, I wondered using ...
- 12.7k
26
votes
3
answers
33k
views
How do i best handle custom plugin page actions?
I'm constantly running into the same annoyance, so i thought i'd see if there's any ideas or experience out there...
I've created a plugin that uses it's own admin page. It has to. Now that i sorted ...
- 3,075
26
votes
1
answer
966
views
Adding Custom Text Patterns in the WP 4.5 Visual Editor
4.5 is out and with it new Text Patterns. I would like to know how to go about adding my own custom patterns.
Taking a look at wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wptextpattern/plugin.js it seems pretty ...
- 9,699
25
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Automatically determine minimum WordPress version required for a plugin?
When developing a plugin, is there a way to automatically determine the minimum version of WordPress that's required to run it? I want to make sure that the Requires header is accurate, but manually ...
- 4,817
24
votes
1
answer
6k
views
What is the advantage of using wp_mail?
What is the advantage of using wp_mail() over mail(). Codex says they're similar, but they seem to be very similar.
- 3,022
23
votes
2
answers
37k
views
How to change a user's password programatically
I am trying to create a totally different profile page (not the one provided by Wordpress), since the layout and feel of the default profile page is too "Wordpress" for the users. Now I am successful ...
- 535
23
votes
2
answers
16k
views
How to make a WordPress plugin translation ready?
What is the best way create a plugin that is translation ready?
It doesn't have to be translated from the beginning but it has to be easily translatable so fellow developers from different cultures ...
- 2,686
23
votes
1
answer
31k
views
How to override existing plugin action with new action
I'm using a plugin. It has an action like this.
add_action('publish_post', 'old_action');
function old_action($pid) {
"code goes here"
}
}
I'm writing a module for this plugin. So i need to ...
- 3,441
23
votes
3
answers
11k
views
How to store username and password to API in wordpress option DB?
I'm currently developing a plugin and the chances are that I will more than likely release it on the public plugin repository so others can use it.
The plugin will be using an API and to use this API ...
- 12.2k