Kathryn Presner @zoonini

WordCamp OC 2015 #wcoc

Passionate About Plugins

AND Wild FOR Widgets

Kathryn Presner Theme Whisperer Theme Team Automattic

Widget Me This

Welcome to the world of widgets

Left Sidebar Widgets

Footer Widgets

CORE

ACTIVE

INACTIVE

Widgets in the Admin Area

Widgets in the Customizer

ACTIVE

INACTIVE

CORE

Widget Source: Core

Widget Source: WordPress.com

Widget Source: Plugin

Widget Source: Plugin

Widget Source: Plugin

Widget Source: Theme

Widget Source: Theme

Widget Conditions

Control which widgets go where

Jetpack Widget Visibility

Add Conditions

Refine Conditions

Plugin Power!

What/when/how?

Installing Plugins

Behind the Scenes

Up Front

Up Front

Picking a Plugin

Making wise choices

Lots and Lots of Plugins

wordpress.org/plugins

OVERWHELMING

1.  Credibility 2.  Track record 3.  Popularity

Plugin Selection Criteria

cou

rtesy Six Revisio

ns

cou

rtesy Six Revisio

ns

cou

rtesy Six Revisio

ns

cou

rtesy Six Revisio

ns

Hand-picked

Popularity Contest

Favorites – Logged Out

Favorites – Logged In

Favorites – Logged In

Favorites – Profile

Repo Search

Google Search

non-repo

compilation

in repo

in repo

compilation

compilation

Past its Prime

Log in to Vote, Rate & Post

Version Compatibility

Version Compatibility

Version Compatibility

Version Compatibility

If IT WORKS votes / TOTAL votes >= 0.7 then IT WORKS

If IT WORKS votes / TOTAL votes >= 0.3 then IT’S BROKEN

Source: Otto

Author

Screenshots & FAQ

Offsite Support

Changelog

Support Track Record

Resolved Threads

Plugin Troubleshooting

Potential conflicts:

•  plugin & WordPress core

•  two or more plugins

•  plugin & theme

Troubshooting Flow Chart When in doubt, deactivate all plugins

Problem still there?

Reactivate one at a time Test between each

NO

Troubshooting Flow Chart When in doubt, deactivate all plugins

Problem still there? YES

Search forums/Web Post in forum/report to developer Look in source code

to default theme Replace plugin with an alternative

Plugin Care and Feeding

Avoid editing others’ plugin code...

COULD THE CHANGES:

Be moved outside plugin?

Be incorporated?

Be forked?

Post in the Forum

Follow a Plugin - Support

Follow a Plugin - Dev

Plugin Maintenance

Keep up-to-date

Fully remove unused plugins

A Few Types Plugins

NOTABLE OF

SEO

Security/Backup

Multilingual

Monster Widget

Jetpack

Premium

More

•  Forms

•  Analytics

•  Anti-spam

•  Mapping

•  Slider

•  Caching

•  Admin interface

•  Custom fields

•  Custom post types

•  Social sharing

Resources – Codex WordPress.org Codex: Managing Plugins http://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins

WordPress.org Codex: Plugin Resources for Developers http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_Resources

Resources – Posts 6 Questions To Ask Before You Install A WordPress Plugin http://sixrevisions.com/wordpress/before-install-wordpress-plugin/ (flowchart used with permission)

Functionality: Plugins vs Themes– Pippin Williamson http://wp.tutsplus.com/articles/general/functionality-plugins-vs-themes/

Resources – Books Professional WordPress Plugin Development by Brad Williams, Ozh Richard, Justin Tadlock

Wrox

Wordpress Plugin Development Cookbook by Yannick Lefebvre Packt Publishing

Connect/Credits Presentation slideshare.net/zoonini

Kathryn Presner kpresner.com / Twitter: @zoonini WordPress.org Slack: zoonini

Fonts Arvo & Lato “Overwhelmed” photo (cc) andres.thor – Flickr