These slides are from a presentation given by Dan Pastori of 521 Dimensions that were presented at Milwaukee Wordcamp in June of 2012. These slides represent the best practices when it comes to developing a Wordpress Plugin.

1. PLUGIN DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICES
Presented By: Dan Pastori
@danpastori 521 Dimensions
TECHNOLGY SOLVING NEEDS
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2. Dan Pastori
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3. WHO IS DAN PASTORI?
Primary PHP/Java Developer
Co-Founded 521 Dimensions
Built two large plugins and one theme
Been tearing apart Wordpress for 3 years
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4. OTHER PRODUCTS I’VE DEVELOPED FOR
And of course custom applications!
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5. WORDPRESS IS THE BEST!
(at least from my experience!)
Great Documentation
Great Community
Fast learning curve
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6. PRE-REQUISITES
Understanding of PHP
Motivation/Consistency
A goal to develop towards
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7. WORDPRESS TERMINOLOGY
2 Types of Hooks:
1. Filter - Modifies text before it hits the screen.
2. Action - Hooks launched during execution.
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8. WHERE TO BEGIN?
1. Find a need
2. Focus on that need
3. Prototype
4. Jump right in
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9. BEGIN YOUR PLUGIN
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10. STRUCTURING PLUGIN
Create Directories
/wp-content/plugins/[NAME]
/wp-content/plugins/[NAME]/css
/wp-content/plugins/[NAME]/js
/wp-content/plugins/[NAME]/images
/wp-content/plugins/[NAME]/includes
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11. ADD MAIN FILE
/wp-content/plugins/[NAME]/[NAME].php
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12. Add Header In Main File
/*
Plugin Name: [NAME]
Plugin URI: http://www.521dimensions.com/wp-pictures
Description: Pictures in Wordpress!
Version: 1.0
Author: Dan Pastori
Author URI: http://www.521dimensions.com
License: GPL2
*/
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13. OOP VS FUNCTIONAL?
Modern programming practices say OOP
Both work!
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14. BEGIN CODING!
DO NOT OVER-WRITE CORE FUNCTIONALITY
Use predefined functions as much as possible
(They’re there for a reason!)
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15. What happens when you activate and
deactivate?
register_activation_hook(__FILE__, ‘function_name’)
register_deactivation_hook(__FILE__, ‘function_name’)
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16. Open [NAME].php
OOP
...
class WPPictures {
static function install() {
// do not generate any output here
}
}
register_activation_hook( __FILE__, array('WPPictures', 'install') );
Functional
...
function wp_pictures_install(){
}
register_activation_hook( __FILE__, ‘wp_pictures_install’ );
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17. WORKING WITH THE DATABASE
global $wpdb object
dbDelta()
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18. INITIAL INSTALL
1. Check for upgrades
If {installed version} != {plugin version}
2. Create Tables
3. Set options
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19. CSS AND JS
Register first, enqueue second
wp_register_script('product_js', plugins_url('/js/
product_list.js', __FILE__));
wp_enqueue_script('thickbox',null,array('jquery'));
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20. DASHBOARD VISUAL APPEAL
One management page, append to settings menu
Multiple management pages, have it’s own heading
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21. ADMIN MENUS
add_menu_page(PAGE TITLE, MENU TITLE, PERMISSION, SLUG, FUNCTION, LOGO);
add_submenu_page(PARENT SLUG, PAGE TITLE, MENU TITLE, 'CAPABILITY', 'MENU SLUG',
'FUNCTION');
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22. MEDIA GALLERY
wp_insert_attachment($attachment, $filename,
$parentPostID)
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23. PERMISSIONS
current_user_can('manage_options')
http://codex.wordpress.org/Roles_and_Capabilities
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24. SHORTCODES
add_shortcode('product-list', 'product_list_shortcode');
extract( shortcode_atts( array(
'categoryID' => 'all',
), $attributes ));
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25. ENSURE PLUGIN QUALITY
Be accepting of criticism
DOCUMENT... PLEASE :)
Update
Don’t solve everything, do one thing right
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26. BE THE SERVER ADMIN’S FRIEND
(And have a quality plugin)
Minimize requests
Make sure your resources are present
Use common php packages
Don’t require 777 on ANY directory!
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27. LAUNCH PLUGIN
Have your Mom use your plugin
Accept criticism
Maintain thorough documentation
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28. QUESTIONS?
@danpastori
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