Dear WordPress community
We’ve turned WP-admin into a monster!
Monique Dubbelman
@boemedia
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WordPress admin in 2003. Image source: http://www.wpbeginner.com/showcase/evolution-of-wordpress-user-interface-2003-2009/
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Now what?
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Is WordPress for everybody?
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https://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/
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We love to challenge ourselves
and simplify tasks in ways
that are positive
for the overall WordPress
user experience.
https://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/
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Every version of
WordPress should be
easier and more
enjoyable to use than
the last.
We love to challenge ourselves
and simplify tasks in ways
that are positive
for the overall WordPress
user experience.
https://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/
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How do plugin developers think?
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Some Figures & first findings
Our plugin developers are experienced (yay!)
The majority of the respondents works with WordPress for more than 5 years.
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On average, most plugin developers have
1-3 plugins in the WordPress directory
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When you develop a plugin, do you think
about where you implement your menu items?
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“Integration with WordPress
is more important than
own company branding”
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There are 2 plugin style guides, but the majority
of the plugin devs hasn’t heard of these.
Helen Hou-Sandi has created one (https://github.com/helen/wp-style-guide).
The other one is by Frank Bültge (https://github.com/bueltge/WordPress-Admin-Style)
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Do you think the labels of the core
menu items of WP Admin make sense?
Extra, Tools and Appearance are sometimes unclear
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WordPress notification system is used by the majority
Mostly for settings of the plugin, saving data or after an update.
(But: 26,3% uses it as a marketing tool as well)
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Is the outcome of this research
representative?
No
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Is the outcome of this research
representative?
No
Should it be?
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Is the outcome of this research
representative?
No
Should it be?
No
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With the incredible amount of available plugins,
how much do you think the usability
of Admin Area could be improved by restructuring?
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If only one person thinks it could be improved, it’s worth improving
With the incredible amount of available plugins,
how much do you think the usability
of Admin Area could be improved by restructuring?
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Where do we go from here?
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“Navigation said: turn right"
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Future goals for greater usability
(Some thoughts…)
better onboarding via email series or tooltips
more intuitive grouping of admin tasks
better guidance (checklist?) for plugin devs on how to create
a plugin with an intuitive
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this research might first lead to creation
of a (new?) plugin that gives WordPress
website creators more flexibility on
structure, functionality and look and feel
per user
Plugin Admin menu editor can do this for you already
… that eventually will be integrated in
core as an out-of-the-box feature in WP-
admin
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Monique Dubbelman
Twitter & Slack: @boemedia mo@boemedia.nl
Plugin developer questionnaire can be found at http://bit.do/wp-admin
Please share, or more important: fill it out!