Monday, June 21, 2010

Characteristics Of A Great WordPress Plugin

By Emmet Franklyn

A good Word press plugin must have the following characteristics:

Easy and error free Installation: Installation is the most important process in implementing a plugin. It is very much necessary to have a good installer with the plugin to make sure that the users do not face any problems with the installation process. Many users tend to neglect software because of the installation and integration process. The Worldpress system is a bit rigid too, so it is important to have a good installer.

A good un-installation process: This is as important as installation itself. Removal of the software should not in any ways impede the operation of the rest of the system. A good plugin should make sure that it stays independent of the rest of the system and does its work seamlessly without trying to alter anything else that can cause the system to fail.

Easy upgrade process: A good plugin must have a good upgrade process, a plugin must be able to adapt to situations and when a new feature can be added, it should be added without altering the whole system. Updates are required for all kinds of software, it is even more important for a software component such as a plugin.

Language support: Good plugins always has options for other languages apart from English. Localization of a plugin is an important thing. People from many demographics use the Wordpress software as Content Management System and Blogging system. A language is very important in both cases because not all end-users would know English and it is the duty of the administrator to make sure that the content is readable by most users.

User Understandable errors: A good plugin must throw exceptions and errors that are understood by the end user to rectify and correct it if possible. Errors can be a very big problem if it is untraceable. There must be a system by which the administrator should be able to contact the developer to get all the details without actually getting confused or giving misinformation.

Import/Export options: A good import and export option is necessary. This helps in porting a plugin from one system to another. Import and export option make sure that transporting and implementing your system from one place to the other is easy. It gives the administrator the flexibility to shift from different architectures and systems.

A good user interface: A plugin must possess a good user interface to add a menu based navigation for the admin; this would ease the tasks for the admin and make the plugin more useful. A good user interface must be intuitive to the administrator who is the end user here. It must provide him with enough options to manipulate the configurations for the plugin.

Secure plugins: A good plugin must be unbreakable. It must not make the system weak.

Changes to the system: A change log is necessary to track all the changes. This is very important as it marks a timeline of the changes made so that an administrator can look at the past changes and its effect on the whole system.

Good support: A plugin that is well supported and documented is a big plus.

The above mentioned are the most important characteristics of a Wordpress plugin.

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