Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Characteristics of a Great WordPress Plugin

By Weston Radcliff

A Wordpress plugin should have the following characteristics to make it more intuitive and easy to use.

Seamless installation: The plugin must be able to install easily and seamlessly without any trouble. A plugin is as good as it can be installed into the system, if anyone finds the installation to be very complicated; there is a chance that he/she would not use the system at all. Many Wordpress plugins are very good as far as features go, but are bad in installation.

One step un-installation: A user must be able to remove the software as easy as he/she was able to install it. Un-installation is as much important as installation, a user might need to replace your plugin with something else the same developer develops, and then the main problem would be to easily un-install the plugin without affecting any other program.

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.

Good localization and language support: Language support is very important as it makes sure that any administrator who is not so fluent with the English language too can access and modify whatever he/she want to.

Easy error recovery: A plugin must be able to easily recover from different errors and come back to normal. These are function specific software components and an administrator cannot risk a system going down without any fair chance of retrieval.

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.

Intuitive user interface: A good interface is required to make the administrator work on the system easily. A good interface is a paramount requirement for a good Wordpress plugin.

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

Keep track of changes: A good plugin must be able to keep track of the changes to the plugin and update when necessary.

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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