Plugins
Operations Guide
[object Object]
Plugin Activation
Activation Process
Requirements:
- Plugin must be installed
- Required plugins active (if any)
- WordPress version compatible
- PHP version compatible
- No conflicts detected
Process:
- Click "Activate" button
- Loading state shown
- API call made to activate
- Plugin activates
- Status updates to "Active"
- Success notification shown
- Settings links appear
Visual Feedback:
- Button shows "Activating..."
- Spinner animation
- Status dot turns green
- Badge updates to "Active"
- Action buttons change
Requirements Checking
Dependency Detection:
- Checks for required plugins
- Verifies all are active
- Shows warning if missing
- Disables activation if requirements not met
Warning Display:
- Red warning box
- Warning icon
- List of required plugins
- Clear instructions
System Requirements:
- WordPress version check
- PHP version check
- Compatibility verified
- Errors shown if incompatible
Post-Activation
What Happens:
- Plugin code loads
- Hooks registered
- Database tables created (if needed)
- Settings initialized
- Action links appear
UI Updates:
- Status changes to "Active"
- Deactivate button shown
- Update button shown (if available)
- Settings links appear
- Action links displayed
Plugin Deactivation
Deactivation Process
Process:
- Click "Deactivate" button
- Loading state shown
- API call made to deactivate
- Plugin deactivates
- Status updates to "Inactive"
- Success notification shown
- Settings links hidden
Visual Feedback:
- Button shows "Deactivating..."
- Spinner animation
- Status dot turns gray
- Badge updates to "Inactive"
- Action buttons change
What Happens
During Deactivation:
- Plugin code unloads
- Hooks removed
- Database preserved
- Settings preserved
- Files remain
Data Preservation:
- All data kept
- Settings saved
- Database tables intact
- Can be reactivated
- No data loss
Post-Deactivation
UI Updates:
- Status changes to "Inactive"
- Activate button shown
- Settings links hidden
- Action links removed
- Update button hidden
Plugin State:
- Code not executed
- Hooks not active
- Features disabled
- Can be reactivated
- Data preserved
Plugin Updates
Update Detection
How Updates Are Detected:
- WordPress checks repository
- Compares versions
- Shows update badge
- Enables update button
Update Indicators:
- Orange "Update Available" badge
- Update button shown
- Version comparison
- Visual notification
Update Process
Process:
- Click "Update" button
- Loading state shown
- Update API call made
- Plugin files updated
- Version number updates
- Update badge removed
- Success notification shown
Visual Feedback:
- Button shows "Updating..."
- Spinner animation
- Progress indicator
- Version updates
- Badge removed
Update Safety
Backup Recommendations:
- Backup before updating
- Test in staging
- Check changelog
- Review breaking changes
Update Features:
- One-click updates
- Automatic rollback (if supported)
- Version comparison
- Changelog display
Post-Update
What Happens:
- Plugin files updated
- Version number changes
- Database migrations (if needed)
- Settings preserved
- Functionality updated
UI Updates:
- Version number updates
- Update badge removed
- Status maintained
- Settings preserved
- Action links updated
Plugin Deletion
Deletion Process
Confirmation:
- Confirmation dialog appears
- Warning message shown
- "Cannot be undone" notice
- Cancel/Confirm buttons
Process:
- Click "Delete" button
- Confirmation dialog
- Click "Yes, delete it"
- Loading state shown
- Delete API call made
- Plugin files removed
- Database cleaned
- Success notification
- Redirect to list
Visual Feedback:
- Confirmation dialog
- Loading state
- Plugin removed from list
- Success notification
- List updates
What Gets Deleted
Files Removed:
- Plugin directory
- All plugin files
- Assets and resources
- Temporary files
Database Cleanup:
- Plugin options removed
- Custom tables dropped (if any)
- Metadata cleaned
- Settings removed
What's Preserved:
- Content created by plugin
- User data (if applicable)
- Media files (if applicable)
- External data
Deletion Safety
Permanent Action:
- Cannot be undone
- No recovery option
- Files permanently deleted
- Database cleaned
Before Deleting:
- Backup if needed
- Export data if needed
- Check dependencies
- Verify no conflicts
Confirmation Required:
- Explicit confirmation
- Clear warning message
- Cannot be undone notice
- Easy cancellation
Automatic Updates
Auto-Update Toggle
Location:
- Settings section
- Plugin details view
- Toggle switch
- Per-plugin control
Toggle States:
- Enabled (auto-updates on)
- Disabled (auto-updates off)
- Visual indicator
- Status display
Enabling Auto-Updates
Process:
- Navigate to plugin details
- Find "Automatic Updates" setting
- Toggle switch on
- Auto-updates enabled
- Status updates
What Happens:
- WordPress checks for updates
- Updates automatically when available
- No manual intervention needed
- Email notifications (if configured)
Disabling Auto-Updates
Process:
- Navigate to plugin details
- Find "Automatic Updates" setting
- Toggle switch off
- Auto-updates disabled
- Status updates
What Happens:
- Updates must be manual
- Update badge shown
- Manual update required
- More control over timing
Auto-Update Best Practices
Recommended:
- Enable for security plugins
- Enable for critical plugins
- Enable for well-maintained plugins
- Monitor update emails
Not Recommended:
- Disable for custom plugins
- Disable for untested plugins
- Disable before major updates
- Disable if conflicts occur
Plugin Upload
Upload Process
Access:
- Upload button in sidebar
- File picker opens
- Select ZIP file
- Upload begins
Process:
- Click upload button
- File picker opens
- Select ZIP file
- File validates
- Upload progress shown
- Plugin extracts
- Plugin installs
- Success notification
Visual Feedback:
- Upload button loading state
- Progress indicator
- File name display
- Success notification
File Requirements
Format:
- Must be ZIP file
- Valid plugin structure
- Proper file permissions
- Size limits apply
Structure:
- Plugin folder inside ZIP
- Main plugin file
- Proper naming
- Valid headers
Validation:
- File format check
- Structure validation
- Security checks
- Error messages
Upload Errors
Common Errors:
- Invalid file format
- Invalid plugin structure
- File too large
- Permission errors
Error Handling:
- Clear error messages
- Actionable suggestions
- Retry option
- Support information
Bulk Operations
Selection Methods
Single Selection:
- Click plugin in list
- View details
- Perform operations
- One at a time
Multiple Selection:
- Not currently supported
- Individual operations only
- Future enhancement
- Per-plugin control
Operation Limitations
Current Support:
- Individual operations only
- One plugin at a time
- Per-plugin control
- Detailed feedback
Future Enhancements:
- Bulk activation
- Bulk deactivation
- Bulk updates
- Bulk deletion
Performance Monitoring
Performance View
Access:
- "Performance" link in details
- Opens performance view
- Plugin-specific metrics
- Resource usage
Metrics Displayed:
- Load time
- Memory usage
- Database queries
- Hook performance
Features:
- Real-time monitoring
- Historical data
- Performance graphs
- Optimization suggestions
Best Practices
Plugin Management
Regular Maintenance:
- Check for updates regularly
- Review plugin status
- Monitor performance
- Remove unused plugins
Security:
- Keep plugins updated
- Use trusted sources
- Review permissions
- Monitor for vulnerabilities
Performance:
- Limit active plugins
- Monitor resource usage
- Remove unused plugins
- Optimize configurations
Update Strategy
Before Updating:
- Backup site
- Check changelog
- Test in staging
- Review breaking changes
During Updates:
- Update one at a time
- Test after each update
- Monitor for errors
- Check functionality
After Updating:
- Verify functionality
- Check for errors
- Test features
- Monitor performance