Plugin Authors: Organize Bug Reports and Feature Requests Using the WordPress Plugin Repository
Plugin Authors: Organize Bug Reports and Feature Requests Using the WordPress Plugin Repository
One of the downsides of having a popular plugin is the amount of support requests, bug reports, and feature suggestions that come in. Well, it’s not that bad, but sometimes it’s difficult to organize what features should be added, what bugs must be tackled first, and what can just be ignored. If you’re one of […]
One of the downsides of having a popular plugin is the amount of support requests, bug reports, and feature suggestions that come in. Well, it’s not that bad, but sometimes it’s difficult to organize what features should be added, what bugs must be tackled first, and what can just be ignored.
If you’re one of the few and the proud over at WP Extend Plugins, you have a nice tool at your disposal to keep track of all your plugin related needs. The tool, you ask? It’s the trac ticketing system over at the WordPress Plugin Repository.
WordPress Plugin Repository
WordPress Plugin Repository - Trac
Each plugin hosted on WP Extend allows the plugin author to post and assign tickets to their plugin. In fact, any member of the WP Support Forums can post a ticket against any plugin hosted in the official repository.
Logging into the WP Plugins Repository
Login Button
The first step to start assigning tickets (besides creating a user account) is to head over to the repository and log in.
Username/Password Dialog
After you are logged in you can view the “New Ticket” button.
New Ticket Button
Creating the New Ticket
After clicking on the “New Ticket” button, you are presented with a form for creating a new ticket. Creating the ticket is as simple as filling out a few form fields.
- Short summary: Basically a title for the bug or feature request.
- Type: Is it a defect (bug), enhancement (feature request), or task?
- Full description: Detailed description of the issue with code examples if applicable.
- Priority: How seriously you think the developer should take the request.
- Severity: How much damage (or potential damage) the issue causes
- Component: This is where you select which plugin you’re creating the ticket for.
Screenshot of the “Create New Ticket” Screen
Once you’re all set creating the new ticket, you can either preview it or hit the “Submit Ticket” button. Once the ticket is finally submitted, you’ll get a nice summary screen with your new ticket (shown below).
Screenshot of “Submitted Ticket” Screen
After the ticket is submitted, it’s up to the plugin author to accept and assign the ticket.
Viewing Open Tickets
It’s simple to view your open tickets once one has been created against your plugin. If you are logged in, click on the “View Tickets” button.
View Tickets Button
Once on the “View Tickets” page, you will want to browse to “My Tickets”.
“View Tickets” Page
From there you will be able to see all of your plugin’s open tickets based on priority. You can then click on a ticket, assign it, mark it as resolved, add comments, or a number of other options.
Open Tickets - Priority Based
Conclusion
The WordPress Plugin Repository is a great asset for plugin authors who receive a lot of bug reports and/or feature requests. The ticketing system allows for one place to store all bug reports and feature requests in a nice priority-based system.
This article touched on just one of many features available to plugin authors (and regular WordPress users) over at the repository. For plugin authors, becoming familiar with the repository is recommended.
Other Side Of Permalinks
I recently wrote an article that explained how to configure permalinks in WordPress. In that article, I go over a few different reasons why you would want to use pretty permalinks instead of using the default linking structure. Well, Ted Clayton published an article that took the other side of the permalinks argument. Ted goes […]
I recently wrote an article that explained how to configure permalinks in WordPress. In that article, I go over a few different reasons why you would want to use pretty permalinks instead of using the default linking structure. Well, Ted Clayton published an article that took the other side of the permalinks argument. Ted goes into detail on why and how WordPress uses the default linking structure and explains that it’s not as bad as some would make you think. It’s an excellent read and I thank Ted for bringing up the other side of the equation.
There is, in truth, a maze of trade-offs & counterpoints involved in selecting a strategy & tactics for making nicer, people-friendly URLs, for each & every website. Yes, many typical blog-sites will be able to adopt typical, easily-identified Permalink configurations. In the end, though, only you can do it right for your site.
WordPress Theme Releases For 1 / 23
Two Column Themes Orange and Black This is a widget ready two column theme with contrasting colors. It makes use of orange and black colors. Content area is quite big allowing to fit in more content, sidebar is to the left of the page. Sidebar comes built in with Recent Entries and Recent Comments so you do not […]
Two Column Themes
Orange and Black
This is a widget ready two column theme with contrasting colors. It makes use of orange and black colors. Content area is quite big allowing to fit in more content, sidebar is to the left of the page.
Sidebar comes built in with Recent Entries and Recent Comments so you do not have to install those plugins.
Demo | Release Page | Download
Simpleton
Simpleton is a two column theme which makes use of simple colors. The theme comes built in with recent comments and recent themes. The sidebar is big enough to fit in two rows of information.
The theme is widget ready.
Demo | Release Page | Download
UnGrid
UnGrid is a three column theme based on grids which is widget ready. The theme features an integrated banner management and a featured about section.
Font color is a bit light and could do better with a darker shade. Features a extended footer section to display more information. Comes in Greenish / Pink and Blue colors.
Demo | Release Page / Download
Three Column Themes
iPhone Theme
Widget Ready theme with vast use of rounded corners for headers. The main header area is a bit small which makes it hard to have a custom logo. Makes good use of gray color throughout the theme.
Sidebar is divided into two columns with additional space to show off 125 X 125 banners.
Demo | Release Page | Download
MackOne
A fluid theme based on dark colors consisting of red and black. The background and graphics are appealing. Makes use of white text for better visibility on the dark background.
The theme is widget ready and comes built in with related posts, Flickr support, recent comments, WordPress native tags and Socializing options.
Demo | Release Page | Download
Blue Iris
Blue Iris is a fluid three column theme with widget ready sidebars. Colors are mostly made up with variations of blue. The theme has a wide content area making it easier to add wider images.
The header section and sidebars can do with a bit of improvement. Sidebars are fitted in too close together.
Demo | Release Page | Download
WordPress Theme Releases for 1 / 21
Three Column Themes Blue Lily Blue Lily is a three column theme which is quite simple and attractive, the main background is a striking blue with green color for the header. The navigation menu is right on the top of the page making it easily visible. Content area is big enough and has a gray background. There are […]
Three Column Themes
Blue Lily
Blue Lily is a three column theme which is quite simple and attractive, the main background is a striking blue with green color for the header. The navigation menu is right on the top of the page making it easily visible.
Content area is big enough and has a gray background. There are two sidebars which you can use to show off additional information.
Widget Ready: Yes
Compatibility: There were no issues that I saw with this theme on Firefox 2+, IE6, IE7, Flock.
Validations: Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional | Invalid CSS with 1 error
Demo | Release Page | Download
Blue Dream
Blue Dream is a three column theme with a graphical header and rounded navigational menu on the top of the page. The theme comes built in with RSS icons on top of the page to make it easier to subscribe to feeds.
There are two sidebars which can be used to display additional information and advertisements.
Widget Ready: Yes
Compatibility: There were no issues that I saw with this theme on Firefox 2+, IE6, IE7, Flock.
Validations: Invalid XHTML 1.0 Transitional with 32 errors | Valid CSS
Airborne
Airborne is a three column theme which makes use of clouds in the header and footer sidebar section as a background. The main content area is a bit small which does not allow you to add big images into the content.
There are two sidebars for showing additional content, it also has a footer sidebar where you can add more content allowing you pack all the information like top posts, recent posts etc in a single page.
Note: The release page is in German.
Widget Ready: Yes
Compatibility: There were no issues that I saw with this theme on Firefox 2+, IE6, IE7, Flock.
Validations: Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional | Valid CSS
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