Hi Vayu, actually if you reload the editor page after removing a hidden element it will remove it from the tabs – I am still trying to figure out the best way to monitor wordpress JS to prevent this.
I have tried a lot of different content management systems. Everything from Drupal, to Joomla to Silverstripe and ModX. While I like a lot of them for different reasons I always find myself coming back to Wordpress for 80% of my design firms projects. It's simplicity, scalability and huge community base make it a great platform for so many different types of websites.
Having tried so many different content management systems (not to make it sound like I am a CMS whore, although I probably am) I have come across features and functionality that I feel would be extremely useful to integrate Wordpress. Silverstripe's simple page focused navigation lead me to develop the dashboard pages plugin, which makes it easy to sort and find the page you are looking to edit or manage off of the homepage rather than having to click to find it.
There are really only a few primary criteria in what I look for in a CMS, so it is shocking that so many content management systems get it wrong. I always focus on:
Out of all of those items I would say being user friendly is probably item number one. This is primarily because I really, really, really dislike having to do tech support phone calls on how to do X, Y or Z on a site. I also really, really dislike long CMS training sessions.
So maybe it is born out of selfishness, but a lot of the plugins that I develop are directly related to making Wordpress easier to use for the average website owner. Out of the box I feel Wordpress is simple and user friendly, however a bit too blog focused when it comes to using it as a primary CMS tool. This isn't really a criticism because Wordpress is a blogging platform first and CMS second — however that doesn't mean we shouldn't look to improve where we can.
I have run into a handful of content management systems that make the most common actions so big and obvious no one could miss them. This is one major focus I feel the dashboard of Wordpress lacks. A majority of the Wordpress dashboard is on plug-ins, news, quick posts, comments, etc... all things that are not very important when it comes to managing an average website. Sure the menu on the left gives you access to all of the major items but there is no emphasis on common tasks and it is easy to skip over an important element because it is hidden amongst everything else.
CMS dashboard puts a widget on your Wordpress dashboard with large icons and links to the most common tasks your users will perform including:
This way you will never get a call asking how to add a user or change a widget. It also will speed up the time it takes to perform tasks and lead to a better CMS experience.
Download or Read More about CMS Dashboard
Another design element I loved with Silverstripe was the tabbed interface. Let's face it, there is a lot of controls you can add to any given page that is managed. Especially when you start working with page titles, meta tags, navigation text, custom fields, custom write panels, etc... If you use either the PODS or Flutter CMS plug-ins you are likely to end up with editing pages that have so many meta boxes you have lots of scrolling up and down to simply make an alteration and then publish the page.
This is because Wordpress chooses to have additional control over a page done in a very flat manor. This works when you are simply managing a blog and don't have too much information to control, but once you start using Wordpress as a CMS it can be cumbersome.
I have had plenty of calls where a client wasn't aware they had control over a part of the site simply because it was so far down on the editor page.
Editor Tabs fixes this by automatically generating a javascript based tabbed navigation menu below the main content editor comprised of all the meta boxes that are on the page. That way you can easily flip through the different options, make a change and hit publish with out having to scroll all the way up and down. Additionally you have a clear idea of what can be controlled and you don't have to hunt for it.
Download or Read More about Editor Tabs
I would love to hear any feedback or suggestions. I created these plug-ins because I would find them personally useful, however I am sure there are other small tweaks or alterations that could improve upon them.
Have some feedback? Leave a commentHi Vayu, actually if you reload the editor page after removing a hidden element it will remove it from the tabs – I am still trying to figure out the best way to monitor wordpress JS to prevent this.
Hi.
I have installed both plugins and thanks for the tip!
I am not too keen on the Editor Tabs plugin as it shows all fields/tabs even if they are ticked off in the Screen Options plus I have disabled them with the Adminimize plugin. Its a shame i doesnt adhere to any of these settings.
Cordially
Vayu
I totally agree that usability is key to CMS, and yes we use Wordpress as our chief CMS. So any plugins that aid this feature are more than welcome.
Thanks for the feedback Valerie. I haven’t tested the plugin with Fluency, however I am aware that there are some strange things that occur when you turn on / off widgets. I need to find a way to basically redraw the menu anytime some javascript happens, just not sure how to best do that.
First feedback – Editor Tabs breaks something in the Administration interface. I’m not enough of a programmer to know exactly what. I am using Fluency Admin and the little flyout menus don’t work consistently when the Editor Tabs is installed and on the Dashboard, the Screen Options to disable certain widgets no longer works. Whatever is on the Dashboard stays there. If I disable Editor Tabs, I can again adjust the screen options.
Do you want these comments here or at the Wordpress.org/extend/plugins page for this plugin?
Hey, I’m loving these plugins! I do Wordpress installations for VERY tech-challenged clients, and I think these will help make things more obvious to them.
On the CMS Dashboard – it looks lovely when the dashboard is set to 1 column, but when set to 2 columns which is the standard, it kinda smushes up the buttons. Any way to smooth that out a bit?
Thanks!
Im gonna try this .. see ya next days .. and ull get ya feedback.
Cya
Phil
Really interesting, I will try this both
on February 26, 2010
Thanks for this plugin. I try to make a portal for rental and without this plugin I waste a lot of time in dashboard.