WordPress

WordPress is a very useful tool, there’s no denying that.  I’ve been using WordPress to develop some smaller sized websites for about a year now and it can really cut down on development time.

I sometimes take issue with WordPress though. On frequent occasions I find myself trawling through the plugin library trying to find a suitable plugin that will add some specific functionality required by my client. On the occasions that I do find a plugin which provides the functionality that I need, I sometimes find that the way it integrates with the dashboard can be confusing for non-technical clients. If I the process seems a bit clunky to me then it’s only natural that my clients will also feel the same way. This means that extra time has to be spent with the client explaining how to carry out the process, which is not what I got into web development for.

I’m a PHP developer at heart and love creating bespoke interfaces that are simple to use by non-technical users and I find WordPress to be quite frustrating at times.  But I am a PHP developer, so if I can’t find a plugin that does the job I want, how hard is it to create your own?

Well, providing you have a reasonable knowledge of PHP, the answer is not much.  A recent project of mine required an Ecommerce site to be set up in WordPress using the WP-Ecommerce plugin.  One requirement of the site was the ability to display monthly sales totals split by category. It sounded straightforward enough, but after some thorough searching I couldn’t find a suitable plugin that did what my client required.

I therefore decided to delve into WordPress plugins and create my own, which is now available for download using the link below.

Download the SRWD Advanced Reporting WordPress plugin

In order to use the plugin you must firstly download and activate the WP-Ecommerce plugin otherwise the plugin will not work.

Unzip the contents of the download file and upload the folder to the /wp-content/plugins directory on your web server.  You will then be able to activate the plugin in the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard.

Once activated, a menu will appear under the Dashboard menu entitled “Sales Reports”.  This section will display sales totals in tables for each top-level product category for the past year.  Each table can also be downloaded in CSV format.

As this is my first plugin, any issues or comments would be greatly appreciated. If there is enough demand, I will implement any suggested improvements for future versions.