What are some of the most important open source plugins in the pre-Gutenberg WP ecosystem? I want to try to keep them compatible with the CP Next version I am working on

General Discussion
#1

I’m making progress with the CP Next version I started and all is cool so far. Removed XML-RPC, Pingbacks/Trackbacks, Link Manager and updated the schema to not include the wp_links table and replaced Gravatar with a Core Plugin for local avatars (allows custom and autogenerated avatars). I am now taking away deprecated functions…

AND I had an idea… to be more cautious with what I remove and what I don’t. The idea is to know what the community has to say about the most commonly used WP Plugins, so that I can install them and see how far they work along with the breaking changes I am introducing and also how difficult it would be to alter those plugins to make them work in the CP Next version I am working on.

Having 10 or 15 active common plugins while working on Trimming/Cleaning/Reorganizing Core seems a good idea to me. But not just random plugins… so that’s why I’m asking this!

I installed the most epic plugin in the ecosystem, which is Classic Commerce, and it works like a charm. (Big shoutout to the CC devs, it’s quite amazing!)

It would be cool if you answer to this topic with the name of the plugin, a very brief one-sentence description and maybe even a github URL if there is and why you believe it’s an important plugin for the ecosystem.

ClassicPress "Next" Progress News
#2

To me, the most important plugin, by far, is Query Monitor.

3 Likes
#3

I’m also keeping Contact Form 7 active (latest WP 4.9 version is 5.1.9). I never use it but many people do.

Query Monitor 3.8.2 is working perfect too. Great suggestion btw @timkaye, thanks. I’ll keep it active while doing stuff and analyze the worth of a potential breaking change when it fails. But yeah the things I’m removing are very specific old rests in Core. I doubt that any up-to-date plugin uses 'em anyway. And if it does, there must be a simple solution for it. Let’s see.

Actually, Query Monitor failed on the frontend because it calls the is_trackback() function which I removed together with pingbacks. It took me 15 seconds to remove that function call from the plugin and all is cool, which leads me to this idea.

Anyway, I’m open to lookup for more plugins and work with them. Even do the necessary adaptations regarding “breaking changes” (which should actually be called “subtle update changes”).

1 Like
#4

One rather simple plugin that would make for a great core feature is the ability to duplicate posts. I use plugin, but it should be a core feature.

Another thing that core should do is allow SVG uploads. One way to mitigate security issues would be to add SVG sanitizer to remove potentially harmful stuff. First thing I do on every website is add a plugin to allow SVGs, so I can use them in design.

#5

It’s also important to have logging plugins that work with CP. Stream is currently the most user-friendly one that’s compatible with CP.

There isn’t an email logging plugin that both works with CP and doesn’t have a broken feature, so I’m working on building that myself. (Actually, all working except for the fact that I haven’t decided how to handle attachments.)

REST API Log is important too for people, like me, who use the REST API a lot.

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#6

SEO is very important. CP has Classic SEO, which works and is based on RankMath plugin. But it hasn’t received any attention in a while.

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#7

Another thing that can be improved in core that I use a plugin for is better password hashing. I use bcrypt to hash passwords. That’s a good option. But depending on the min PHP version you plan to support, there may be others too.

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#8

Some WP plugins I consider indispensable:

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#9

Yes, that’s a good shout.

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#10

agreed

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#11

I added all of those. Working perfect except for two things:

  • I had to remove is_trackback() function call from statify and slim SEO. This doesn’t affect the plugin, it just ignores Pingbacks (which I completely removed anyway).
  • Slim SEO uses a function that wasn’t defined on WP 4.9 (id est. CP). It’s wp_get_environment_type() and it was introduced in WP 5.5.0. But yeah it’s a very simple function that can either be replaced or backported (because it’s a useful function).

I fixed the problem, will keep those plugins active.

I dislike the fact that Shortcodes Ultimate states:

image

Why would we want to use plugins that add useless bloat to CP?

Gutenberg-ready means: “Yo waddup, each time you load a page I’m gonna load some code in case Gutenberg is there. Because maybe and only maybe, you need it, ain’t that fun!?”.

Again → this defends this idea.

Conclusion: the breaking changes i’m introducing are not breaking anything other than forcing subtle changes. No way is possible other than moving away from WP once for all, if CP wants to make sense. I’ll keep adding and testing plugins you like, if you like. And making the small required changes for those plugins to work too.

3 Likes
#12

I doubt @arjayarana wants the plugin because it’s block-ready. Shortcodes were an integral part of building a WP website, and still is an integral part of CP since CP doesn’t have blocks. They offer a lot of features that users can utilize without coding.

#13

Why would we want to use plugins that add useless bloat to CP?

When it’s necessary. Or when there’s no other choice. Actually, I personally use only a few of the available shortcodes, but other people may want to use more, and so it’s best to focus on a single “all-in-one” shortcodes plugin. As Viktor said, shortcodes is still an integral part of a CP site.

1 Like
#14

You both misunderstood my words. Shortcodes are fine, great actually.

The question is: Why would we use plugins that add useless bloat to CP?

Where useless bloat means: being block ready.

He of course doesn’t want the plugin because it’s block ready. He wants it because of its original purpose: shortcodes.

But again and as always, WordPress is introducing all that stuff, which eventually will be breaking stuff (just like what happened with slim SEO).

Which again and as always leads to the same than always always always: CP doesn’t make sense if it doesn’t cut from WP.

3 Likes
#15

Just to add one more thing related to shortcodes. I don’t know how you feel about shortcodes, but there was work being done on an improved shortcode parser on WP side:

There’s a petition for that:

Something to consider.

1 Like
#16

My sites in development are a few minor versions behind the latest version of Slim SEO, but I was sure the plugin developers have committed to support ClassicPress.

#17

Please don’t ever touch Classic SEO! This is one of the wonders of CP. The only plugin that really does all the necessary basics. A masterpiece!

2 Likes
#18

Featured Image by URL
I don’t know if this is an open source plugin but it is very useful for my site.
A similar supplement also popular has already stepped into Gutenberg.
For an addition like this, I had written a petition to be part of the core of ClassicPress, there was a debate here about it but it didn’t seem to have fallen on fertile ground.
This add-on is still on WP until version 4.0 and has not been updated for a year.
I’m afraid that this add-on won’t become part of Gutenberg in the next update, or worse, that it will run out of time or simply disappear.
Without that add-on, my gaming page will become useless.
And the plugin is useful for all those who have hosting with less storage and photos as in my case are very important and take up storage space

#19

The problem with this is that it opens up a potential CORS security issue. (It wouldn’t if it was just being used as a means of importing the image, but that’s not what you’re asking for.) So this is not a good candidate to be part of core.

It’s better left as a plugin specifically for those who want this feature. And there’s no problem with forking that plugin. Any plugin listed on wordpress.org is open source.

1 Like
#20

Exactly. But I also have to add that the initial scope of this post was not to look for “Core Plugins”. Actually, some of us and myself included are confusing the concept of “Core Plugin”. A Core Plugin isn’t something we ADD, but instead something we TAKE AWAY from Core and provide it as a plugin. So this can’t be called a Core Plugin because it has never been in Core in the first place. If anything at all, it should be called a potential CP Native plugin (a forked and adapted version for ClassicPress).

The scope of this post was to get feedback on real plugins being used by real ClassicPress users, with the idea that I (or anyone interested!) activate them in the ClassicPress Next version that is currently being developed (by me, but not a “one man show”, anyone can/should/is-encouraged-to jump in!) for the sake of keeping them working while breaking changes are being introduced.

So far, all the listed plugins on this post are working fine with MINOR ISSUES that get fixed in less time than it takes to criticize what is being done (without providing alternatives…).

So I will fork the Featured Image by URL WordPress plugin for you and keep it working with the Next version.

For the antiprogress feed-backers, please find a solution to this before posting utopic nevergonnahappen ideas.