As WordPress developers, we all know that plugins are key to a successful WordPress project. Great plugins can make a site thrive. Bad plugins can mean disaster… and we’ve seen all sorts.
Most WordPress developers build up a list of plugins & tools that they come to rely on. Things like Contact Form 7, Advanced Custom Fields and Yoast SEO. Everyone will have their own preferences, but you build-up your favourite set of plugins after trying lots of others first…
Do One Thing and Do It Well
Douglas McIlroy
…and there are some horrible plugins out there.
Argh… Too Much Bloat!
I come from a place called Unix-Land. A core principle of Unix is that you create a tool that does one thing, and it does that thing very well. Don’t add unnecessary fluff, and don’t force design/implementation constraints on the person who is going to use your software.
The trouble with a lot of WordPress plugins is that they’re way too big and bloated. You might want a plugin that adds a little message saying “This site uses cookies, click Accept if you’re OK with that”, but you end up with something that uses a huge JavaScript app in the admin area of your site, with a million npm dependencies, opening your site to possible XSS attacks.
I’d rather have a WordPress site running 60 small & elegant plugins, than a site running 20 bloated plugins.
So We Built Our Own
Power Plugins started with the need to create something for a client who was using WooCommerce. We wanted a call-to-action that was obviously shopping/cart-based, and would work great on a mobile. So we made an always-on-top jump-to-cart button that you can tap with your thumb when viewing on a mobile device. Simple, elegant and it gave us the chance to fix an annoyance of mine with WooCommerce… when you’ve got an empty cart, but you land on the cart page. With Sticky Menu Basket, you don’t have that problem, because it’ll detect this and forward you straight to the shop page.
…and our collection of home-spun plugins started to grow.
Keep it Fun
Building websites, designing beautiful things, and writing elegant code… it’s all about creating stuff. Making elegant new things that work well. If our tools help you create better products, then it’s all good.