Lots to do

Now that WP-Members 2.5.2 is out and the upgrade seems to be going well, it’s time to get going on a few other tabled projects.  Never a dull moment here at ButlerBlog.com!

I am building the project list for what I expect to be WP-Members 2.6.  This will introduce user editable fields for registration.  Admins will now be able to add or delete fields, and drag-and-drop them into the order they want.  (Actually, the drag-and-drop ajax interface is done!  I really just need to work out the add/delete process.)  Also to be added is the ability to deactivate a user without deleting them.  I’m quite sure a few more features will sneak in before it’s complete.  But it’s an active and ongoing project so there are new features all the time.

I’ve tested WP-Members 2.5.2 with WordPress 3.2 that should be released this month.  The admin interface is getting a facelift, so I am working on new screenshots based on the new interface.  That will save a re-do when 3.2 is released.  I’m holding off a little just to be certain there won’t be any last minute edits to the look, though.  Once I start that, I’ll re-do the Quick Start Guide for the plugin and begin adding screenshots to the Users Guide.

ButlerBlog.com is going to get its own facelift.  I have wanted to redo this site for quite some time but other projects have taken priority.  This blog is growing in popularity thanks to a solid group of users of my plugins (Thanks to all of you!) so it really needs an update.  I am working on custom child themes for Twenty Ten and Twenty Eleven (new default for WP 3.2, in case you hadn’t heard).  I am also going to focus on cataloging all of the existing content on the blog so users can find things easier.  I have a lot of support posts for the plugins yet I consistently get questions regarding some of these issues.  I put that on me for not making the content easy to find.  So I’ll be fixing that as we go.  More traffic to the site coupled with more users of the plugins means that is going to be critical for me to keep up with the demands on my time.

Along that line, I have a lot of drafts in the hopper that focus on plugins and plugin development.  I will start building out that content, so if you are a WP plugin developer or user, stay tuned for more content!

I’d like to bring back the forum for plugin support.  It died a number of years ago with the rash of WP hacking that went around (if you’ve been using WP for more than a couple years, you know what I’m talking about).  I had kind of shifted to wordpress.org for primary support, but with the increase in popularity for WP-Members, I really need something local.  Also, I am testing compatibility of WP-Members with Simple:Press, bbPress, Mingle Forum, and WP-Forum, so I will probably integrate one of those into the site.

That should help build discussion and make it a little more focused and organized.  With that in mind, I need to work on getting comments organized (and encouraging comments!).  Sometimes I get comments on posts that have little to do with the post, but are a support question.  I’ve got to work on how to (1) encourage the discussion while (2) getting in the place that makes sense so it’s relevant.  But please comment!  It makes me know you are out there listening.  The traffic stats show that this blog has users.  So feel free to speak out!

Thanks again!