WordPress Front-end Editor Plugin Gets Major Updates

This week the WordPress Front-end Editor team posted its progress on the Make WordPress UI development blog. Front-end editing capabilities are being developed as a feature plugin and will hopefully be considered for inclusion in the core sometime this year. It currently looks a little something like this:

The plugin has improved by leaps and bounds since the last time I took it for a test drive. I’ve got it active on a site where I try everything that is fun. Despite the fact that it’s still under heavy development, the plugin is actually quite enjoyable to use. Editing posts on the frontend is lightening fast.

New Modal Added For Post Meta Boxes

The most recent update includes the ability to create posts and pages from the frontend. Janneke Van Dorpe, the project lead, has also added more TinyMCE tools and a new modal window to display post meta boxes. This works in a similar way to the media modal.

New Media Features: oEmbed, Gallery Previews and Featured Image Editing

Just after Christmas the team posted some exciting media updates to the plugin. The WordPress Front-end Editor now automatically embeds links supported by oEmbed. It can also generate a preview of galleries and captions and allows for adding, editing or removing featured images. This video is a quick demonstration of those features in action:

Since front-end editing is being developed as a feature plugin, you can test it out early if you’re feeling adventurous. Feel free to use it during its experimental stage and monitor the progress. You can find the WordPress Front-end Editor plugin in the WordPress plugin repository. There’s also a github mirror of the plugin. Please be advised that it is still under very active development and probably not suitable for a client site.

If you’d like to get on board to contribute, check out the open tickets for the plugin to see what is planned, report a bug or add ideas of your own. Contributors are welcome to join in on the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at 11:00 UTC-6 in #wordpress-ui.

Category: News, Plugins, WordPress

7 responses to “WordPress Front-end Editor Plugin Gets Major Updates”

Daniel D’Alonzo says:

January 21, 2014 at 5:19 PM

I see you everywhere, Sarah :)

I just found the Front-end Editor last night. It’s really impressive. I want to get involved in development/UI but I missed the chat today.

Is there anyone out there who can connect me with the team?

Daniel

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- Ian Dunn says:
  
  January 21, 2014 at 6:01 PM
  
  Try pinging @avryl in the #wordpress-ui channel on Freenode — http://codex.wordpress.org/IRC
  
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Kraft says:

January 21, 2014 at 8:21 PM

You can ping me on Skype at kraftbj and mention the Front-End Editor too. I’ll add you to the chat.

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Joan says:

January 22, 2014 at 4:26 AM

Wow, awesome improvements, and it’s quite stable! I’ll use it in a very simple blog I run. Do you really think it can be added in the core this year?

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This Week In WordPress: Jan 27, 2014 – Max Foundry says:

January 27, 2014 at 2:35 PM

[…] WordPress Front-End Editor Plugin – Major Updates […]

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Alex says:

January 28, 2014 at 6:58 PM

Anyone seen Designer (http://skythemes.com/designer)? It’s another free front end editing plugin that’s similar, but does it a little bit differently.

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soycaballero says:

July 1, 2014 at 4:27 AM

When is a Front end editor going to do an end-around from the locked in Wp Admin Dashboard needed to administer every single WordPress plugin?

I have a commercial WP plugin that generates availability calendars and inquiry or booking forms for each post that is a “rental” type.

Each website registered User with Author role has to use the Calendar (like all WP plugins) from the core WP Admin dashboard. The Admin has his or her own master menu and options and settings to first set up this Calendar plugin.

After that is done then the USERS get their own Sub-menu of options and settings so that they can create, name, save calendar settings, and even respond to Booking inquiries.

But all of these back end settings and options for such a plugin are confined to the Wp Admin dashboard. WordPress plugin back end functions, as far as I know to this date, cannot be administered from Front End forms, templates, or even with the current state of “Front End” plugins.

The WP rental theme I am using converts the site into a Self-Registered User mode. Each User can create, modify, delete their own Rentals postings.

But because everyone in WP Developer’s themes has switched to custom front end forms and templates for the User Interface there is no way to use such a Calendar plugin.

There is a big disconnect between the 100% trend to direct Users away from the core WP Admin and the fact that Plugin installations are locked into one place for Administration.

WP CORE should allow a plugin with User Options and Settings (for non Admin roles) to operate equally well in the Wp Admin dashboard or to put that same back end settings functionality into any theme template.

In other words, the User will see in their Front End post administration form the same sub menu options for an installed plugin as they would see in the Wp Admin Dashboard.

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