Yesterday we featured a plugin, created by application developer Jeroen Sormani, that clones Google Keep functionality in the WordPress dashboard. Sormani has produced a number of other interesting experiment with WordPress, including a little known tool for generating WordPress settings.
The WP Settings Generator is a tool for plugin and theme developers. It generates a custom options page that is fully compatible with the WordPress Settings API standards. The tool is similar to the kinds of generators found at GenerateWP, which lacks a tool for creating settings.
On the config tab you can enter your plugin/theme name, plugin prefix, and text domain. Select your menu position and then proceed to the next tab.
The next screen provides a drag-and-drop interface for adding settings fields:
Once you have added all your fields, you will be presented with your customized settings code, which you can scroll through and copy to your plugin. Although it is designed to create settings pages for themes or plugins, the general consensus these days is that it’s preferable to utilize the native customizer for theme settings.
After reviewing your code, you have the opportunity to leave a personalized review of the generator. If you find that the code you receive has any errors or seems off, make sure to let Sormani know with a quick comment.
Of course, using a settings generator isn’t going to help you learn how the WordPress Settings API works, but it does give you a quick start for creating options. It’s not so much of a teaching tool but rather designed to eliminate the rote task of writing your own settings. Check it out and let us know if it ends up saving you time.
I always used option tree for theme options. I don’t know whether this plugin is more different that what option tree does currently.