Hot of DevPress is the new DP Dashboard plugin which has finally seen the light of day! There’s been a lot of talk about a better user experience in the backend of WordPress (as well as the post layer) and it’s neat to see some people put some of those ideas into action.
Some of the features that you’ll readily see in the DP Dashboard ($40 per year subscription) are as follows:
- More user friendly menus
- Makes you feel good completing tasks
- Simplifies sub-tasks & actions
- Boring tasks made easy and beautiful
- No more squinting, bigger title font sizes
- Easy to find common widgets
- New template editor with file numbering
It’s interesting to note how many “feel good” features are being presented as value propositions and marketing – it begs the question of whether or on the existing WordPress admin is so “clunky” that it would stop you from publishing or really hamper your enjoyment of the overall use of WordPress.
This isn’t a critique but rather an open-ended question: Do you feel as if the admin is so bad that it needs a plugin to “fix” the experience so that you’d ultimately use it more?
Here are some screens to give you a taste:
The author, Tung Do, has been around the WordPress community for quite some time but took a break for a while and then created DevPress which went through a bit of turmoil back in late 2011:
After months of inconsistent collaboration, DevPress is left with one remaining co-founder, me — Tung Do. Justin Tadlock, Patrick Daly, and Ptah Dunbar are going to pursue personal projects.
It looks like things have come around since then with the release of a number of themes and now this new admin look. I hope it continues to fly!
***Update***
Tung Do has released an update voicing some of the criticism that he’s gotten as well as referencing sweet call-outs like Justin Tadlock’s challenge to the UI team:
Over the past few years, WordPress has taken on a lot of new features. However, the downside to adding new features is that you must squeeze them in alongside the existing features. The new features are nice, but the WordPress admin has put on a few pounds.
It’s time to trim the fat.
Thanks Justin for that great challenge because there’s nothing like a good challenge to keep us on our toes and in the game! Tung Do responds by stating that the product isn’t finished yet and that he’s primarily built it first for himself and his own customers and clients:
I made this plugin for myself and who I am is a full-time WordPress designer/developer/blogger, basically someone who uses WordPress frequently. (My skills aren’t up there with the best of them to consider myself a designer/developer, but that’s the easiest way to explain what I do.)
And, for full-time WordPress professionals like me, it’s well worth the money and then some.
I find this decent and honest because most of the stuff that I build as a developer has been for myself first, other people second.
I say build the darn thing Tung! Go on and see if it takes – there’s nothing wrong with a little experimentation.
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