Use Custom Actions in Your WordPress Plugins

If you’ve been using WordPress for any amount of time, you’ve probably come across a plugin that asks you to add something to your template. The instructions will say something like:

Insert the following into your theme files where you want the plugin’s widget to appear:

<?php my_plugin_widget() ?>

The slightly more intelligent instructions will understand that the plugin might be deactivated, and suggest you wrap the function in an if() that checks for its existence:

<?php
if ( function_exists( 'my_plugin_widget' ) ) {
	my_plugin_widget();
}
?>

In your own plugins, you can streamline this for the end user by wrapping your function in a custom add_action. How? It’s incredibly easy. Just add an add_action() to your plugin file, like so:

add_action( 'show_my_plugin_widget', 'my_plugin_widget' );

function my_plugin_widget() {
	...
}

Now your users can use one straightforward line in their templates.

<?php do_action('show_my_plugin_widget'); ?>

One short line of code. No worrying about deactivated plugins. A small extra effort on your end can save your end users some frustration down the road.

Next Time: Cold Fusion! (article may be delayed by technical feasibility)

Previously: Use Classes in your WordPress plugins to increase code portability and reduce name conflicts