Having some fun playing with a Write mode plugin for WordPress. Block friendly, sitting somewhere between Gutenberg & Classic editor, with handy writing features.
Revisiting the 'Browse mode' idea for the WordPress Site Editor: github.com/WordPress/gutenbe…
What if we just... removed 95% of the cruft and adopted wpds tokens so we could have dark mode in wp-admin. Would that be good?
Interesting discussion on the Gutenberg repo about how to integrate wp-admin and the site editor. Embrace wp-admin as-is, or go for the full redesign. My feeling is that either could work, but I wanted to prototype the latter. Have a look: github.com/WordPress/gutenbe…
The prototype is hosted on @SpacefastHQ btw. Pretty neat. wp-admin-shell.view.fast/
Another fun little prototype exploring a different shape for wp-admin navigation. Customise mode allows users to show/hide/reorder/group menu items as they see fit, and plugins can provide preset recipes. wp-admin-nav-prototype.verce…
Spent some time this week creating a feature plugin for my WP Shell prototype. The Dock is fed straight from WordPress’ own registered menu structure offering one-click access between key workflows. Customisation of items to come later.
The Dashboard includes a new Quick Launch widget. Per-role recipes will surface relevant items, with per-user overrides on top. A new "shell" color scheme and a small modern-admin polish layer (very WIP) hide the legacy sidebar and give the UI room to breathe.
Deployed my WP Shell prototype here: wp-shell.vercel.app/
There will be bugs. Probably many. Feel free to patch: github.com/jameskoster/wp-sh…
The last piece of the WP Shell prototype for this week: elevating AI to a first-class surface in WordPress.
Not a sidebar widget. Not a modal. A persistent assistant panel that lives at the system level. Globally accessible, context-aware, and always one keystroke away.
This connects to the broader hypotheses behind WP Shell: WordPress should feel less like a collection of screens and more like a cohesive application.
A first-class AI surface is part of that. An always-available layer that works with the shell, not inside one corner of it.
A UI for managing Custom Post Types in Gutenberg, very cool!
github.com/WordPress/gutenbe…
One of the most interesting things about treating the WordPress Dashboard as a primary navigation surface – with richer, click-into-the-work widgets – is the recipes we can build and share for different site types.
Four early examples 👇
Membership/Community: Pending applications, recent signups, MRR. Top discussions. Who's active in the forum(s), where they are, click to join them.
The dashboard becomes a community pulse and a one-click route into every conversation.
