Drazen

<p>Update Compass is a decision-first WordPress admin plugin that helps you evaluate plugin and theme updates before installing them.</p>
<p>Instead of only showing that an update is available, Update Compass adds a local analysis layer and recommends what to do next based on version changes, compatibility metadata, changelog signals, and release timing.</p>
<p>It keeps the native WordPress update workflow. Updates are still performed through standard WordPress update mechanisms.</p>
<h3>How It Works</h3>
<p>WordPress already detects updates. Update Compass reads that data and adds decision guidance such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>Update Ready</li>
<li>Stage & Test</li>
<li>Watch & Wait</li>
<li>Hold Off</li>
<li>Needs Review</li>
</ul>
<p>Each status includes a short explanation and next-step guidance. For higher-risk updates, users can open status details for deeper analysis and reminder scheduling.</p>
<h3>Key Features</h3>
<ul>
<li>Pre-update risk analysis for plugins and themes</li>
<li>Clear status badges with explanations and next steps</li>
<li>Version jump analysis (major, minor, patch deltas)</li>
<li>WordPress compatibility checks (<code>requires</code> / <code>tested</code>)</li>
<li>Changelog keyword detection (best effort)</li>
<li>Changelog links (WordPress.org modal/external links when available)</li>
<li>Reminder dates for monitoring and re-check workflows</li>
<li>Bulk update selection with caution confirmation for non-ready updates</li>
<li>Local-first workflow, no external account required</li>
</ul>
<h3>Who Is This For</h3>
<ul>
<li>WordPress developers</li>
<li>Agencies maintaining multiple sites</li>
<li>Site owners managing complex plugin/theme stacks</li>
<li>WooCommerce or multilingual sites where update risk is higher</li>
</ul>
<h3>Decision Logic (Summary)</h3>
<p>Update Compass uses local rules to assess update risk, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>Version delta analysis (major/minor/patch jumps)</li>
<li>WordPress compatibility metadata checks</li>
<li>Changelog keyword signals (when changelog text is available)</li>
<li>Release recency and stale-project checks</li>
<li>Changelog availability (flags manual review when missing)</li>
</ul>
<h3>External Services</h3>
<p>Update Compass is local-first and does not require an account.</p>
<p>To improve changelog-based reasoning, it may make server-side requests to publicly available changelog/metadata endpoints when available (for example WordPress.org plugin/theme metadata and changelog pages, or vendor-provided changelog URLs exposed in WordPress update data).</p>
<p>This is best-effort only and used to enrich analysis. Core update detection still relies on WordPress native update transients.</p>


Update Compass

Stop guessing when to update. Analyze plugin and theme updates before installing them with clear status guidance and next steps.

Alex Cooper

<p><strong>Updates to Slack</strong> is a <em>WordPress plugin</em> that informs of Core, Plugin and Theme updates, that are required on your WordPress installation, to one or more Slack channels. It does so on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule at a time of your choosing.</p>
<h4>Special Features</h4>
<ul>
<li><strong>Multiple Slack Channels:</strong> Allows you to send notifications to one or more Slack channels, using <a href="https://api.slack.com/block-kit" rel="nofollow ugc">Slack’s Block Kit</a></li>
<li><strong>Scheduled Updates:</strong> Alerts are triggered at a time you set, on either daily, weekly or monthly intervals</li>
<li><strong>Test Option:</strong> Check that your alerts are being sent without waiting on the schedule</li>
<li><strong>Ignore Plugins and Themes:</strong> Choose which individual plugins and themes you don’t want to know about, when an update is available</li>
<li><strong>Content Permissions:</strong> Gives you control over which users (by role) have access to post content.</li>
<li><strong>Secure:</strong> <a href="https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/help/articles/115005265063-Incoming-webhooks-for-Slack" rel="nofollow ugc">Slack webhooks</a> are sent from your WordPress site, on a secure URL to your Slack channel(s)</li>
<li><strong>Reporting:</strong>  See when a notification was last triggered and what the result was</li>
</ul>
<h4>Support</h4>
<p>If you require support from me, the plugin author, you are welcome to contact me directly and place a request.</p>
<h4>Feedback</h4>
<p>If there is further functionality that would bring additional value to this plugin, please let me know.</p>
<h3>Copyright and License</h3>
<p>This project is licensed under the GNU GPL, version 2 or later. 2020 – 2023 © <a href="https://www.alexpcooper.co.uk" rel="nofollow ugc">Alex Cooper</a>.</p>


Updates to Slack

Updates to Slack is a WordPress plugin that informs of Core, Plugin and Theme updates, that are required on your WordPress installation, to one or mor …

Update Compass vs Updates to Slack