David Pullin

<p>A WordPress plugin to provide general tools to assist with WordPress development and maintenance. Each tool within this collection is pluggable, allowing you full control, over which ones are loaded.</p>
<p>Main features include:-</p>
<ul>
<li>Internal Developer Log (database table with viewer) that can be called from code to log message, debug details etc.</li>
<li>Send A Test Email</li>
<li>List Cookies (client side)</li>
<li>Clear WordPress’ Core Updater Lock & Increase PHP execution time to assist with timeout issues</li>
</ul>
<h3>Deactivation</h3>
<p>When deactivating this plugin from WordPress’ Plugins maintenance any option relating to deactivating will be adhered to even if that tool is disabled (as<br />
long as the tool’s physical file is still present).</p>
<p>For example, even if you disable the loading of the Development Logging Support tool, when this plugin is deactivated, if the Logging Support’s tool option to drop the log table on deactivation is set, the database table will still be deleted.</p>
<h3>Pluggable</h3>
<p>Each tool is in itself pluggable and can be removed or disabled from your WordPress installation.</p>
<p>You may wish to do this to limit which tools are available on your live site.</p>
<p>There are two different methods of disabling a tool.</p>
<h4>Removing via Administration Options</h4>
<p>On the main general settings screen you are able to choose which tools are active.  By default tools are active and by default any new tools in<br />
future updates of this plugin will default to active. You can also change this behaviour by turning off the option to activate new tools by default.</p>
<h4>Removing via Physical File Deletion</h4>
<p>Each tool exists within the tools\ sub-directory.  You can disable a tool simply by deleting the file or rename it so it is no longer prefixed with zhu_dt_.</p>
<p>Please note, if you apply an update to this plugin the removed file will be placed back as part of the update process.  Upon restoring the file it will be treated as a newly detected tool which may be enabled depending on the option to activate new tools by default.  You can find this option on the general settings screen.</p>
<h3>The Tools</h3>
<ol>
<li>Tool Activator & Client Development Toolbar</li>
<li>Generic development log database table</li>
<li>Quick email test</li>
<li>Cookie viewer</li>
<li>Update Assist</li>
</ol>
<h3>1. Tool Activator & Client Development Toolbar</h3>
<p>This tool provides UI support on the general settings screen to allow you to enable and disable other tools.</p>
<p>You cannot disable this tool via the UI but like the other files in the tool directory you can remove the file zhu_dt_activator.class.php to disable UI support.</p>
<h3>Client Development Toolbar</h3>
<p>Some tools provide features to be available on the client side (i.e. your website not the admin area of WordPress). If there are no tools enabled that provide client side features the toolbar will not be displayed.</p>
<p>To prevent the toolbar being displayed for everyone, i.e. public, it is also restricted to the specified user as per its settings.  This however, will only work when that user is logged into WordPress and viewing their site.</p>
<p>However, there may be times, when you wish to use these tools when visiting your site as a member of the public and therefore you will not be logged into WordPress.  To achieve this, the toolbar has an option to create a browser cookie containing an Activation ID.  This ID is then matched with the ID that you will need to enter into the tool’s settings.  If matched then the toolbar is rendered on the system with the matching cookie value.</p>
<p>The toolbar hooks into WordPress wp_body_open action to inject required HTML. wp_body_open was introduced into WordPress 5.2.0 which should be triggered via your theme after the open body html tag.  As such, if your theme does not support this then the client toolbar will not be displayed.</p>
<h3>2. Generic development log database table</h3>
<p>Tool filename: zhu_dt_log.class.php</p>
<p>Provides a public function to call via your code to record a log into the database</p>
<pre><code>public function zhu_log(    string $content) {}
E.g. zhu_log(‘testing my feature ‘ . $mode);
</code></pre>
<p>This function records, with a date a time stamp, into the database table [wp]_zhu_log.  Where [wp] is your site’s database table prefix.  Entries in this table can be viewed via this plugin’s log viewer which is accessible from the Administration Menu.</p>
<p>The log can be truncated at anytime via the truncate button found on this plugin’s options page.</p>
<p>In the event that this tool has been disabled or zhu_dt_log.class.php has been removed any calls to zhu_log() within your own code will <em>not</em> fail. However no logging will take place as zhu_log() simply becomes a do nothing function.  This allows you to keep your logging code in place, if required, and enable/disable the actual recording to the database by enabling and disabling this tool as required.</p>
<h3>3. Email Test</h3>
<p>Tool filename: zhu_dt_send_test_email.class.php</p>
<p>Provides, within this plugin’s options screen, a quick test to send an email using WordPress’ wp_mail() function.</p>
<p>The email address, subject and body of the email are remembered for next time. If an error is detected its details are displayed on screen.</p>
<h3>4. Cookie Viewer</h3>
<p>Tool filename: zhu_dt_cookie_viewer.class.php</p>
<p>When enabled, this tool adds an icon to the main site’s floating toolbar. The feature allows you to view cookies used by the site.  Detection is performed bia locally running JavaScript.</p>
<p>This pop-up viewer also provides an easy method of deleting individual cookies.</p>
<h3>5. Update Assist</h3>
<p>Tool filename: zhu_dt_cookie_viewer.class.php</p>
<p>This tool provides a simple button to remove WordPress’s Core Updater Lock. This will remove WordPress’s internal “lock” that is used by WordPress to indicate that a core update is taking place.  Whan a core update fails, for example, due to a timeout issue when downloading, the lock may still be present.  As such, when you try again WordPess displays the message “Another Update in Progress”.</p>
<p>This tool also allows you to set the value of PHP’s max_execution_time.  This may assist with timeout issues when downloading updates.  After enabling this option and pressing save the tool will inform you as best it can with the results of applying the change.  Please note, that some hosting providers configure their systems so changing this value has no effect even even if PHP reports the change was successful.</p>


Zhu Development Tools for WordPress

A WordPress plugin to provide general tools to assist with WordPress development and maintenance. Each tool within this collection is pluggable, allow …

Muhammad Faizan Haidar

inspry

CheckView

<p>Websites rarely fail loudly. Forms stop submitting. Leads disappear. Emails never send. Checkout buttons break quietly in the background. These issues often go unnoticed until sales or leads are lost.</p>
<p>CheckView automatically tests your WordPress forms on a schedule, using real browser sessions to verify that submissions complete successfully and emails are sent. It also supports testing logins, carts, and WooCommerce checkout flows.</p>
<p>Built specifically for WordPress and WooCommerce, CheckView helps site owners, developers, and agencies detect problems early and resolve them faster, without writing code or setting up complex testing infrastructure.</p>
<h3>Works Well With</h3>
<p>CheckView works well with popular WordPress form and eCommerce plugins including Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Fluent Forms, Ninja Forms, Formidable Forms, WS Form, and WooCommerce.</p>
<h3>Important</h3>
<p>This plugin requires an active <a href="https://checkview.io/" rel="nofollow ugc">CheckView</a> account.  The plugin can be installed and activated without an account, but automated testing features are only available once the site is connected to the CheckView platform.</p>
<h3>Key Features</h3>
<h4>Automated WordPress Form Testing</h4>
<ul>
<li>Run real browser-based tests on WordPress forms, including multi-step and dynamic forms</li>
<li>Validate form submissions from start to finish, including email notifications</li>
<li>Test WooCommerce checkout flows alongside forms for the most complete coverage</li>
<li>Verify full form submissions, including email notifications and stored entries</li>
<li>Confirm WooCommerce order creation when testing checkout flows</li>
<li>Test real WooCommerce products or automated test products</li>
<li>Detect silent failures that uptime monitoring alone cannot catch</li>
</ul>
<h4>Scheduled Monitoring & Alerts</h4>
<ul>
<li>Schedule tests to run automatically</li>
<li>Receive alerts right away when a test fails</li>
<li>View detailed failure logs and video recordings showing exactly where the test broke</li>
</ul>
<h4>No-Code, One-Click Setup</h4>
<ul>
<li>Connect your site to CheckView with a single click</li>
<li>No Chrome extensions, GitHub repositories, or custom scripts required</li>
<li>Replace repetitive manual testing with reliable automated coverage</li>
<li>Tests are executed externally without impacting visitor page load times</li>
</ul>
<h4>Custom Test Flows</h4>
<ul>
<li>Customize test steps to match your theme, plugins, and site structure</li>
<li>Adjust URLs, selectors, and checkout behavior using the built-in test flow editor</li>
<li>Designed to adapt to real-world WordPress customization</li>
</ul>
<h3>Who CheckView Is For</h3>
<ul>
<li>Sites that rely on contact, lead, or application forms</li>
<li>WooCommerce stores where checkout reliability matters</li>
<li>Agencies managing multiple WordPress sites</li>
<li>Teams that want automated testing without writing code</li>
</ul>
<h3>Common Use Cases</h3>
<ul>
<li>Monitoring contact and lead forms after plugin or theme updates</li>
<li>Verifying checkout functionality before marketing campaigns</li>
<li>Catching silent failures caused by security, theme, or plugin conflicts</li>
</ul>
<h3>Built for Form-Heavy Sites, Agencies & Multiple Websites</h3>
<ul>
<li>Monitor multiple sites from a single dashboard</li>
<li>Track site health and test results across client websites</li>
<li>Complement existing uptime monitoring with functional testing</li>
</ul>
<h3>Privacy & Data Protection</h3>
<ul>
<li>Test data is automatically purged from your website after each run</li>
<li>No personal customer data is stored</li>
<li>Designed to protect the integrity of form submissions and WooCommerce orders</li>
<li>All requests are authenticated, and the plugin only responds to authorized CheckView test traffic</li>
</ul>
<h3>Account and Pricing</h3>
<ul>
<li>CheckView is currently available to agencies and site owners via the CheckView platform. An active account at <a href="https://checkview.io/" rel="nofollow ugc">CheckView</a> is required. Please visit the site for current plans and availability.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Data Usage Transparency</h3>
<p>When connected, CheckView may access the following non-sensitive data strictly for testing purposes:</p>
<ul>
<li>WordPress site metadata (core version, active theme, installed plugins)</li>
<li>Form and WooCommerce metadata needed to generate and validate tests (no personal customer data)</li>
<li>Product names and images used for checkout test selection</li>
</ul>
<h3>What CheckView Does Not Do</h3>
<p>CheckView does not replace manual QA, visual regression testing, or load testing tools. It is designed specifically to verify that critical WordPress actions, such as form submissions and checkout flows, function correctly over time and may require manual adjustment depending on your specific website setup.</p>
<h3>Documentation</h3>
<p>Extensive documentation can be found in our <a href="https://checkview.io/docs/" rel="nofollow ugc">Docs</a> hub.</p>
<h3>Support</h3>
<p>Support is available directly within the CheckView dashboard. Our team can help troubleshoot issues, configure your tests, and build custom test flows for your site.</p>


CheckView – Form & Checkout Testing


I can't recommend Checkview and its team enough. This powerful product has proactively alerted me to numerous issues on my clients' sites, saving me from potential problems. What truly sets them apart is their support team; they are incredibly responsive and have always quickly resolved any issues I've had, even when they were due to my own user errors. This plugin is an essential tool for any professional.


Essential Tool, Incredible Support

CheckView automates WordPress form and WooCommerce testing, monitoring key flows to catch failures early before they cost you leads or sales everyday.

Zhu Development Tools for WordPress vs CheckView – Form & Checkout Testing