Simple LaunchPad

Simple LaunchPad appears as the first menu item in your WordPress admin, providing instant access to 20 carefully organized buttons across four categories: Content Management, Appearance, Administration, and WooCommerce.

Why This Plugin Exists

If you manage multiple WordPress installations with different plugins (like I do), you know the frustration: plugin developers arbitrarily decide where their menu entries appear, constantly pushing core WordPress menu items like Themes, Plugins, and Settings up and down the sidebar. One site has “Plugins” at position 5, another at position 12, and yet another at position 8. You’re forced to scroll endlessly, hunting for the same common entries you use every day.

I got tired of complaining about it, so I did something about it.

Simple LaunchPad puts all your most-used admin pages in ONE predictable location at the top of your admin menu. No more scrolling. No more hunting. Just click and go. This is my contribution to the WordPress community—a solution to a problem we’ve all experienced but rarely talk about.

Perfect for:
* Site administrators who want faster navigation
* Agencies managing multiple client sites
* Developers who need quick access to tools
* Content teams focusing on specific admin areas
* Users with visual disabilities who rely on screen readers and predictable navigation

Accessibility Features

Simple LaunchPad is fully WCAG 2.1 AA compliant and specifically designed to help users with visual disabilities navigate WordPress more efficiently.

Why This Matters for Accessibility:

When you manage multiple WordPress sites with different plugins, the admin menu becomes unpredictable. Plugin developers arbitrarily inject their menu items anywhere, constantly shifting core WordPress items up and down. If for sighted users, this is frustrating, for screen reader users (yes, this includes many professional, visually-impaired, and even blind developers), this is a nightmare. The core items they rely on —such as “Posts” and “Pages”— are never in the same place.

Every time a screen reader user logs into a different site, they must:
– Navigate through the entire menu structure to find familiar items
– Re-learn where “Posts”, “Pages”, “Plugins”, and “Settings” are located
– Tab through dozens of unfamiliar plugin menu items just to reach core WordPress functions

Simple LaunchPad solves this by providing ONE predictable location at the top of the admin menu where all essential WordPress areas are always accessible.

Accessibility Compliance Features:

✓ Keyboard Navigation: Full keyboard support with visible focus states
✓ Global Keyboard Shortcut: Press Alt+Shift+L (Windows/Linux) or Control+Option+L (Mac) to instantly open LaunchPad from anywhere in WordPress admin
✓ Screen Reader Support: Proper ARIA labels and semantic HTML structure
✓ Skip Links: “Skip to admin shortcuts” link for faster navigation
✓ Descriptive Labels: Each button includes clear, descriptive aria-labels (e.g., “Go to Posts”, “Go to Settings”)
✓ Icon Accessibility: All icons are properly marked as decorative (aria-hidden="true")
✓ Semantic HTML: Proper use of navigation landmarks and heading structure
✓ Large Click Targets: 64px icons with generous padding meet WCAG touch target guidelines
✓ Focus Management: Clear visual focus indicators with high contrast
✓ Consistent Location: Always appears as the first menu item for predictable navigation

Real-World Impact:

Instead of tabbing through 20+ menu items that change position on every site, screen reader users can:
1. Log in to WordPress
2. Tab once to “LaunchPad” (always first in the menu)
3. Access any of 15 core WordPress areas with predictable, consistent labels

This reduces cognitive load, speeds up navigation, and makes WordPress administration accessible to everyone—not just sighted users who can visually scan the menu.

Key Features

🎯 Quick Access Buttons
* 20 pre-configured buttons organized in 4 logical rows (5 buttons each)
– Row 1: Posts, Categories, Tags, Pages, Media
– Row 2: Themes, Widgets, Menus, Customizer, Plugins
– Row 3: Users, Settings, Tools, Updates, Site Health
– Row 4: WooCommerce, WC Settings, Orders, Products, Product Categories (when WooCommerce is active)
* One-click access to any WordPress admin page
* Visual icons using WordPress Dashicons
* Fully customizable button order via drag-and-drop
* WooCommerce integration with HPOS support

🎨 Full Customization
* Enable/disable individual buttons
* Reorder buttons via intuitive drag-and-drop interface
* Customize text colors (normal and hover states)
* Customize background colors (normal and hover states)
* Responsive design that works on all devices
* Dark mode support

👥 Role-Based Visibility
* Control which user roles can see each button
* Capability-based security (respects WordPress permissions)
* Granular per-button access control
* Perfect for multi-user sites with different team roles

⚡ Performance
* Lightweight and fast
* Assets only load where needed
* Clean, semantic code
* No jQuery dependencies (except admin)
* Optimized for WordPress standards

♿ Accessibility
* WCAG 2.1 AA compliant
* Full keyboard navigation support
* Global keyboard shortcut: Alt+Shift+L to open LaunchPad from anywhere
* Screen reader optimized with proper ARIA labels
* Skip links for faster navigation
* Large click targets (64px icons)
* Consistent, predictable menu position
* Reduces cognitive load for users with disabilities

🔧 Developer Friendly
* Extensible with WordPress filters and hooks
* Well-documented code with PHPDoc comments
* Clean, object-oriented architecture
* Translation-ready (i18n)
* Compatible with WordPress Coding Standards

Use Cases

For Bloggers:
Quickly access Posts, Media, and Comments without navigating through menus.

For E-commerce Sites:
Add custom buttons for WooCommerce pages like Products, Orders, and Coupons.

For Agencies:
Configure different button layouts for different client sites or user roles.

For Developers:
Extend the plugin with custom buttons using the provided filter hooks.

For Users with Visual Disabilities:
Access all core WordPress admin areas from one predictable location with full screen reader support. No more hunting through constantly changing menu structures.

Developer Hooks

Filters:

simple_launchpad_default_buttons - Modify or add default buttons
simple_launchpad_buttons - Modify buttons before rendering

Example – Add Custom Button:

add_filter('simple_launchpad_default_buttons', function($buttons) {
    $buttons['my_custom'] = array(
        'label' => 'Custom Area',
        'url' => 'admin.php?page=my-custom-page',
        'icon' => 'dashicons-admin-generic',
        'capability' => 'manage_options'
    );
    return $buttons;
});

Translations

Simple LaunchPad is translation-ready! Help translate it into your language:
* Text Domain: simple-launchpad
* All strings wrapped with proper i18n functions
* POT file included for translators

Privacy

Simple LaunchPad does not:
* Collect any user data
* Use cookies
* Connect to external services
* Track analytics

All settings are stored locally in your WordPress database.

Credits

Developed by Rafael Minuesa

Support

For support, feature requests, or bug reports, please visit:
* Plugin Support Forum
* GitHub Repository

Donations

If you find this plugin helpful, please consider:
* Leaving a 5-star review
* Contributing on GitHub

Automatic Installation

1. Log in to your WordPress admin panel
2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New
3. Search for “Simple LaunchPad”
4. Click “Install Now” and then “Activate”

Manual Installation

1. Download the plugin zip file
2. Log in to your WordPress admin panel
3. Navigate to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
4. Choose the downloaded zip file and click “Install Now”
5. Activate the plugin

Configuration

1. After activation, go to Settings → Simple LaunchPad
2. Choose which buttons to enable/disable
3. Drag and drop to reorder buttons
4. Customize colors in the Appearance tab
5. Configure role visibility in the Role Visibility tab
6. Click “Save Settings”
7. Visit your WordPress Dashboard to see the new launchpad!

1. 

   Dashboard view showing the quick-access button grid

2. 

   Settings page - Buttons tab with drag-and-drop reordering

3. 

   Settings page - Appearance tab with color customization

4. 

   Settings page - Role Visibility tab for access control

5. 

   Mobile responsive view of the dashboard buttons

3.1.4 – 2025-11-08

• Fixed: Renamed all classes from Dashboard_LaunchPad_* to Simple_LaunchPad_* for proper plugin prefix
• Fixed: WordPress.org requirement – all global classes must use plugin prefix
• Changed: Dashboard_LaunchPad_Settings → Simple_LaunchPad_Settings
• Changed: Dashboard_LaunchPad_Dashboard → Simple_LaunchPad_Dashboard
• Changed: Dashboard_LaunchPad_Custom_Buttons → Simple_LaunchPad_Custom_Buttons

3.1.3 – 2025-11-08

• Fixed: Replaced .gitkeep with index.php in languages directory (hidden files not permitted)
• Fixed: Added proper sanitization to $_GET[‘settings-updated’] parameter
• Note: Text domain ‘simple-launchpad’ is correct – Plugin Check warnings about ‘Simple-Launchpad-main’ are due to local folder naming

3.1.2 – 2025-11-08

• Fixed: Added phpcs ignore comments for WordPress.org compliance
• Fixed: Escaped output for disabled attribute in settings
• Fixed: Added version parameter to wp_register_style() for proper cache busting
• Fixed: Prefixed global variable in uninstall.php ($simple_launchpad_blog_ids)
• Fixed: Created /languages directory for translation files
• Improved: WordPress.org Plugin Check compliance – all critical errors resolved

3.1.1 – 2025-11-08

• Fixed: Version bump for minor updates

3.1.0 – 2025-11-08

• Added: Dark Mode toggle setting in Appearance tab
• Added: Three display options – Light Mode (default), Dark Mode, Auto (Follow System Preference)
• Changed: Light mode is now the default – users must opt-in to dark mode
• Changed: Dark mode no longer automatically follows system preference unless “Auto” is selected
• Improved: Manual override of dark mode with .force-light and .force-dark CSS classes
• Improved: Better control over button appearance regardless of system settings
• Note: Existing users will default to Light Mode – visit Settings → Appearance to enable Dark Mode

3.0.2 – 2025-11-08

• Added: Product Categories button – 5th button in WooCommerce row
• Added: Direct access to WooCommerce product categories taxonomy
• Improved: Row 4 now complete with 5 buttons (matching other rows)
• Changed: Total available buttons increased from 19 to 20
• Note: Product Categories button disabled by default like other WooCommerce buttons

3.0.1 – 2025-11-08

• Changed: WooCommerce buttons are now disabled by default – users must enable them manually in Settings
• Added: Visual detection when WooCommerce is not installed – buttons appear greyed out in settings
• Added: “(Requires WooCommerce)” badge on WooCommerce buttons when plugin is not active
• Added: Informational notice in settings explaining WooCommerce button availability
• Improved: Better UX with greyed-out styling (50% opacity) for unavailable buttons
• Improved: Disabled checkbox state prevents enabling when WooCommerce is not installed
• Improved: Dark mode support for disabled button states
• Fixed: First-time user experience improved for non-WooCommerce sites

3.0.0 – 2025-11-08

• Added: WooCommerce integration with 4 new buttons in dedicated Row 4
• Added: WooCommerce button – Quick access to WooCommerce dashboard
• Added: WC Settings button – Direct link to WooCommerce settings
• Added: Orders button – Manage WooCommerce orders (HPOS compatible)
• Added: Products button – Manage WooCommerce products
• Improved: Total available buttons increased from 15 to 19
• Improved: Button organization now spans 4 rows (when WooCommerce is active)
• Improved: Proper capability checks for all WooCommerce features
• Note: WooCommerce buttons only appear when WooCommerce is installed and active

2.0.1 – 2025-11-08

• Fixed: Converted all inline <style> tags to use wp_add_inline_style() for proper WordPress standards compliance
• Fixed: Inconsistent product naming in documentation (Dashboard LaunchPad → Simple LaunchPad throughout all docs)
• Fixed: Corrected filter hook examples in readme (dashboard_launchpad_* → simple_launchpad_*)
• Fixed: Typos in README.md (simpled_launchpad → simple_launchpad)
• Improved: Menu icon CSS now properly enqueued via wp_add_inline_style() attached to simple-launchpad-admin handle
• Improved: Dynamic button color CSS now uses wp_add_inline_style() attached to simple-launchpad handle
• Improved: Eliminated direct <style> tag output in favor of WordPress enqueue system
• Improved: Full compliance with WordPress.org Plugin Repository guidelines
• Documentation: Verified all naming uses consistent simple_launchpad_ prefix (16 characters)
• Documentation: Confirmed all functions, constants, options, and hooks are properly prefixed
• Note: This is a backwards-compatible release – all existing settings will continue to work

1.5.3 – 2025-10-23

• Added: Global keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+L (Windows/Linux) or Control+Option+L (Mac) to open LaunchPad from anywhere in WordPress admin
• Improved: Enhanced accessibility with instant keyboard access to LaunchPad page
• Improved: JavaScript now loads globally to support keyboard shortcut functionality

1.5.2 – 2025-10-23

• Fixed: Replaced all _e() calls with esc_html_e() for proper output escaping
• Fixed: Added wp_unslash() before sanitizing all $_POST variables in AJAX handlers
• Fixed: Added translators comment for sprintf() with placeholder
• Fixed: Updated “Tested up to” version from 6.7 to 6.8
• Fixed: Reduced plugin tags from 8 to 5 (WordPress.org requirement)
• Fixed: Created /languages directory for translations
• Fixed: Removed forbidden files (.gitignore, phpunit.xml.dist) from plugin directory
• Improved: Enhanced WordPress.org coding standards compliance

1.5.1 – 2025-10-23

• Improved: Updated readme.txt with compelling origin story explaining why this plugin exists
• Improved: Better description highlighting the frustration of plugins moving menu items around
• Fixed: Updated all filter hook examples to use new naming (simple_launchpad_*)
• Fixed: Updated text domain references in documentation
• Fixed: Corrected support/GitHub URLs to use simple-launchpad slug

1.5.0 – 2025-10-23

• Changed: Complete code refactoring – renamed all identifiers from dashboard-launchpad to simple-launchpad
• Changed: Class names updated: Dashboard_Launchpad_* → Dashboard_LaunchPad_* (capital P)
• Changed: Function names: dashboard_launchpad_() → simple_launchpad_()
• Changed: All constants, text domain, CSS classes, menu slugs, options, AJAX actions, and filter hooks renamed
• Changed: Asset files renamed: dashboard-launchpad.css/js → simple-launchpad.css/js
• Improved: Simplified codebase by removing unnecessary compatibility code (no existing users)
• Improved: Cleaner code structure aligned with plugin branding

1.4.0 – 2025-10-22

• Added: 9 new buttons (Categories, Tags, Themes, Widgets, Menus, Customizer, Tools, Updates, Site Health)
• Added: Settings integrated directly into LaunchPad page (bottom section)
• Added: WordPress.org asset directory structure with placeholders
• Changed: Reorganized buttons into 3 logical rows (Content, Appearance, Administration)
• Changed: Grid layout now fixed 5 columns (desktop) / 2 columns (mobile)
• Changed: Increased icon size from 48px to 64px (+33% larger)
• Changed: Reduced button padding for more efficient space usage
• Removed: Settings submenu entry (settings now on main page)
• Removed: 5 buttons (Add New Post, Add New Page, Comments, old Appearance)
• Fixed: LaunchPad menu icon now displays correctly in admin sidebar
• Fixed: Menu icon properly styled (gray with blue hover)
• Fixed: Uninstall cleanup now removes custom buttons and cache
• Fixed: Drag-to-reorder functionality now works properly

1.3.0 – 2025-10-22

• Changed: Plugin renamed from “Dashboard LaunchPad” to “Simple LaunchPad”
• Improved: Updated branding and documentation
• Maintained: Backward compatibility (textdomain unchanged)

1.2.0 – 2025-10-21

• Added: Comprehensive PHPDoc documentation throughout codebase
• Added: Developer filter hook dashboard_launchpad_default_buttons
• Added: Proper uninstall handler with multisite support
• Improved: Enhanced input validation and sanitization
• Improved: Refactored settings page to use WordPress Settings API properly
• Improved: Better security with button ID and role name validation
• Fixed: Version constant now matches plugin header version
• Fixed: Duplicate form processing in settings page
• Fixed: Better error handling in AJAX operations

1.1.0 – 2025-01-15

• Added: Role-based button visibility controls
• Added: Dark mode support
• Improved: Responsive design for tablets and mobile
• Improved: Better accessibility with focus states

1.0.0 – 2025-01-01

• Initial release
• 10 pre-configured admin buttons
• Drag-and-drop button reordering
• Color customization (text and background)
• Enable/disable individual buttons
• Capability-based security