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Dashboard Notepad

By Stephanie Leary

Site Administration & Utilities / Site Health & Diagnostics

Dashboard Notepad Review - In-Depth Analysis

A simple notepad widget for your WordPress Dashboard. Customize user permissions for editing and viewing notes. Supports custom roles.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.91/10

User Rating

4.6/5 (based on 12+ reviews)

Active Installations

10,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

1 / 10 (Very Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This dashboard widget provides a simple notepad for your WordPress site. You can customize the settings to choose which user roles can edit the notes and which can only read them. This flexibility allows you to manage note-taking effectively across different users.

Version 1.30 introduces support for custom roles and integrates with the Members plugin for enhanced role settings. You can display the contents of your notepad using a template tag or shortcode, ensuring that only users with permission to read the notes can view them on the front end.

Additionally, you can use the CSS selector div#dashboard-notes in your theme's CSS file to style the notes according to your design preferences.

Comparing to Alternatives

Dashboard Notepad is a straightforward plugin designed for quick note-taking within the WordPress dashboard. Compared to other similar tools, it focuses on simplicity and ease of use without extra features.

Top alternatives

Dashboard Notepad

Strengths

Very simple and easy to use interface
Useful for quick notes and reminders
Works well in multi-site environments
Helps communication between multiple authors

Weaknesses

Limited to basic note-taking functionality
No advanced formatting or organizational features
Lacks integration with other plugins or services

User Sentiment Analysis

User feedback highlights the plugin's simplicity and usefulness, though some report functionality issues.

Positive highlights

'I use it on nearly every single and multi-site I run, keeping notes on stuff like credentials, code snippets, client information, etc.' - Ken of Kentropolis
'Thanks for this. I use it to communicate with other authors. Really a labour saving device.' - Daniel
'Works just like a plugin should. Easy to install and simple to use.' - Paula Finch
'Thanks for this plugin, it works great!' - adamharvey

Common complaints

Some users report the textarea not working properly
Lacks advanced features found in other note-taking plugins

Weaknesses

Occasional functionality issues reported
No support for rich text or multimedia notes

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users seeking a simple, no-frills note-taking tool within the WordPress dashboard for personal or team use.

Not ideal for

Those needing advanced note management, formatting options, or integration with other productivity tools.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers basic note-taking capabilities directly on the WordPress dashboard, suitable for most users' needs.

Final Verdict

Dashboard Notepad is a lightweight and straightforward plugin ideal for users who want to keep quick notes within their WordPress dashboard without complexity.

While it lacks advanced features and some users report minor issues, its simplicity and ease of use make it a valuable tool for many site administrators and teams.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Dashboard Notepad plugin.

dashboard

notes

widget

Screenshots

FAQ

Upload the plugin directory to /wp-content/plugins/
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Go to your Dashboard and configure the widget by clicking the link in its upper right corner.
To display your notes in a theme file, use the <?php dashboard_notes(); ?> template tag.
To display your notes in a post, page, or text widget, use the [dashboard_notes] shortcode. (To use it in a widget, you’ll have to enable shortcode parsing in text widgets, if you haven’t already. Add add_filter('widget_text', 'do_shortcode'); to your functions.php file.) You can use div#dashboard-notes in your theme’s CSS file to style the notes.