/ Plugin Category

/ Site Administration & Utilities

/ Site Health & Diagnostics

/ Dashboard Notepad

Dashboard Notepad

By Stephanie Leary

Site Administration & Utilities / Site Health & Diagnostics

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

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

7.06/10

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

5 / 10 (Medium 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 note-taking plugin for the WordPress dashboard, with several similar options available for users seeking alternative features or interfaces.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Simple and easy to use interface
Effective for quick note-taking on the dashboard
Supports multi-site usage
Helps communicate between authors
Lightweight and installs easily

Weaknesses

Has a known medium severity security vulnerability (CSRF)
No pro version or advanced features
One reported issue with the textarea not working
Limited customization options

User Sentiment Analysis

With a high overall rating of 4.6 out of 5 from 12 reviews, most users praise the plugin's simplicity and usefulness, though there is a single negative review highlighting a functionality issue.

Positive highlights

'Simple but extremely useful' - Ken of Kentropolis
'Good communication tool' - Daniel
'Works Great! Simple and easy to use.' - Paula Finch
'Really works great' - adamharvey

Common complaints

Textarea not working as expected (Blair jersyer)

Weaknesses

Known medium severity security vulnerability (CSRF)
Lack of advanced features or pro version
Reported occasional functionality issues

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users looking for a simple, lightweight note-taking plugin for their WordPress dashboard without needing advanced features.

Not ideal for

Users requiring robust security assurances, advanced customization, or professional support should consider alternatives due to the known vulnerability and lack of a pro version.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers basic dashboard note-taking functionality suitable for most users.

Final Verdict

Dashboard Notepad is a highly rated, easy-to-use plugin that effectively serves users needing a simple note-taking tool on their WordPress dashboard. Its strengths lie in its simplicity and usefulness for communication and quick notes.

However, the presence of a known medium severity security vulnerability and lack of advanced features or a pro version may deter users with higher security or functionality demands. Alternatives may be better suited for those needs.

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.