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Plugin Notes Plus

By jamiebergen

Site Administration & Utilities / URL Redirects & 301 Management

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

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

Plugin Notes Plus Review - In-Depth Analysis

Plugin Notes Plus adds a column to the Plugins page for managing notes about installed plugins. Users can add, edit, or delete notes to document plugin usage.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.68/10

User Rating

5/5 (based on 62+ reviews)

Active Installations

9,000+

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

Have you ever returned to a site that you built a while back and asked, 'Why did I install this plugin?' This plugin provides an extra column on the Plugins page that enables you to add, edit, or delete notes about the plugins you have installed on a particular site. These notes are intended to provide documentation regarding why a particular plugin was installed and how or where it's being used.

With Plugin Notes Plus, you can add as many or as few notes as you need for each plugin. You can edit or delete notes as desired. Additionally, you can select an icon to go with each note to quickly convey what type of content it contains, such as info, warning, or link.

Notes can be formatted using basic HTML tags if desired, and any links included in the note will be automatically converted to target='_blank'. The notes are added and updated via Ajax, which avoids slow page reloads. Furthermore, notes also display on the WordPress Updates page for any plugins that need to be updated. There is a filter provided if you would like to display notes beneath the plugin description instead of in a separate column, and another filter is available to selectively hide or display plugin notes in the admin.

Comparing to Alternatives

Plugin Notes Plus stands alone in its category with no close direct alternatives available, making it a unique solution for plugin note management.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Integrates directly into the Plugins page for easy access to notes.
Helps administrators remember the purpose and usage of installed plugins.
Eliminates the need for external documentation like spreadsheets.
Highly rated with consistent 5-star reviews indicating reliability.
Simple and effective user interface enhances usability.

Weaknesses

No direct alternatives to compare feature sets.
Limited to note-taking functionality without extended plugin management features.
No pro version means fewer advanced options for power users.
Security vulnerabilities were identified but have been fixed in recent updates.

User Sentiment Analysis

With a perfect 5-star rating from all 62 reviewers, users overwhelmingly praise Plugin Notes Plus for its usefulness and simplicity.

Positive highlights

'Must have plugin for every WP user who use tons of plugins' — brs76
'Simply indispensable' and 'quite indispensable' for managing plugin notes — manjas
'Does exactly what it says. Can't live without it.' — johnpoz
'Totally. Awesome. Plugin.' — cnyrpdbwebmaster
'Absolutely brilliant plugin. Works great as described.' — khrisme

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Past security vulnerabilities including arbitrary note deletion and stored XSS, though fixed in recent versions.
Lack of advanced features due to absence of a pro version.
No direct alternatives to benchmark against.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Administrators and site managers who need a simple, integrated way to document the purpose and details of installed plugins directly within the WordPress dashboard.

Not ideal for

Users seeking advanced plugin management features or those concerned about past security issues who may prefer plugins with a longer track record of vulnerability-free operation.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers full note-taking functionality integrated into the Plugins page, providing excellent value for users needing plugin documentation.

Final Verdict

Plugin Notes Plus is a highly valued tool praised for its simplicity and effectiveness in helping WordPress administrators keep track of their plugins. Its seamless integration and user-friendly approach make it indispensable for many users.

While it has faced some security vulnerabilities in the past, these have been addressed in recent updates. The lack of a pro version and direct alternatives means it may not suit users needing more advanced features or those prioritizing security history. Overall, it remains a top choice for straightforward plugin note management.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Plugin Notes Plus plugin.

plugin notes

plugin management

memo

Screenshots

FAQ

As of version 1.2.4, you can use the filter plugin-notes-plus_note_placement to move notes beneath the plugin description.

Here is an example of a snippet that places plugin notes beneath the plugin description. It can be added to your child theme’s functions.php. Without this, the note position will default to a separate column on the plugins page.

function pnp_change_note_placement( $note_placement ) {      $note_placement = 'description';      return $note_placement;  } add_filter( 'plugin-notes-plus_note_placement', 'pnp_change_note_placement' );

Yes, you can use the filter plugin-notes-plus_icon_options to modify the set of icons available. The icons must be selected from the list of available WordPress dashicons.

Here is an example of a snippet that removes one icon and adds an additional icon to the list of options. It can be added to your child theme’s functions.php:

function pnp_change_icon_options( $icon_options ) {      // Remove key option     unset( $icon_options['dashicons-admin-network'] );      // Add smartphone option     $icon_options['dashicons-smartphone'] = 'Smartphone';      return $icon_options; } add_filter( 'plugin-notes-plus_icon_options', 'pnp_change_icon_options' );

You can use the following HTML tags: a, br, p, b, strong, i, em, u, hr.

To modify the list of available tags, use the filter plugin-notes-plus_allowed_html. Be careful, however, to avoid allowing tags that could leave the site vulnerable to an XSS attack.

function pnp_change_allowed_html_tags( $allowed_tags ) {      // Remove br from allowed tags     unset( $allowed_tags['br'] );      // Add img to allowed tags     $allowed_tags['img'] = array();      return $allowed_tags; } add_filter( 'plugin-notes-plus_allowed_html', 'pnp_change_allowed_html_tags' );

As of version 1.2.6, you can use the filter plugin-notes-plus_hide_notes to show or hide plugin notes.

Here is an example of a snippet that hides plugin notes from a specfic user. It can be added to your child theme’s functions.php. Without this, plugin notes are displayed by default to all users who can view the plugins page.

function pnp_hide_notes( $hide_notes ) {      // logic to set $hide_notes to TRUE or FALSE      return $hide_notes;  } add_filter( 'plugin-notes-plus_hide_notes', 'pnp_hide_notes' );