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The Bonsai Digital Collective Support Widget

Adds the Bonsai Digital support widget to the WordPress Dashboard.

by Ben Ervine / The Bonsai Digital Collective · github.com/bonsai-systems/bonsai_support · website

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Install

No release zip yet. The repository archive installs, but the folder name will carry the branch suffix and updates will not flow:

wp plugin install https://github.com/bonsai-systems/bonsai_support/archive/refs/heads/main.zip

Readme

The Bonsai Digital Collective Support Widget

A lightweight WordPress plugin that adds a branded support widget to the WordPress Dashboard. Provides quick access to the Bonsai Digital Collective Help Centre and support request form.

Description

This plugin adds a custom dashboard widget to the WordPress admin area with:

The widget helps ensure clients always know where to go for help, while keeping the WordPress dashboard clean and simple.

As of v2.0.0, the plugin also self-updates from GitHub releases via the wp-admin Plugins screen, using Plugin Update Checker (matching the pattern used by bonsai-code-injector).

Installation

  1. Download the plugin .zip or clone the repo.
  2. Upload to /wp-content/plugins/ directory or install via the WordPress admin Plugins → Add New → Upload.
  3. Activate the plugin from the WordPress Plugins screen.
  4. The support widget will appear automatically on the Dashboard.

Once active, WordPress will check https://github.com/gakdesign/bonsai_support for new releases and offer updates through the normal Plugins screen "update available" flow.

Development

This plugin ships its update-checker dependency via Composer, committed into vendor/ (no build step required on a live site).

If you need to update the dependency:

composer update

Then commit the regenerated vendor/ and composer.lock alongside the code change.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for the full history.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who can see the support widget? A: By default, all WordPress users with Dashboard access. You can restrict it further by editing the plugin and adding a capability check (e.g. current_user_can('manage_options')).

Q: Can I customise the links or banner? A: Yes — edit the URLs inside the plugin's main function, or fork this repo with your own settings.

Q: How do updates work? A: The plugin checks the gakdesign/bonsai_support GitHub repo's releases and offers updates directly in wp-admin — no separate update plugin required.

Development Notes

  • Built to be lightweight and DRY.
  • Uses modern WordPress best practices.
  • Inline styles are minimal for simplicity. If desired, enqueue custom admin CSS for more control.

Author

Developed by Ben Ervine / The Bonsai Digital Collective

Read the full README on GitHub →