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manifest / admin / g6-client-dashboard

Group6 Client Dashboard self-updates

Replaces the default WordPress dashboard with a branded Group6 client portal — SEO metrics, reviews, service CTAs, and how-to guides.

by Group6 · github.com/group6-inc/g6-client-dashboard · 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/group6-inc/g6-client-dashboard/archive/refs/heads/main.zip

Ships its own WordPress updater (built-in updater), so new versions show up under Dashboard → Updates.

Readme github.com/group6-inc/g6-client-dashboard ↗

A private WordPress plugin for Group6 agency clients. Replaces the default WordPress admin dashboard with a branded client portal — SEO keyword rankings, reputation metrics, how-to guides, service upsells, tracking script status, and a contact form.

Requirements

  • WordPress 6.0+
  • PHP 8.0+

Installation on a client site

  1. Download the latest g6-client-dashboard.zip from Releases.
  2. In WordPress admin go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and upload the zip.
  3. Activate Group6 Client Dashboard.

Settings

The G6 Dashboard settings page is only visible to users with a @group6inc.com or @group6interactive.com email address. Find it at Dashboard → G6 Dashboard.

Tabs

Tab What it controls
Dashboard Widget visibility toggles, account manager name/email/phone/photo
Content How-to guides, add-on services, SEO keywords, featured video
Tracking GTM, Google Ads, Meta Pixel, X Pixel, Microsoft Clarity — IDs inject scripts automatically into the frontend <head>
Developer Tools G6 Asset Manager enable/disable toggle
Plugin Current version info, force-refresh update cache, beta update channel toggle

Automatic updates

Updates are distributed via GitHub Releases. WordPress surfaces an update notification automatically — no WP.org account needed.

How it works

  1. The plugin polls a hosted Gist manifest once every 12 hours.
  2. If the manifest version is newer than the installed version, WordPress shows the standard update notice.
  3. Clicking Update Now downloads the zip from the GitHub Release and installs it.

Manifest URLs

Channel Gist file
Stable g6-client-dashboard.json
Beta g6-client-dashboard-beta.json

Both live in the same Gist: https://gist.github.com/g6-gabriel/8d8b3d50ba384da12359e34c57efe39a

Constants in g6-client-dashboard.php:

G6_DASHBOARD_MANIFEST_URL       // stable channel
G6_DASHBOARD_MANIFEST_URL_BETA  // beta channel

Releasing a stable version

# 1. Make sure you're on main and everything is committed
git checkout main

# 2. Bump version in g6-client-dashboard.php:
#    - Plugin header:  Version: 0.X.X
#    - PHP constant:   define( 'G6_DASHBOARD_VERSION', '0.X.X' )
#    - plugin-manifest.json: version + changelog entry

# 3. Commit, tag, and push
git add .
git commit -m "v0.X.X — short description"
git tag v0.X.X
git push origin main
git push origin v0.X.X

Pushing the tag triggers .github/workflows/release.yml which:

  • Builds g6-client-dashboard-v0.X.X.zip
  • Creates a GitHub Release and attaches the zip
  • Updates the stable Gist manifest automatically

Client sites will pick up the update within 12 hours, or immediately via Settings → Plugin → Force Refresh Update Cache then Dashboard → Updates → Check Again.

Beta branch workflow

The beta branch is for testing upcoming changes on a staging/test site before releasing to clients.

Setup (one-time per test site)

  1. Install the plugin on the test site.
  2. Go to Settings → Plugin → Enable beta versions and save.
  3. That site will now receive builds from the beta branch instead of stable releases.

Day-to-day beta development

# Switch to beta branch
git checkout beta

# IMPORTANT: bump the version to the next planned release number
# e.g. if stable is 0.3.4, set version to 0.3.5 in g6-client-dashboard.php
# (both the header and the define constant)

# Work on your changes, then push
git add .
git commit -m "feat: description of change"
git push origin beta

Pushing to beta triggers .github/workflows/release-beta.yml which:

  • Reads the version from the plugin file and appends -beta (e.g. 0.3.5-beta)
  • Builds g6-client-dashboard-beta.zip
  • Creates/replaces the beta-latest pre-release on GitHub
  • Updates the beta Gist manifest automatically

The test site will show 0.3.5-beta as an available update.

Version bump rule

Always bump the version on beta to the next planned release number before pushing.

PHP's version_compare treats pre-release suffixes as older than the base version:

0.3.4-beta  <  0.3.4   ← beta manifest must be HIGHER than installed version
0.3.5-beta  >  0.3.4   ← correct: update will be offered

If you forget to bump, the "Force Refresh Update Cache" button will still clear the WP transient correctly — but no update will appear because the beta version looks older than what's installed.

Merging beta to stable

When the beta feature is ready:

git checkout main
git merge beta
# Version is already bumped (e.g. 0.3.5) — just tag and push
git tag v0.3.5
git push origin main
git push origin v0.3.5

Test sites still on 0.3.5-beta will be offered the 0.3.5 stable release as an upgrade.

File structure

g6-client-dashboard/
├── g6-client-dashboard.php       ← Main plugin file, constants, conditional boot
├── plugin-manifest.json          ← Source manifest — workflows read this for changelog/metadata
├── includes/
│   ├── class-updater.php         ← GitHub auto-updater (stable + beta channel)
│   ├── config.php                ← Default config values & option retrieval
│   ├── icons.php                 ← SVG icon helpers
│   ├── dashboard.php             ← Client-facing dashboard: widgets, sidebar, CSS, render
│   ├── ajax.php                  ← Contact form AJAX handler (Zendesk)
│   ├── settings.php              ← Admin settings page (Group6 users only)
│   ├── tracking.php              ← Tracking script injection (GTM, Ads, Meta, X, Clarity)
│   └── asset-manager.php         ← G6 Asset Manager (loaded conditionally)
└── .github/
    └── workflows/
        ├── release.yml           ← Stable release: triggers on version tag push
        └── release-beta.yml      ← Beta release: triggers on every push to beta branch

Security

  • All settings pages check g6_is_group6_user() — only @group6inc.com / @group6interactive.com users can access them.
  • Tracking scripts inject into wp_head (frontend only) — never into admin_head.
  • All AJAX handlers verify nonce + manage_options capability.
  • All output is escaped (esc_html, esc_attr, esc_url, esc_js).

Versioning

Three parts is a release, four is a beta build — see VERSIONING.md.