I totally get what you mean. It always annoys me, too, when I install a new plugin and can’t immediately figure out where it’s located or how to use it.
But there are so many different plugins that, unfortunately, there’s no single place to find documentation on this. That’s why there aren’t any guidelines for plugin developers either. Many developers include instructions on their plugin page – sometimes as a video, sometimes as text, or even with screenshots.
Imagine you install a plugin that simply adds a block to the Block Editor. You don’t need anything at all in the backend for that. You just need to know that you can use it in the Block Editor.
Or a plugin that merely serves as a tool to hide those annoying admin notices. That doesn’t necessarily need a menu item in the backend either. It should just do what it promises.
You can see that this is a very complex issue. I totally understand your problem, but I don’t see a possible solution for it. If you come up with one that truly covers all possibilities, feel free to share your thoughts on Core Trac: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket
By the way: I intentionally build my own plugins to be as self-explanatory as possible. A clearly visible message after activation or a short guide makes getting started much easier. But unfortunately, not every developer thinks that far ahead 😐
Since I’m not a plugin developer, so I don’t know what guidelines or minimum requirements WordPress has for that. I do see there’s a format that shows up on the Admin Menu>Installed Plugins page, with links usually to the developer, settings, de-activate, auto-updates, and “View Details”.
That links to a page with FAQ and a description of what it does, but not often documentation that tells how to do it, more a pre-sales pitch than post install directions. Often with some searching that page does exist somewhere if I can find it.
It sounds like there’s not a standard system in place for how developers can make plugins quick to implement right away, especially for beginning users. Some are self-explanatory enough, others leave very basic questions up to a search for instructions or else trial and error.
>Some are self-explanatory enough, others leave very basic questions up to a search for instructions or else trial and error.
Then do not use plugins that make it confusing, and instead keep it simple. You always have the ability to choose your own plugins, and if you don’t understand one then delete it from your system.
Basically, vote with your feet. If you don’t understand something, then do not use it.
Hi @hartzhomestead,
What you’re running into is a real usability gap, but it mostly comes down to how flexible plugins can be.
WordPress doesn’t enforce a standard location or UI pattern for plugins. A plugin can:
- add a top-level menu
- add a submenu under Settings/Tools/Appearance
- add a block only (no menu at all)
- add a widget, shortcode, or REST feature with no UI
Because of that, WordPress can’t reliably show a “menu location” in the Plugins screen — it’s not always a single place, and sometimes there isn’t one.
Same for documentation: there’s no strict requirement for “instructions” vs “description”. Developers are only required to provide basic readme sections, and how helpful those are varies a lot.
A couple of practical ways to make this easier on your side:
- After activating a plugin, check the “Settings” link on the Plugins page (when it exists). That usually points to its main screen.
- If there’s no Settings link:
- check Settings, Tools, and Appearance menus first
- then check the Block Editor (for block-based plugins)
- Use Plugins → View Details → Installation tab — some developers do put actual steps there instead of in Description.
- Stick with plugins that follow common UI patterns (well-known plugins tend to be more consistent here).
If you’re thinking about improving this in WordPress itself, that would need to be proposed on Core Trac, but it would be tricky to standardize given how differently plugins work.
If you have a specific plugin that’s hard to find/use, feel free to mention it — usually someone can point exactly where it lives.
