Introducing IgnitionDeck Modules

For its first year or so, IgnitionDeck was offered as an all-in-one package with zero extras aside from a choice of skins and themes. Eventually, we decided to offer some additional functionality (stretch goals, FAQ/Updates, Kickstarter integration, etc) in the form of extensions. Some of these extensions were free, and the rest either required an extra purchase or were included with the purchase of a premium product.

Over time though, the process of developing and support extensions became tedious. Each extension had to be installed and updated separately, and more often than not, that process also required that the user update multiple core plugins and themes at the same time. This led to an abundance of support issues,  product confusion, and developer frustrations that was certainly not ideal.

So over the past few months, our development and support teams worked hand in hand to create and develop a solution that would not only resolve these issues, but do so in a way that was not intrusive to the user, and would not negatively affect currently working websites.

The result of this process is the all-new IgnitionDeck module system. Unlike extensions (plugins), modules are already integrated into the core product and can be enabled/disabled with just one click. Better yet, the module system is designed to be plug and play, meaning that WordPress developers can easily create modules of their own without having to worry that they will be overwritten by a future plugin update. We will discuss this in more detail soon via fully documented tutorials and code snippets.

Getting started with the new module system is easy. Simple go to your IgnitionDeck->modules menu and browse the available modules. From there, you’ll see at least four brand new modules:

• Google E-Commerce Conversion Tracking
• Anonymous Checkout (includes backer comments)
• Profile Donations
• Shipping on checkout

In the very near future, and sometime after the release of IgnitionDeck Commerce’s free version, we will begin requiring a valid license key before these modules are unlocked. We will also be porting all current extensions to the module format. Don’t worry, this transition will be backwards compatible and you will not lose any functionality that you have paid for.

In the meantime, have fun taking these new features for a spin, and let us know what modules you’d like to see next!