I have been working on creating a module directory for a while, and now it is finally here. I first talked about how I wanted to do this back when 1.1.0 was released. So what is the module directory? It is a lot like the plugin directory on WordPress.org. It is the place you can go to find modules that modify and extend the features of WordPoints.

There are a few differences between the module directory and WordPress.org’s plugin directory. One big difference is that currently the directory only contains module’s created by me, the plugin author. However, I’ll probably open it up to other developers sometime in the future, so that they can share their modules here as well. Another difference is that you can’t download modules from the directory directly through WordPoints from your site’s admin panels (yet!). However, you can receive updates for modules, delivered right to your site’s admin panels, by installing the WordPoints.org module.

Why have a module directory? Because not every feature and integration can be a part of WordPoints itself, just like many great WordPress features are added by plugins. Releasing some features as modules instead of as a part of WordPoints has several advantages. One is that bugs in a particular feature can often be fixed faster, since the module’s update schedule doesn’t have to be coordinated with WordPoints’ release schedule. That means that new features can be added quicker too. It also means that WordPoints can remain less complex, making it simpler to set up and maintain. It means you don’t have all kinds of unused features just lying around. And that can ultimately keep you safer, since you won’t end up affected by a security vulnerability in a feature you don’t even use. And finally, releasing a feature as a module can be a great way to test it and work out any bugs before ultimately merging it into WordPoints, which is exactly what might eventually happen with some modules.

Currently the directory includes just three modules, but I’ll be adding many more as time goes by, possibly even this week. Currently all of the modules are free, but in the future I’ll be adding some feature-packed premium modules as well. Sales from these will help to ensure I have time to continue making WordPoints better.