Plugin System: Architecture, Admin Panel, and Settings

The Site Store Pro plugin system supports display plugins (rendered via shortcodes into CMS pages and product descriptions) and shipping plugins (invoked programmatically to return real-time carrier rates). Plugins are managed at /admin/plugins — no Artisan commands are needed to activate or configure them.

Overview

Concept	Detail
Discovery	Built-in plugins auto-boot on startup. Drop-in folders in `/plugins/` are scanned on every boot.
Configuration	All settings stored in the `plugin_settings` table. Managed at `/admin/plugins`.
Embedding	Display plugins use shortcodes: `[plugin:slug]` or `[plugin:slug param=value]`.
Shipping	Shipping plugins are invoked programmatically via the `PluginManager` singleton.
Activation	Toggle active/inactive in the Admin Panel. No Artisan command needed.

Admin Panel (`/admin/plugins`)

Plugin List

Each plugin row displays:

Name and description
Type badge: display (indigo), shipping (amber), email (emerald)
Shortcode (for display plugins)
Version
Active toggle — saves immediately with no page reload
Settings button — opens the slide-in settings panel

Settings Panel

The settings panel slides in from the right and contains three tabs:

Settings
Usage
Activation

A data-driven form generated from the plugin’s plugin_options rows. Fields are rendered based on field_type (input, textarea, select, toggle, etc.). Changes are saved immediately on form submission.

Only shown when activation_required = yes.

Activation instructions
License key entry field
Activate / Deactivate controls

Shortcode Syntax

Display plugins are embedded in any CMS page or product description using the shortcode format:

[plugin:slideshow-2026]
[plugin:slideshow-2026 id=3]
[plugin:slideshow-2026 id=2 nav=off paging=off]

The slug immediately follows plugin:
Parameters are space-separated key=value pairs
No quotes needed around values unless they contain spaces

Accessing Plugin Settings in Code

Use the Plugin model to read and write settings programmatically:

use App\Models\Plugin;

$plugin = Plugin::where('shortcode', 'slideshow-2026')->first();

// Get all settings as ['field_name' => 'field_value'] array
$settings = $plugin->getSettings();

// Get a single setting with fallback default
$css = $plugin->getSetting('live_css', '');

// Save settings
$plugin->saveSettings(['live_css' => '.wrapper { width: 100%; }']);

// Query active plugins by type
$activeDisplay = Plugin::active()->ofType('display')->get();

Using PluginManager

The PluginManager singleton is available via the service container and handles both rendering display plugins and aggregating shipping rates:

use App\Plugins\Support\PluginManager;

$manager = app(PluginManager::class);

// Render a display plugin by slug
$html = $manager->renderDisplay('slideshow-2026', ['id' => '3']);

// Get shipping rates
use App\Plugins\Support\ShippingContext;

$context = new ShippingContext(
    fromZip: '75001',
    toZip: '10001',
    toCountry: 'US',
    weightLbs: 2.5,
    declaredValue: 99.99
);

$rates = $manager->getShippingRates($context); // Aggregates from all active shipping plugins

The getShippingRates() call queries every active shipping plugin and merges the results into a single array, sorted low-to-high by rate.

Plugin Deployment Checklist

Run the following commands after a fresh installation or when adding new plugins:

# 1. Create plugin tables
php artisan migrate

# 2. Seed built-in plugins (Slideshow, Featured Items, FedEx, UPS, USPS)
php artisan db:seed --class=PluginSeeder

# 3. Clear caches
php artisan optimize:clear

Re-running the seeder is safe — all records use updateOrCreate, so existing settings are not overwritten.

Credential Storage

Carrier API credentials (FedEx, UPS, USPS) are stored in the plugin_settings table via the Admin Panel — not in .env.

This design means:

No environment variable changes are needed when adding or rotating carrier credentials
Different environments (staging, production) can maintain separate credentials in their own databases
Credentials can be updated at runtime without a deployment

Display Plugins

Slideshow, Featured Items, Cross-Sell List, Events Calendar, and Live Search.

Shipping Plugins

Real-time rates from FedEx REST API, UPS REST API, and USPS REST API v3.

Custom Plugins

Build and drop in your own display or shipping plugins.

Getting Started

Storefront

Admin: Products

Admin: Orders & Sales

Admin: CMS

Payments & Subscriptions

Plugins & Extensions

Support & Helpdesk

Configuration

Plugin System: Architecture, Admin Panel, and Settings

Overview

Admin Panel (`/admin/plugins`)

Plugin List

Settings Panel

Shortcode Syntax

Accessing Plugin Settings in Code

Using PluginManager

Plugin Deployment Checklist

Credential Storage

Display Plugins

Shipping Plugins

Custom Plugins

​Overview

​Admin Panel (/admin/plugins)

​Plugin List

​Settings Panel

​Shortcode Syntax

​Accessing Plugin Settings in Code

​Using PluginManager

​Plugin Deployment Checklist

​Credential Storage

​Related

Display Plugins

Shipping Plugins

Custom Plugins

Overview

Admin Panel (`/admin/plugins`)

Plugin List

Settings Panel

Shortcode Syntax

Accessing Plugin Settings in Code

Using PluginManager

Plugin Deployment Checklist

Credential Storage

Related