Check the WordPress version with a Chrome Extension

When you work with WordPress, you get to see and examine tones of WordPress themes.

The Problem

Me, for example, I’m working at PixelGrade and we provide free support to our customers who bought our themes.  When you do this kind of support for your clients you might notice that a lot of their issues are already fixed in the latest theme updates. In conclusion there are some clients which come and complain about some issues but they simply didn’t update their theme or even the WordPress itself.

The Solution

This is why I’ve created a Chrome Extension which verifies the current website and if it’s based on WordPress, it will try to show you some useful information: active theme name and version, WordPress version.

– Bonus for any PixelGrade theme the tooltip will display the version of the theme in red if is outdated or green if is up to date

As a theme developer which offers support you might find this very helpful. If a client comes to you with a weird issue, you ask for an URL, verify the theme version and then decide if you need to investigate that issue or simply ask the client to update the theme before investigate it.

How to Install

Ok, now if you agree with me in this little story and you would like to install the Chrome Extension, here is the packed zip archive: wp_theme_check_extension

To install this in Google Chrome you will need to check your Developer mode in Settings -> Extensions and load the extension as unpacked.

Anytime you need to check a wordPress theme version just hit the icon near the bookmark one:

You need to activate the Developer Mode because I didn’t submit this extension in Google’s Extensions Market.

I’ve created this tool for my colleagues from the Happiness Support department, and after I saw the smiles on their faces I thought that the theme developers community might also smile with such a tool installed.

Waiting for your opinion and feedback because if this tool proofs that it really helps people I might take more of my free time, improve it, send it to Google Market and also implement these TODO’s:

• A better visual style
• Try to use the Envato Api and if the theme is bought from ThemeForest.net display the author name / link and infos about the theme version state.
• Anything else you suggest and I could implement 🙂

I hope I didn’t make you lose too much time reading this – go ahead and let me know what do you think in the comments below.