Introduction, Architecture & Plugin Boilerplate

February 17, 2024

A practical overview for developers building custom WordPress plugins that extend the LA24Core CRM ecosystem, plus the minimum boilerplate needed to scaffold one.

What is LA24Core?

LA24Core is a modular WordPress CRM plugin. Its architecture is built around a hook-based extension system. Every major feature — menu items, CRM pages, capabilities, dashboard widgets, profile history tabs, and settings panels — is registered through WordPress filters and actions that LA24Core exposes.

You do not need to modify LA24Core source code to extend it. Create a standalone WordPress plugin, hook into the relevant filters/actions, and LA24Core picks up your additions automatically.

Prerequisites

PHP 8.0+
WordPress 6.0+
LA24Core installed and activated
Basic knowledge of WordPress hooks (actions and filters)

Extension Philosophy

LA24Core follows a **hook-first** design principle:

All registration happens at `plugins_loaded` time via WordPress hooks
No monkey-patching or file overrides required
Each extension is a fully independent WordPress plugin
Dependency check at runtime (`la24_get_option` function presence)

Architecture Overview

javascript

la24core/
├── includes/
│   ├── helpers/la24-core-functions.php   ← Core utility functions
│   ├── abstracts/BaseViewController.php  ← Base class for page controllers
│   ├── plugins/                          ← Sub-plugin modules (ums, email, knowledge …)
│   └── LA24Core.php                      ← Main orchestrator
└── src/plugins/                          ← React frontend entry points

Key Concepts

Concept	How it works
Menu items	Registered via `la24_dashboard_menu_items` action + `LA24()->Menu()` singleton
CRM pages	Registered via `la24_endpoints` filter; each endpoint maps to a PHP controller class
Permissions	Registered via `la24_capability` filter; integrated with LA24Core role management UI
Dashboard widgets	Registered via `la24_widgets` filter; widget classes extend `\LoyalAxis\classes\services\widgets\Widget` and use a numeric ID of `900`+ for custom extensions
Profile history tabs	Registered via `la24_history_user_profile` filter; each tab has a controller
Settings panels	Registered via `la24_register_setting` filter; each panel is a settings class

Plugin File Structure

Every LA24Core extension is a standard WordPress plugin. It registers into LA24Core by attaching callbacks to the hooks LA24Core provides. The boilerplate below is the minimum scaffolding required to build any extension.

Create a new folder inside `wp-content/plugins/`:

javascript

my-crm-extension/
├── my-crm-extension.php          ← Main plugin file (WordPress header)
└── includes/
    └── class-my-crm-hook.php     ← Hook registration class

Main Plugin File

`my-crm-extension.php`:

php

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: My CRM Extension
 * Plugin URI:  https://example.com
 * Description: Extends LA24Core with custom CRM features.
 * Version:     1.0.0
 * Author:      Your Name
 * Text Domain: my-crm-ext
 */

defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;

define( 'MY_CRM_EXT_PATH', plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) );
define( 'MY_CRM_EXT_URL',  plugin_dir_url( __FILE__ ) );

add_action( 'plugins_loaded', function () {
    // Only load if LA24Core is active
    if ( ! function_exists( 'la24_get_option' ) ) {
        return;
    }

    require_once MY_CRM_EXT_PATH . 'includes/class-my-crm-hook.php';
    new My_CRM_Hook();
} );

Hook Registration Class

`includes/class-my-crm-hook.php`:

php

<?php

defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;

class My_CRM_Hook {

    public function __construct() {
        add_action( 'la24_dashboard_menu_items', array( $this, 'register_menu_items' ) );
        add_filter( 'la24_endpoints',            array( $this, 'register_endpoints' ), 10 );
        add_filter( 'la24_capability',           array( $this, 'register_capabilities' ), 10 );
        add_filter( 'la24_widgets',              array( $this, 'register_widgets' ), 10 );
        add_filter( 'la24_groups_permission',    array( $this, 'register_permission_groups' ), 10 );
        add_filter( 'la24_register_setting',     array( $this, 'register_settings' ), 10 );
        add_filter( 'la24_history_user_profile', array( $this, 'register_profile_history_tabs' ), 10 );
    }

    // Each method is implemented in the relevant guide section.
}

Dependency Check

The guard `if ( ! function_exists( 'la24_get_option' ) )` ensures your plugin silently skips loading when LA24Core is absent or inactive. Without this check, fatal errors would occur on sites where LA24Core is not installed.

`la24_get_option` is defined in `includes/helpers/la24-core-functions.php` and is available as soon as LA24Core loads.
Always use the `plugins_loaded` action (not `init`) so that all plugins are guaranteed to have loaded before the check runs.

Quick Reference

Goal	Hook/Function	Type
Add sidebar menu item	`la24_dashboard_menu_items`	Action
Register a CRM page	`la24_endpoints`	Filter
Add a permission	`la24_capability`	Filter
Group permissions in UI	`la24_groups_permission`	Filter
Add profile history tab	`la24_history_user_profile`	Filter
Add profile action button	`la24_render_profile_action_btn`	Filter
Add dashboard widget	`la24_widgets`	Filter
Add settings panel	`la24_register_setting`	Filter
Register a custom automation program	`la24_register_automation_program`	Filter
Check user capability	`la24_user_can( $user_id, $cap )`	Function
Get page URL	`la24_get_permalink_panel( $slug )`	Function
Read plugin option	`la24_get_option( $key, $group )`	Function
Save plugin option	`la24_update_option( $key, $val, $group )`	Function