Menu Changes For The February 2025 Update

The February 2025 update to Store Locator Plus® includes a lot of changes to the Store Locator Plus® Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. As we work towards modernizing the user experience , changes are primarily to the user interface to pare down the legacy WordPress framework that runs our service. As part of that effort, we have changed the main menu interface including renaming some items and moving some key features to top-level positions in the sidebar menu.

This guide is intended to show you new features as well as where to find key elements of the Store Locator Plus® interface.

Store Locator Plus® Information

The Info page is now attached to the top-most main menu item labelled Store Locator Plus® that is on the top left of the sidebar menu.

The Info page shows key articles from the Getting Started Documentation as well as current news about Store Locator Plus®.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : Info

The previous menu location for the info page was at a second level menu under Store Locator Plus® | Info.

Legacy Menu : Store Locator Plus® | Info

Locations

The legacy version of Store Locator Plus® included a simplified user interface for managing locations and was labelled “MySLP” (the original project name we had assigned to our SaaS offering).

The menu changes for the 2025 release keeps this in the sidebar menu where it has been renamed Locations.

The locations page provides a simplified interface built in the React JavaScript framework. It provides a simpler interface for viewing basic location data and includes both a table-style list format as well as a modern cards style interface.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : Locations

The old location for the Locations page was at the top-most sidebar entry and was named MySLP.

Legacy Menu : MySLP

Location Details

Location Details is where you will find the interface for performing more complex actions as well as viewing more of the location data fields in a table format. This page includes advanced location management features such as performing bulk actions — actions on multiple locations at once. You can also find tools for loading locations from another Store Locator Plus® install including legacy WordPress plugin sites or for importing a long list of locations with a CSV import. You can view up to 999 locations at a time on the table presentation as well as view and sort by various location attributes.

This interface is based on the legacy WordPress plugin with many of the features found here on the development schedule to be moved to the more modern React-based interface.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : Location Details

The legacy interface included this feature as a second-tier menu under Store Locator Plus® | Locations.

Legacy Menu Store Locator Plus® | Locations

Style

The 2025 update includes a completely new interface for loading various pre-crafted locator styles for your map interfaces. This feature provides pre-defined CSS styling as well as Store Locator Plus® settings that change the entire user experience with the Store Locator Plus® maps and directories. This provides a quick way to try different interface designs on your locator installation without having to guess at various settings and CSS styles to see which works best.

Included in the 2025 update for this feature is a preview of the interface that updates whenever you load a new style. You no longer need to load a locator style then go to the Generate Embed tab to see what it looks like.

Many web designers use this features as a starting point to find a style that is close to what they are looking for, then modify the settings and CSS details to fine tune the look-and-feel for their website.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : Style

Previously, this feature was found in the Store Locator Plus® | Settings page on the View tab and was labelled “locator style”.

Legacy Menu Store Locator Plus® | Settings | View

Settings

The previous second-tier menu under Store Locator Plus®/ Settings is now a top-level sidebar menu.

Various settings change the user experience for your maps and directories. Settings can be changed for search, map, and results elements to the interface.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : Settings

The legacy location for Settings was previously under the Store Locator Plus® | Settings sidebar menu.

Legacy Menu Store Locator Plus® | Settings

Generate Embed

When you are ready, generate and retrieve the HTML code that will be embedded on any website or app where you want to display the Store Locator Plus® map or directory.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : Generate Embed

This menu item was previously a second-tier entry at Store Locator Plus® | Generate Embed.

Legacy Menu Store Locator Plus® | Generate Embed

Options

The Options page includes various settings that impact how the Store Locator Plus® app behaves and/or displays information on background processes that may be running. This is primarily used for Enterprise level processing of locations. For enterprise users running ongoing location loading or data management processes you can see scheduled actions here. Future application management options will also appear on this page.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : Options

This page was under the Store Locator Plus® | General sidebar menu, and has been renamed “Options” in the newest release.

Legacy Menu Store Locator Plus® | General

My Profile

My Profile is where you can update your plan, change your billing details, or cancel your subscription. It shows the current limits and usage on your account, what features are available, and a history of your interaction with the SaaS platform.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : My Profile

This is unchanged from the legacy release.

Contact Us

Contact us to send a message to the Store Locator Plus® support team. When your message is sent , support will receive details about your account with your message.

Store Locator Plus® 2025 Menu Changes : Contact Us

This menu is unchanged from the legacy release, other than repositioning the location to be above the “Log Out” option.

Log Out

Logs you out of the Store Locator Plus® system.

This feature is unchanged.

Store Locator Plus® SaaS WordPress Menus

This is a technical document about the internal structure of the Store Locator Plus® menu configuration.

MySLP SaaS WordPress Menus

How the menu descriptions are laid out:

  • position label : menu_slug [if user_can(<capability>)]
    • label : submenu_slug [if user_can(<capability>)]

Customer Menus

  • 30 MySLP : myslp-dashboard if user_can ( ‘manage_options’ )
  • 1000.1 My Profile : myslp_profile if user_can ( ‘manage_options’ )
  • 1000.2 Log Out : ../wp-login.php?action=logout if user_can( ‘manage_options’ )
  • 1000.3 Contact Us : myslp_contact_form if user_can( ‘manage_options’ )

WordPress Menu Functions

add_menu_page()

For adding “top level” menus.

add_menu_page( 
string $page_title, 
string $menu_title, 
string $capability, 
string $menu_slug, 
callable $callback = ”, 
string $icon_url = ”, 
int|float $position = null 
): string

$menu_slug is the “key” that identifies this menu, must be unique within the WP installation.

add_submenu_page()

For attaching submenus to the “top level” menus.

add_submenu_page( 
string $parent_slug, 
string $page_title, 
string $menu_title, 
string $capability, 
string $menu_slug, 
callable $callback = ”, 
int|float $position = null 
): string|false

The first parameter should match a parent slug (the 4th parameter) from the add_menu() calls.

WordPress Roles & Capabilities

WordPress roles, oddly enough, are stored for each user in the wp_user_meta table in the meta_key ‘wp_capabilities’.

Relationship definition:

  • role slug (Name)
    • capability slug – enabled by default on WP install or granted by Store Locator Plus®

The roles and capabilities within the Store Locator Plus® system include:

  • super (Super Admin)
    • manage_options
  • administrator (Administrator)
    • manage_options
    • manage_slp, granted by main SLP plugin
    • manage_slp_admin, granted by main SLP plugin
    • manage_slp_user, granted by main SLP plugin
  • subscriber (Subscriber)
    • read
  • myslp_customer (MYSLP Customer)
    • myslp_customer
    • read

WordPress Multisite Capabilities

For users on multisite there are two entries in the wp_usermeta table.

The meta_key wp_capabilities on MySLP this value has been set at a single role – ‘subscriber’.
This defines the capabilities of the user on the main site on the platform, this is the master site and should only be open to system administrators.

The meta_key wp_<site_id>_capabilities on MySSLP this value has been set to the role – ‘administrator’.
This sets the capabilities for the subsite, where each user should be the administrator for their own site.

Image by Kevin Seibel from Pixabay

Display Category Icons on Maps and in Results

Power add-on required if king the WP SLP plug-in or available with the MySLP SaaS Professional Level Plan

Add Icons to your categories under your Categories Manager. Select under Settings/View the Default with Legend below if you wish to show the icons represented for individual categories.

Under the Settings/Results check off the box to show category icons.

Search Form Labels

 Set the Labels for the Search Form

The label that will be displayed in front of the Search form box on your locator page can be changed under Settings/Search in the Appearance section Label. If none are set, a blank box will appear on your site. The “Address” Label you enter will appear in front of the search box. The “radius” information indicates to the site visitor that this is the radius (whatever radii you entered in the search form  for radii options.

Consider this label as  a help text tool for the site visitor to assist them as to what  to enter in the box.   Label Examples:  zip code, city, street, or a combination such as  address / zip code.  The more detailed the better. We find address and zip code to be the most useful hint.  If you leave this label blank nothing will appear in front of the search form box and your site visitors will be guessing what to enter to start their search.

Additional Search settings and labels are available with MYSLP Professional or Enterprise level or the WPSLP self managed with the   Experience or Premier add-ons.

With the WP Add-ons or the MYSLP SaaS professional level plan and higher you will find additional help search boxes such as Address Placeholder.

Results Layout Shortcodes and Attributes

Changing the results layout is a feature provided for Professional level accounts. Users of the self-managed WordPress plugins will find this in the Experience add on.

Default Format

The default format for the results string uses the numerical encoding for the various data elements that can be rendered.   This default string format is present in the base Store Locator Plus plugin.  You can reset  to the default at any time by deleting the entry in the Results Layout field under  Settings/Results/Appearance and saving the settings.

Recovering From Critical Error After WordPress Plugin Updates

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This article provides information on how to recover from critical errors after a plugin update. Critical updates can occur for a variety of reasons. These errors can take your WordPress site offline until the error is resolved.

For the purpose of this article we are going to delve into an example where a Store Locator Plus® add on is running an outdated version and the base plugin is updated to an incompatible version. While newer versions of the Store Locator Plus® plugin will auto-detect incompatible add on versions and disable them automatically, there are some third party add ons that do not report version updates properly and can prevent this auto-detection from working.

Here is how to recover from these issues.

Getting Started with Store Locator Plus®

This article covers the first 3 steps (2 if you are using our SaaS product) for getting started with Store Locator Plus®.

Store Locator Plus® makes it easy to add interactive location maps and directories on your website. Our latest technology is included in the Store Locator Plus® Maps and Directories SaaS offering. Some of our customers still prefer the self-managed WordPress plugins available via our Store Locator Plus® for WordPress plugins.

Regardless of which method you prefer, both can be setup quickly and have a fully functional site map or directory listing online in minutes.

Step 1: WordPress Store Locator Plug-in Users Need A Google API Key

SaaS users can skip this step. Store Locator Plus® for WordPress plug-in users need a Google API key to utilize the full features available in the the plugin. WordPress administrators who are self-managing their plugin updates, security, and Google services need to setup a Google API account so they can start billing for map services. 

If you are a subscriber to  Store Locator Plus® – our SaaS directory and locator service, you can ignore this page, we’ve got it covered. Go to our Getting Started guide and move on to Step 2.

For the Store Locator Plus® for WordPress users these instructions are a general guideline. You will need to visit the Google developers page and read their User guide to obtain a new account or update your existing account. Google will bill you directly for your monthly map views and location look-ups.

Step 3: Add A Location Map To Your Site

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Add a location map to your site by putting the SaaS embed code or WordPress shortcode on any page. You’ll need to have an active Store Locator Plus® SaaS subscription or have the Store Locator Plus® for WordPress plugin installed and activated.

Make sure you’ve completed the initial configuration and setup steps outline in the Store Locator Plus® Getting Started article.

When a visitor goes to a page with the Store Locator Plus® map code embedded, it will show a default search form and a map centered in your country or on the “Center Map At” address you entered when configuring Store Locator Plus®. When someone searches for a zip code that is close enough to a location you entered it will show those locations on the map.