Tutorials WordPress

Customizing Jetpack: Plugins, Hacks & Resources

Updated

Written by

Dave Warfel

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4 minutes

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There’s been a lot of chatter recently about Jetpack for WordPress. Their development team has been hard at work adding new features, all the while some are still frustrated with the “single plugin, many modules” approach, because they only want one or two of the ~20 things that Jetpack offers. I recently wrote an article about how to disable comments in Jetpack’s Carousel module, and I’m still on a Jetpack kick.

Here are a bunch of resources, hacks & other tricks you can use to disable, extend, hide & do other awesome things with the Jetpack plugin.

Use Jetpack Without a WordPress.com Account (aka: Development Mode)

OK, so this one is in their documentation, but it’s too important not to mention.

There are 2 ways you can use Jetpack without connecting to wordpress.com (only use one or the other, not both). Before you do, keep in mind these modules require a WordPress.com account:

  • Site Stats
  • Likes
  • Subscriptions
  • Push Notifications

1. Add this to your wp-config.php file

define( 'JETPACK_DEV_DEBUG', true);

2. Use this filter in a custom plugin

add_filter( 'jetpack_development_mode', '__return_true' );

Choose Which Jetpack Modules Are Activated by Default

If you find yourself constantly deactivating the same modules on each new WordPress site you build, this code will come in handy. Add it to a custom plugin. (The following example will only activate the Site Stats module by default.)

function jeherve_auto_activate_modules() {
    return array( 'stats' );
}
add_filter( 'jetpack_get_default_modules', 'jeherve_auto_activate_modules' );

Here’s a list of the slugs to use for all modules:

  • after-the-deadline
  • carousel
  • comments
  • contact-form
  • custom-css
  • enhanced-distribution
  • gplus-authorship
  • gravatar-hovercards
  • infinite-scroll
  • json-api
  • latex
  • likes
  • minileven
  • mobile-push
  • monitor
  • notes
  • omnisearch
  • photon
  • post-by-email
  • publicize
  • sharedaddy
  • shortcodes
  • shortlinks
  • sso
  • stats
  • subscriptions
  • tiled-gallery
  • vaultpress
  • videopress
  • widget-visibility
  • widgets

Rob at WP Bacon has a nice little code template with all of the modules pre-filled.

Deactivate All Jetpack Modules by Default

Add this code to a custom plugin:

add_filter( 'jetpack_get_default_modules', '__return_empty_array' );

Completely Hide Modules from the Jetpack Page

Deactivating modules by default might be all you need, but what if you want to completely remove the module from the Jetpack screen all together? This will also mean it is unable to be activated.

Add this code to a custom plugin. (The following example will completely remove the Site Stats module.)

function jeherve_kill_stats ( $modules ) {
    unset( $modules['stats'] );
    return $modules;
}
add_filter( 'jetpack_get_available_modules', 'jeherve_kill_stats' );

Turn Off Jetpack Publicize’s Auto-Selection of Social Networks

If you’ve connected your social networks through Jetpack Publicize, every time you publish a new post, all of these options are selected by default. If you accidentally publish a post, or perhaps meant to publish the post but didn’t want to post to your social media pages just yet, this code will deselect the publicize checkboxes by default. You’ll have to manually select them each time you add a new post.

Place this code in a custom plugin:

add_filter( 'publicize_checkbox_default', '__return_false');

Add Sharing Buttons to Jetpack

ManageWP.org Share Button

Check out this plugin by Jeremy Herve. It will even respect your choice for official button, text, icon or text + icon.

VK.com Share Button

VK.com is a European social network, similar to Facebook. This plugin will add a share button to Jetpack.

Scoop.it Share Button

Scoop.it is a social sharing site similar to Digg. This plugin will add a share button to Jetpack.

Add Jetpack Share Buttons With [shortcode]

If you use the Sharing module, Jetpack will automatically add share buttons to the end of your posts (and other post types, if you select them in the options). If you want to show the sharing buttons midway through your post, or anywhere for that matter, you can use this plugin. It provides a shortcode for inserting sharing links anywhere inside your post.

Move Jetpack To Bottom of Menu

If you don’t like having the Jetpack menu item above all your content (Posts, Pages, Media, etc.), install the Menu Humility plugin by Mark Jaquith. It will move Jetpack down… where it belongs.

References & Credits

If you have any other tips or tricks, please let us know in the comments so we can add them here.

Dave Warfel

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Dave has been working with WordPress since 2011. He's built 100s of client sites and almost a dozen of his own. He's tested almost every plugin you can think of, hosted with at least 10 different companies, and gone down every SEO rabbit hole you can imagine. When's he's not tinkering with new software, you'll find him in the mountains of Colorado, trail running, summiting peaks, and rippin' downhills on his mountain bike. 🏔️🏃🚴🤸

3 responses to “Customizing Jetpack: Plugins, Hacks & Resources”

  1. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Great info! You left out one of the most common issues though, publicizing old posts. Do you happen to have a hack or work around for this?

    Thanks in advance

    1. Seth Avatar
      Seth

      There is one way to do this, you have to Un-publish the draft, Save as Pending, click save. Now convert it back to a draft, and you will be able to edit the Publicize message & re-publish it (this will tell JetPack to publicize it again). The Save as Pending part is the key

    2. Dave Warfel Avatar

      Thanks for the tip, Seth!

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