Three plugin types in BeeLab
BeeLab isn’t “one kind of WordPress plugin”. It’s a playground for three distinct architectures — from lightweight editor blocks, to standalone in-browser apps, to full WordPress + API systems backed by Django.
1) Block plugins (Gutenberg blocks)
Example: BeeSeen
This category focuses on new blocks for the WordPress editor. You drop them into any page like native blocks, configure a few settings (images, intensity, layout), and the effect runs on the front-end.
- What the user gets: new visual blocks (motion, galleries, interactive layouts)
- Where it runs: entirely in the browser (no login required)
- How it’s built: modern JS + npm build → bundled assets registered as a WordPress block plugin
- Why it’s nice: theme-friendly, fast, easy to reuse across pages
2) App-style plugins (single-page apps inside WordPress)
Example: BeeGame
This category treats WordPress as the hosting shell and ships an actual front-end application inside a plugin. The WordPress page is basically the mount point; the app handles routing, UI state, and interactions.
- What the user gets: an interactive “mini-app” (simulations, tools, dashboards)
- Where it runs: browser-only; no login, no backend required for the core experience
- How it’s built: React + npm bundling; WordPress loads the built assets and provides the container page
- Why it’s nice: richer UX than classic WP pages, but still deployable as a normal plugin ZIP
3) Full-stack plugins (WordPress + Django API + database + users)
Examples: BeeFont, Competence
This is the most ambitious category: WordPress is the UI layer, but the product is a real system behind it — with authentication, stored data, and server-side workflows. WordPress plugins act as the “apps”, and Django provides the API and persistence.
- What the user gets: accounts, saved projects/data, and features that persist across sessions
- Where data lives: a proper backend (Django + database)
- How it’s built: WordPress plugin(s) for UI + Django API for auth/data + structured models and endpoints
- Why it’s nice: this is how you build “real applications” while keeping WordPress as the site shell
BeeFont
A font-building workflow delivered as WordPress pages and blocks — with backend jobs, stored assets, and structured project data.
Competence
A structured data-driven plugin built around users, profiles, and persistent content — powered by an API rather than “just WP pages”.
A quick rule of thumb
- Need a visual effect inside normal pages? → Block plugin (BeeSeen)
- Need a self-contained interactive tool? → App-style plugin (BeeGame)
- Need accounts + data + workflows? → Full-stack plugin (BeeFont / Competence)
That’s the point of BeeLab: the same WordPress site can host all three styles — and each style stays “right-sized” for what it needs to do.