Editor action
Casey saves an article
ArticleChoosing the right office chair
Total article length2,460 words
Back to all work
WordPress and WooCommerce
Editorial contribution tracker
A WordPress plugin that records the words added and changed by each editor.
WordPress stored the original author, but several editors could work on the same article. We built a report that credits each saved change to the logged-in editor and keeps the article history available for review.
The requirement
Record who made each change and how much they contributed.
A small edit could be reported as the full length of the article, and the work could still be assigned to its original author. Managers needed to see the logged-in editor and the size of each saved change.
- Count words added and changed on every save
- Credit the logged-in editor rather than the original author
- Include the article body and selected FAQ fields
- Show totals and article history for each contributor
- Filter, search and export the contribution records
The improvement
The report records what each editor actually contributed.
When Casey saves this example article, the plugin records 64 added words and 22 changed words against Casey’s account.
Contribution record
The change is stored against Casey
Words added+64
Words changed22
Contribution recorded86 wordsCasey Morgan, 21 August 2026 at 10:42
What we built
Managers can check totals, open a contributor and export the records.
The report sits inside WordPress. It lists each contributor, their totals, their last activity and every recorded article change.
How it works
Every save records the editor and the size of the change.
Writers and editors keep using WordPress as normal. The plugin creates the contribution record automatically when they save.
- 1
Save an article
A writer or editor updates an article or one of its tracked FAQ fields in WordPress.
- 2
Compare the versions
The plugin compares the saved content with the previous version and counts the words added and changed.
- 3
Store the contribution
The change is stored against the logged-in editor, with the article and date.
- 4
Review or export
Managers can check contributor totals, open the article history or export the records to CSV.
The outcome
Managers can see who changed each article and by how much.
They can compare contributor totals, check the underlying article history and export the same records to CSV.
Logged-in editor
Each change is credited to the person who saved it.
Words changed
The report stores the size of the edit, not the final article length.
Article history
Managers can review every saved contribution by person and article.
CSV export
The contribution records can be downloaded for further reporting.
Technology
Built as a custom WordPress plugin.
- WordPress
- PHP
- MySQL
- Advanced Custom Fields
- Custom data model
- CSV export
About this project
- Category
- WordPress and WooCommerce development
- Services
- Plugin development, reporting and editorial workflow design
- Architecture
- Custom WordPress plugin with dedicated contribution records
- Content
- Standard post content and selected Advanced Custom Fields
Need clearer reporting from WordPress?
Tell us what needs to be recorded, who needs to review it and where the current report falls short.