Let’s talk about shortcuts. They’re the unsung heroes of productivity, shaving precious seconds off every task.
Whether you’re copying and pasting text or switching between tabs, shortcuts just make life easier.
But in WordPress, where endless menus and options often dominate, shortcuts can be a godsend for your workflow, simplifying complex workflows down to a few keystrokes. No need for multiple clicks, switching tabs or UI. Do it from one search bar!
We built WP Spotlight to be the perfect WordPress assistant. One way it augments your WordPress workflow is by allowing you to access Custom WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts for all of its search capabilities.
What Makes WP Spotlight’s WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts Special?
With WP Spotlight, you can assign keyboard shortcuts (or key binds) to all basic search functions, eliminating the need to click through endless menus.
Whether you’re managing posts, users, plugins, updates, or even themes, WP Spotlight’s shortcuts make tasks faster, more intuitive, and just a key press away.
The best part about these shortcuts? They’re customizable with up to 4 key combinations.
Which means you can set it up exactly how you want.
Here’s an example, let's say you’re testing the effects of a plugin by activating and deactivating it. Normally this means going into the plugins menu > deactivating the plugin > waiting for the page to reload and then go back to the dashboard/frontend to check what changes occur.
Now what if you just have shortcuts in place to pull up and deactivate the plugin without needing to navigate anywhere?
Check this out:
We just went to the plugins menu and deactivated Elementor in under 8 keystrokes without ever needing to switch the UI!
Now imagine the same speed for activating and installing plugins, managing users, managing media, updates. It’s an absolute no brainer!
If you value productivity and want to fast-track all your WordPress workflows then WP Spotlight is just the tool you need.
How to Create Custom WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts in WP Spotlight
The key binds menu will automatically pop up on installation and activation of WP Spotlight.
Just in case you’ve missed it somehow, you can also just navigate to the plugins menu and click on key bindings.
Or just hit the default shortcut for the key bind menu which is Alt + K for Windows and Options + K for Mac.
It’s that simple! Once you’re in just set up whatever shortcut you want to set for each command. You have 4 key combinations to play with.
You can also restore all your shortcuts if you with the “Restore Defaults” button at the bottom if you like our default shortcuts.
Many Use Cases, One Powerful Tool
The beauty of WP Spotlight’s Custom WordPress Keyboard Shortcuts lies in their versatility.
These shortcuts are not just convenient—they’re transformative, adapting to the unique needs of different WordPress user types.
Whether you’re a content creator, developer, agency, or store owner, there’s a use case for you. Let’s explore how these shortcuts can help your specific workflow.
1. For Bloggers
Default key bind:
Alt + Shift + P (windows) or Option + Shift + P (Mac) to open WP Spotlight’s Post Search.
How It Helps:
Imagine you’re mid-post and suddenly need to reference an older article. Instead of breaking your creative flow to navigate through the WordPress Posts section, just use your shortcut.
WP Spotlight’s post search search pulls up a list of all your posts and you can also just search up the name of a post and then just open it in a new window.
2. For Developers
Default key bind: Alt + P (windows) or Option + P (Mac) to open WP Spotlight’s Plugin Management.
How It Helps:
While working on a staging environment, you notice a plugin causing a conflict. Instead of opening the Plugins menu and scrolling endlessly, your shortcut opens WP Spotlight, where you deactivate or update the plugin in seconds.
Just hit the shortcut for the Plugin management options > Go to "Deactivate".
You’ll find a list of all the activated plugins.
Now just hit enter on a plugin to deactivate it successfully. No added navigation needed, no UI changes needed. Just handle everything from the search bar and within one reload all your changes will be active.
3. For Agencies
Default key bind:
Alt + M (windows) or Option + M (Mac) to open WP Spotlight’s Media Upload Management.
Alt + S (windows) or Option + S (Mac) to open WP Spotlight’s main menu where you'll find the multisite management options if you have multisite active on your website > Navigate to “sites” to access subsites list
Or, from the main menu > Click on “back to Netword Admin” to navigate to the super admin from any subsite.
How It Helps:
You’re building a client’s page and need to upload several new images for the gallery. Rather than opening the Media Library and clicking through multiple options, you drag and drop files directly into WP Spotlight’s upload zone.
The images are uploaded instantly, and you’re back to editing without interruptions.
Additionally, you’ll absolutely love managing multsites with WP Spotlight. While currently there are no shortcuts for these actions but you can still pull up your list of subsites on a multisite network and navigate to one instantly.
Or set a shortcut for returning to the network admin dashboard no matter where or what sub site you are on, in the network.
The neat thing about WP Spotlight is that it automatically detects any multisite network and enables these options in the menu.
We're already working on assigning shortcuts to these actions as well.
4. For eCommerce Store Owners
Default key bind:
Alt + Shift + P (windows) or Option + Shift + P (Mac) to open WP Spotlight’s Post Management > Products.
How It Helps:
Managing your WooCommerce store becomes significantly easier. You can quickly search for products by name, category, or tag and manage them directly—view, edit, trash, or delete—right from the search.
First go into post search using the shortcut and go into Products.
From here go into any product from the list.
Now, if you go into a product you’ll find options to view, edit trash, or delete it.
Plus, we’re actively developing a WooCommerce Order Search functionality that will include robust features like order filtering and management options. If this interests you then you can learn more about how we stumbled across this feature and how a typical agency uses WP Spotlight to improve their workflow.
5. For Site Administrators
Default key bind:
Alt + U (windows) or Option + U (Mac) to open WP Spotlight’s User Management.
How It Helps:
Your colleague forgets their password (again). Instead of going to Users > All Users, scrolling, and manually sending a password reset email, you use the shortcut, search their name, and trigger the reset email in seconds.
Here’s how you do it:
First, use the shortcut for user search to access the user search options.
Then select the type of user your colleague is. For example, they could be a subscriber.
You can select a user from the list or directly input their email and it will pop up on search. From there you can go into their user settings.
There you’ll find the password reset button.
Conclusion
These use cases are just the tip of the iceberg. With WP Spotlight's versatility, there are hundreds—if not more—ways you can leverage custom keyboard shortcuts to simplify your WordPress workflow. The best way to uncover all the possibilities is to dive in and start using WP Spotlight yourself.
We’re thrilled to announce that the new and improved free version of WP Spotlight is now available. Download it today and experience firsthand how WP Spotlight can transform your specific workflow.
Want to see it in action? Check out our live demo and explore how it can adapt to your unique needs. Your WordPress productivity boost is just a click away!
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published