Before we start with our plugin, let's take a moment and create a design outline covering the main areas of the plugin.
Widget: Obviously, the first thing on our list is to create a sidebar area for the wall. We will use WordPress widget API to do that.
Wall Comments: We will store the user comments in the WordPress database.
Comment Management: The administrator needs to be able to access comments, and approve, disapprove, or delete them.
Security and Spam protection: Being on the front page and on most other pages of our site, the wall is exposed to various threats. We need to think of a way to protect our blog from unwanted spam.
Options and Styling: Last but not least, we want to be able to customize the look of the widget. Since the wall will be constrained within a relatively small area (the sidebar), we need to carefully plan the look and the functionality of the widget.
The main development concerns here are the management of comments, and...