Getting Started with Product Roadmap

Set up your first roadmap in under 10 minutes. This guide walks you through installation, initial setup, and creating your first roadmap item.

Installation

From WordPress.org

Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress admin
Search for “Product Roadmap”
Click Install Now on the plugin by Starter Starter
Click Activate

Manual Installation

Download the plugin ZIP from WordPress.org
Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now
Click Activate

After activation, you’ll see a new Roadmap menu in your WordPress admin sidebar.

Setup Wizard {#setup-wizard}

When you first activate the plugin, a setup wizard helps you configure the basics.

Step 1: Welcome

Click Let’s Get Started to begin configuration.

Step 2: Display Settings

Choose how your roadmap looks:

Setting	Options	Recommendation
Default Template	Kanban, List, Grid	Kanban for visual appeal
Items Per Page	10-100	20 for balanced loading
Show Progress Bars	Yes/No	Yes for transparency

Step 3: Voting Settings

Configure how users can vote:

Setting	Options	Recommendation
Allow Voting	Yes/No	Yes for engagement
Who Can Vote	Logged-in, Guests, Both	Both for maximum feedback
Vote Display	Count, None	Count to show popularity

Step 4: Status Configuration

Set up your workflow stages. Default statuses work for most use cases:

Under Review – New ideas being considered
Planned – Approved for future work
In Progress – Currently being built
Complete – Shipped and available

You can customize these later under Roadmap > Settings > Statuses.

Step 5: Complete

Click Finish Setup to save your configuration.

Creating Your First Item {#first-item}

Now let’s add something to your roadmap.

Step 1: Add New Item

Go to Roadmap > Add New
Enter a title (e.g., “Dark Mode Support”)
Add a description explaining the feature

Step 2: Set Item Details

In the sidebar, configure:

Field	What to Enter
Status	Choose current stage (e.g., “Planned”)
Priority	Set importance (Low, Medium, High, Critical)
Progress	Enter percentage complete (0-100)
Category	Optional grouping (e.g., “UI”, “Backend”)

Step 3: Publish

Click Publish to make the item visible on your roadmap.

Displaying Your Roadmap

Add the roadmap to any page or post.

Using the Shortcode

Create a new page (e.g., “Our Roadmap”)
Add this shortcode: [roadmap]
Publish the page

Basic Shortcode Options

[roadmap]                           // Default display
[roadmap status="planned"]          // Show only planned items
[roadmap template="list"]           // List view instead of kanban
[roadmap show_votes="true"]         // Display vote counts

See all shortcode options →

What’s Next?

Now that you have a basic roadmap running, explore these topics:

Goal	Guide
Add more items efficiently	Managing Items
Get user feedback	Voting & Feedback
Customize the display	Display Options
Track releases	Changelog

Pro: Advanced Setup

Pro Feature – These options require the Pro addon.

Analytics Dashboard

After installing Pro, visit Roadmap > Analytics to see:

Vote trends over time
Most popular items
User engagement metrics

Learn about Analytics →

Multi-Product Roadmaps

Managing multiple products? Pro lets you create separate roadmaps:

[roadmap product="mobile-app"]
[roadmap product="web-platform"]

Learn about Multi-Product →

Gutenberg Block Builder

Pro includes a visual block for the WordPress editor:

Edit any page
Add the “Product Roadmap” block
Configure settings in the sidebar panel
See a live preview as you work

No shortcode syntax to remember.

Get Pro Addon →

Troubleshooting First Setup

Roadmap page is blank

Check that you published at least one roadmap item
Verify the shortcode syntax: [roadmap]
Clear any caching plugins

Voting not working

Go to Roadmap > Settings > Voting
Ensure “Allow Voting” is enabled
Check your voting permissions setting

Styles look broken

Ensure your theme doesn’t conflict with the plugin CSS
Try switching to a default WordPress theme temporarily
Check browser console for JavaScript errors

More troubleshooting tips →