Homepage Control

What is Homepage Control?

Homepage Control is a focused WordPress plugin that lets you reorder and disable sections on your site’s front page. It works specifically with themes that use the standard “homepage” action hook to display components. Developed by WooThemes, this plugin has been available for 12 years. It currently holds a 4.2/5 rating from 19 reviews, with 79% of those being five-star ratings. Despite its age, it maintains 9K+ active installs.

The plugin’s core purpose is simple. It gives you a visual interface inside the Theme Customizer to manage which homepage components appear and in what order. If your theme supports the “homepage” hook, you can disable homepage sections without editing any code. This makes it a practical tool for site owners who want to control their layout without hiring a developer.

Key Features of Homepage Control

• Reorder Homepage Elements via Customizer – Drag-and-drop interface inside Appearance > Customizer to change the order of any hooked component.
• Disable Homepage Components – Toggle individual sections on or off with a simple checkbox, hiding unwanted content instantly.
• Theme-Specific Settings Memory – Each theme’s homepage layout is saved separately. Switch themes and your previous order for that theme is restored.
• Works with Any Homepage Hook – Compatible with any theme that uses the “homepage” action hook to output sections.
• No Coding Required – All changes are made through the WordPress Customizer, which is beginner-friendly and requires no PHP knowledge.
• Instant Preview – See your reorder homepage elements in real time before saving changes to your live site.
• Lightweight Footprint – Adds minimal code to your site, with no extra database queries on the front end.

Who Should Use Homepage Control?

This plugin is ideal for site owners who use a WooThemes or similar theme that builds its homepage through action hooks. You don’t need to be a developer. If you have basic WordPress admin skills, you can use Homepage Control to disable homepage sections or change their display order. The 79% five-star rating suggests most users find it works exactly as described.

However, there is a clear limitation. The 21% one-star rating likely comes from users whose themes do not support the “homepage” hook. The plugin will show no components in that case. If you are unsure whether your theme uses this hook, check with your theme developer first. For those with compatible themes, this tool solves the specific problem of how to reorder homepage components in WordPress without custom coding.

Installation & Setup

Installing Homepage Control is straightforward. You can search for it directly from your WordPress dashboard under Plugins > Add New. Alternatively, download the ZIP file from WordPress.org and upload it manually. Once activated, a new “Homepage Control” section appears inside Appearance > Customizer. No configuration files or shortcodes are needed.

Support & Community

The support picture is mixed. Over the last two months, the plugin shows 0 open threads and 0 resolved threads, giving a 0% resolution rate. This is notable given the plugin version is 2.0.3 and it was last updated on Aug 27, 2020. The lack of recent support activity suggests the plugin is stable for its limited use case, but users with issues may not get timely help.

The plugin’s GitHub repository remains open for contributions. WooThemes encourages users to fork the code and submit ideas. For basic tasks like reordering homepage elements or disabling specific sections, most users report no problems. The FAQ addresses the most common question: if no components appear, your theme simply lacks the required hook. This is not a bug, but a compatibility requirement.