Why Did We Build a WordPress SSO Plugin?

We’ll tell you why, but first, a little background on Bread & Butter IO. Our core team built DeliverySlip (a secure messaging application) and operated it for over 12 years. One of the things our customers constantly asked about was allowing their users to sign in using existing accounts like Google and Facebook. They also asked about identity providers like Okta, OneLogin, and Siteminder and we inadvertently became experts in authentication and identity. We sold DeliverySlip in May of 2019, but the issue of an easy-to-implement SSO (single sign-on) was always top of mind. So we set out to build the product we were constantly tasked with: a universal API for developers to add any number of SSO options or identity providers to their existing login screens without burning development cycles. A ‘get the plugin’, configure, and you’re ready to go API.

What is Bread & Butter, though? 

Bread & Butter IO is the outcome of all the expertise we gathered during our secure messaging days with an added twist. Our API allows developers to support the popular SSO options like Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Apple, and enterprise identity providers like Microsoft, Okta, and OneLogin. After you have added login options, you get control over user access to your system. Want to block a user permanently or temporarily? Want to revoke access or block an entire region of the world? Our dashboard and map make it easy. 

Why build a plugin? Here are the three main reasons we thought a WordPress SSO plugin was a good idea. 

WordPress is the Dominant CMS

WordPress is the most popular CMS (Content Management System) on the planet, with a whopping 60% market share. WordPress is in use in 33.5% of all websites online. It’s little wonder why: it’s free, it’s user-friendly, and owing to its prevalence, many publishers are already familiar with it. 

The WordPress Community

With the popularity of WordPress as a platform comes a community with a ton of expertise. Specifically, we’re talking about the developers of the core product and the creators of the vast library of useful plugins. 

With the ease of use of WordPress plugins, the ongoing support of a massive open-source community, it was obvious to us that we should add our product to the mix as well. And while our product is free, the WordPress ecosystem allows for commercial products to be included in the plugin directory as well. 

We can’t say enough about the WordPress Plugin Directory. Not only is it a great way to expose products to WordPress developers, but we’ve also used several popular and useful plugins on this very site. 

Are you a WordPress developer, building either member sites with login screens or web apps on the WordPress platform? Try our universal API and add the SSO options of your choice and please give us your feedback. 

Making Life Easier for WordPress Developers

Adding SSO to your existing login screens yourself is a headache. Supporting those sign-on options after that fact is not only tedious but also risky. Who is going to edit, QA, and deploy your code when protocols change?

Bread & Butter IO has a roadmap for future development, but we’ll always have a core product that does one (complicated) thing very well. 

We started by helping digital agencies and web vendors add SSO in the simplest way possible — making it so easy that they wouldn’t dare consider doing it themselves. In releasing a WordPress plugin, we’ve removed even more friction to the process for WP Devs. But we are far from done. 

We Want to Hear From You

Like any plugin, it isn’t happy unless it’s doing its job. So we are keen to have developers install it, make it live, and offer your feedback. Your installs and reviews are very helpful, and your feedback will help shape the future of the product.

Do you have any feedback for us or questions about how to use the plugin? Need a specific Identity Provider (IDP) supported? Want to use our API but are not on WordPress? Contact us, and we’ll get you sorted.