In the previous lesson, we successfully implemented the ability to delete auctions from the Flipnzee Auctions plugin. The feature works correctly, but from a user’s perspective there is one thing missing—feedback.

Imagine clicking Delete and returning to the auction list with no indication whether the deletion actually succeeded. Users may wonder whether the auction was removed or if something went wrong.

In this lesson, we’ll improve the user experience by displaying professional WordPress admin notices after important actions such as creating, updating, and deleting auctions.

Why Admin Notices Matter

WordPress itself uses admin notices throughout the dashboard.

For example:

• Post published.
• Settings saved.
• Plugin activated.
• Theme installed.

Users have become accustomed to seeing these messages. Your plugin should follow the same design pattern.

What We’ll Build

By the end of this lesson, the plugin will display messages such as:

• Auction created successfully.
• Auction updated successfully.
• Auction deleted successfully.
• Unable to delete auction.
• Unable to update auction.

Each message will use the standard WordPress notice styles.

Passing Messages Between Pages

After an action is completed, the user is redirected back to an admin page.

For example:

wp_safe_redirect(
	admin_url(
		'admin.php?page=flipnzee-all-auctions&message=deleted'
	)
);

Notice the query parameter:

message=deleted

This allows the next page to know what happened.

Reading the Message

Inside the destination page we retrieve the message safely.

$message = isset( $_GET['message'] )
	? sanitize_text_field(
		wp_unslash( $_GET['message'] )
	)
	: '';

This ensures that only sanitized input is used.

Displaying a Success Notice

If the message equals deleted, we display a success notice.

if ( 'deleted' === $message ) :
?>

<div class="notice notice-success is-dismissible">
	<p>Auction deleted successfully.</p>
</div>

<?php endif; ?>

The classes are provided by WordPress.

• notice
• notice-success
• is-dismissible

No custom CSS is required.

Displaying an Error Notice

If something goes wrong, we display an error.

<?php if ( 'error' === $message ) : ?>

<div class="notice notice-error is-dismissible">
	<p>Unable to delete auction.</p>
</div>

<?php endif; ?>

WordPress automatically styles it using the familiar red error notice.

Why Redirect Instead of Printing Messages?

Suppose we deleted the record and immediately echoed:

Auction deleted.

The user would remain on the processing page.

Instead, WordPress plugins usually:

1. Perform the action.
2. Redirect.
3. Display a message.

This pattern avoids duplicate submissions when the browser is refreshed.

Benefits of This Approach

Our plugin now provides:

• Clear feedback to administrators.
• Consistent WordPress user experience.
• Cleaner navigation.
• Better security through redirects.
• Professional appearance.

Best Practices Learned

Throughout this lesson we reinforced several WordPress development practices:

• Use wp_safe_redirect() after processing forms.
• Pass status information using query parameters.
• Sanitize all incoming data.
• Use WordPress admin notice classes.
• Keep users informed after every important action.

What We’ve Achieved So Far

At this point, the Flipnzee Auctions plugin supports:

• Plugin activation
• Database creation
• Admin dashboard
• Add Auction
• View Auctions
• Edit Auction
• Delete Auction
• Admin notices
• Secure nonces
• CRUD operations

The plugin is beginning to feel like a real production-ready WordPress application rather than a simple demonstration project.

Coming Up Next

In Lesson 25, we’ll make the auction management screen even more powerful by adding Bulk Actions, allowing administrators to delete multiple auctions at once, just like the built-in WordPress Posts and Pages screens.

In the previous lesson, we successfully created an Edit Auction page and retrieved the selected auction from the database. When an administrator clicked the Edit link, the plugin displayed the auction’s current information.

Although this proved that our retrieval logic worked correctly, the page was still read-only. In this lesson, we’ll replace the information table with a fully editable form whose fields are automatically populated with the auction’s existing values.

This approach mirrors how WordPress edits posts, pages, users, and many other objects. Administrators see the current values, make changes, and then save them.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Build an editable administration form.
• Pre-populate form fields with database values.
• Display existing auction information inside HTML inputs.
• Create the foundation for updating auctions in the next lesson.

Current Workflow

Our current workflow is:

All Auctions
      ↓
Click Edit
      ↓
Retrieve Auction
      ↓
Display Read-only Table

After today’s lesson it becomes:

All Auctions
      ↓
Click Edit
      ↓
Retrieve Auction
      ↓
Editable Form
      ↓
Save Changes (Next Lesson)

Step 1 – Locate the Edit Auction Page

Open:

admin/class-admin.php

Locate the method:

public function edit_auction_page()

Inside the method you’ll find a table displaying the auction details.

Step 2 – Replace the Table with a Form

Replace the existing table with the following form:

<form method="post">

	<table class="form-table">

		<tr>

			<th scope="row">
				<label for="listing_id">Listing ID</label>
			</th>

			<td>
				<input
					type="number"
					id="listing_id"
					name="listing_id"
					value="<?php echo esc_attr( $auction->listing_id ); ?>"
					required
					class="regular-text"
				>
			</td>

		</tr>

		<tr>

			<th scope="row">
				<label for="start_price">Start Price</label>
			</th>

			<td>
				<input
					type="number"
					step="0.01"
					id="start_price"
					name="start_price"
					value="<?php echo esc_attr( $auction->start_price ); ?>"
					class="regular-text"
				>
			</td>

		</tr>

		<tr>

			<th scope="row">
				<label for="reserve_price">Reserve Price</label>
			</th>

			<td>
				<input
					type="number"
					step="0.01"
					id="reserve_price"
					name="reserve_price"
					value="<?php echo esc_attr( $auction->reserve_price ); ?>"
					class="regular-text"
				>
			</td>

		</tr>

		<tr>

			<th scope="row">
				<label for="buy_now_price">Buy Now Price</label>
			</th>

			<td>
				<input
					type="number"
					step="0.01"
					id="buy_now_price"
					name="buy_now_price"
					value="<?php echo esc_attr( $auction->buy_now_price ); ?>"
					class="regular-text"
				>
			</td>

		</tr>

		<tr>

			<th scope="row">
				<label for="status">Status</label>
			</th>

			<td>

				<select
					name="status"
					id="status"
				>

					<option value="draft" <?php selected( $auction->status, 'draft' ); ?>>
						Draft
					</option>

					<option value="active" <?php selected( $auction->status, 'active' ); ?>>
						Active
					</option>

					<option value="closed" <?php selected( $auction->status, 'closed' ); ?>>
						Closed
					</option>

				</select>

			</td>

		</tr>

	</table>

	<?php submit_button( 'Save Changes' ); ?>

</form>

Notice that every input field uses the current auction value. This allows administrators to modify existing information instead of re-entering everything.

Step 3 – Test the Plugin

Create a fresh ZIP and upload the updated plugin.

Navigate to:

Flipnzee Auctions → All Auctions

Click Edit.

Instead of a read-only table you should now see an editable form containing:

• Listing ID
• Start Price
• Reserve Price
• Buy Now Price
• Status

The Save Changes button will appear but won’t update the database yet. We’ll implement that functionality in the next lesson.

Why Build the Form First?

Professional software development often separates the user interface from the data processing logic.

Today’s lesson focuses entirely on presenting editable fields.

The next lesson will focus on validating user input and updating the database.

Separating these concerns makes the code easier to understand, test, and maintain.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson we transformed the Edit Auction page from a read-only display into an editable administration form.

Each input field is automatically populated using data retrieved from the database, allowing administrators to modify auction information without retyping existing values.

Although the Save Changes button is now visible, it does not yet perform any updates. That functionality will be implemented in the next lesson.

Key Takeaways

• Editable forms improve administrator usability.
• Existing values should always be pre-populated.
• esc_attr() safely outputs values inside HTML attributes.
• Building the interface before processing simplifies development.

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting to pre-populate form values.
• Using echo without esc_attr() inside HTML attributes.
• Omitting the Status dropdown.
• Trying to update the database before the form is complete.

Git Commands Used

git add .

git commit -m "Lesson 20: Build Edit Auction form"

git push

Testing Checklist

Before moving to the next lesson, verify that:

• ✅ The plugin activates successfully.
• ✅ The Edit page opens correctly.
• ✅ All fields contain the current auction values.
• ✅ Status is selected correctly.
• ✅ The Save Changes button appears.
• ✅ No PHP errors occur.

Project Status

✅ Dashboard

✅ Add Auction

✅ Save Auction

✅ View Auctions

✅ WP_List_Table

✅ Row Actions

✅ Edit Auction Page

✅ Edit Auction Form

⬜ Update Auction

⬜ Delete Auction

⬜ Bid Engine

⬜ Escrow Workflow

Developer’s Notebook

Creating the editing interface before implementing database updates follows a common development pattern. It allows you to verify that data retrieval and presentation work correctly before adding validation and persistence logic. This incremental approach also makes debugging significantly easier because each lesson introduces only one major concept.