FontAwesome Dashicons | WellPlayedWP

Overview

FontAwesome Dashicons lets you use Font Awesome Free icons anywhere WordPress expects a Dashicons class inside the WordPress admin area.

Instead of using a standard Dashicons class such as dashicons-admin-generic, you can use a Font Awesome based class in this format:

dashicons-fa-{icon-name}

Examples:

dashicons-fa-camera
dashicons-fa-user
dashicons-fa-envelope
dashicons-fa-cog

The plugin loads Font Awesome 5 Free in wp-admin and maps supported icon names to Dashicons-style classes automatically.

Requirements

WordPress 6.5 or newer
PHP 7.4 or newer

What This Plugin Does

Loads Font Awesome 5 Free in the WordPress admin area
Creates Dashicons-style CSS classes for supported Font Awesome icons
Lets you keep the familiar dashicons-* style workflow when setting admin icons
Shows a one-time activation notice with a link to the Font Awesome icon reference

What This Plugin Does Not Do

It does not load Font Awesome on the public-facing site
It does not add a settings page
It does not create admin menu items of its own
It does not replace every Dashicon automatically; you must use the provided class format where needed

Installation

Upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or deploy it using your normal plugin workflow.
Activate FontAwesome Dashicons in the WordPress admin.
Use dashicons-fa-{icon-name} classes anywhere your code, plugin, or theme accepts a Dashicons class in admin.

Basic Usage

Use the class pattern:

dashicons-fa-{icon-name}

Replace {icon-name} with the Font Awesome Free icon name.

Examples:

dashicons-fa-camera
dashicons-fa-bell
dashicons-fa-chart-bar
dashicons-fa-wrench

Common Example

If you register an admin menu page, WordPress lets you pass an icon class in the add_menu_page() function. With this plugin active, you can use a Font Awesome based class there.

add_menu_page(
    'My Plugin',
    'My Plugin',
    'manage_options',
    'my-plugin',
    'my_plugin_render_page',
    'dashicons-fa-camera',
    25
);

Finding Icon Names

Use the Font Awesome Free icon catalog:

Font Awesome Free icon reference

Take the icon name from Font Awesome and add the dashicons-fa- prefix.

Examples:

Font Awesome icon camera becomes dashicons-fa-camera
Font Awesome icon user becomes dashicons-fa-user
Font Awesome icon envelope becomes dashicons-fa-envelope

Where It Works

This plugin is intended for WordPress admin usage.

Typical use cases include:

Admin menu icons
Plugin admin pages
Internal admin UI that accepts Dashicons classes
Custom admin columns, notices, or interface elements that already rely on Dashicons-style class names

Compatibility Notes

The plugin only enqueues its assets in wp-admin
It uses Font Awesome 5 Free from the official cdnjs CDN
Supported class names are based on the bundled icon map included with the plugin
If an icon name is not part of the bundled map, no icon will be rendered for that class

Activation Behavior

After activation, the plugin shows a one-time admin notice on the Plugins screen that:

Confirms the plugin is active
Explains the class naming format
Links to the Font Awesome icon reference

If your site does not meet the minimum WordPress or PHP requirements, the plugin will not stay active and WordPress will show a compatibility error.

Updates

This plugin includes private update support for sites using the WellPlayedWP Library plugin with a valid license key configured there.

If the required WellPlayedWP Library setup is not active, the plugin will continue working normally, but update checks from the WellPlayedWP system will not run.

Uninstall Behavior

When the plugin is uninstalled, it removes its temporary transients used for:

Plugin update metadata caching
The one-time activation notice
WordPress plugin update cache refresh

The plugin does not create its own persistent settings table or options for normal use.

Troubleshooting

The icon is not showing

Check the following:

The plugin is active
You are viewing a WordPress admin screen
The class name starts with dashicons-fa-
The icon name exists in the supported Font Awesome Free icon set bundled by the plugin

The icon works on one admin screen but not another

The plugin is designed for admin usage. If another plugin or custom code removes or overrides icon styling on a specific screen, that screen may need its own CSS review.

The icon does not appear on the front end

This is expected. The plugin does not load Font Awesome on the public-facing site.

Developers

This version of the plugin does not provide public developer hooks, filters, actions, template tags, helper functions, REST endpoints, or settings APIs intended for third-party extension.

The supported integration method for developers is using the documented class naming convention in admin-facing code:

'dashicons-fa-camera'

Example in admin menu registration:

add_menu_page(
    'Reports',
    'Reports',
    'manage_options',
    'my-reports',
    'my_reports_page',
    'dashicons-fa-chart-bar'
);

If a future release adds extension points, this section should be expanded to document each available hook or developer-facing function with an example.

Changelog

1.6.4 – 2026-06-01

Add a plugin-row notice when WellPlayedWP Library is unavailable for private update checks.
Fix WordPress compatibility metadata to require WordPress 6.5 or newer.
Fix the plugin-row notice to span custom Plugins screen columns.
Remove translated Markdown documentation files so the plugin ships one English DOCUMENTATION.md.
Refactor the icon map helper to use a plugin-specific function prefix.
Document the release with compliant changelog formatting.

1.6.3 – 2026-04-03

Add uninstall cleanup.
Add i18n-ready product strings and bundled translations.
Add compatibility guards and safer admin asset loading.
Add distributable asset placeholders and inline admin usage docs.
Add release packaging polish.

1.6.2 – 2026-04-02

Document the previous release.