This plugin adds the (Govintra) Services launchpad widget. The widget shows a row of icons with a label under each, linking to the systems staff use every day, such as HR, finance, email, the service desk and room booking. It works like the app launcher on a phone, and gives staff one familiar place to start from.
Each icon can link to a system, or open a panel of your own content underneath the icons, without leaving the page.
On the Plugins screen the plugin is listed as Govintra Services.
Add the Services launchpad to a page
- Install and activate the Govintra Services plugin.
- Go to Appearance, then Widgets.
- Add the (Govintra) Services launchpad widget to a widget area. It suits a full-width area of the homepage best. See Setup widgets on the homepage.
- Optional: type a Title, such as “Services” or “Your apps”. Leave Title empty to show the icons with no heading.
- Under Service links, select New link for each icon you want, and fill in the options described below.
- Select Save.
You can add the widget to more than one widget area, each with its own set of links.
Options for each service link
Icon image
The picture for the link. Upload an image or choose one from the Media Library. Every icon is shown at the same size, 48 by 48 pixels, and is fitted inside that square without being cropped or stretched.
- Use a square image of at least 96 by 96 pixels, so that it stays sharp on high resolution screens.
- Use a PNG with a transparent background, so that the icon sits well on light and dark backgrounds.
- Use icons in one style, such as the official logo of each system, so that the launchpad looks tidy.
The icon is decoration. Screen readers ignore it and read the label instead, so you do not need alt text. You can leave Icon image empty, and the link shows its label only.
Label
The words under the icon. You must enter a label. The label is what screen readers announce, so make sure it names the system on its own: “Expenses”, not “Click here”. Keep it to one or two words. Each link is the same narrow width, and a longer label wraps onto extra lines.
Open a reveal panel instead of linking
Leave this off for an ordinary link to a system. Switch it on to make the icon open a panel of your own content underneath the launchpad. The options below it change to match.
Service URL
This option appears when the reveal panel option is off. Enter the full web address of the system, starting with https://. You must enter an address. To link to a page on the intranet, paste that page’s full address.
Open in a new window
This option appears when the reveal panel option is off, and it is on to begin with. When it is on, the system opens in a new browser tab and the intranet stays open behind it. That suits separate systems that staff sign in to. Switch it off for links to pages on the intranet itself, so that the browser’s Back button keeps working.
Reveal content
This option appears when the reveal panel option is on. Enter the content of the panel using the editor. You can use headings, lists, links and images.
Use a reveal panel when one icon needs to offer several choices or some explanation. Examples: a “Payroll” icon that opens links to payslips, expenses and the pay calendar; an “IT help” icon that shows the service desk phone number, opening hours and a link to log a call.
How reveal panels work for staff
- Selecting the icon opens its panel underneath the whole launchpad. Selecting the same icon again closes the panel.
- Only one panel is open at a time. Opening another panel closes the first.
- Reveal icons are buttons, so they work from the keyboard with Enter or Space, and screen readers announce whether the panel is open or closed.
- Put the most important link or fact at the top of the panel. On a phone the panel can appear some way below the icon that opened it.
Change the order, edit or remove service links
In the widget, each service link is shown as a closed row with its label. Select a row to open it and change its options. Drag a row up or down by its number to change the order. Select the minus button on a row to remove that link. Select Save when you have finished.
How the launchpad is laid out
The icons sit on one line, in the centre, if they fit the width of the widget area. If they do not fit, they wrap onto more lines, still centred. On a phone that is about three across. You cannot set the number of icons on a line, because the launchpad adjusts to the space it has.
The launchpad uses your intranet’s colours and follows dark mode.
Tips for a useful launchpad
- Keep to the systems most staff use. Six to twelve links is about right. A launchpad with everything in it is no quicker than a menu.
- Put the most used systems first, because staff look at the left-hand end first.
- Use the names staff use. If everyone calls the HR system “MyHR”, label it “MyHR”.
- Check the links every few months. Systems get renamed and replaced, and a broken launchpad link is noticed by everyone.