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## Resource: Introduction

## Article: Introduction

## Article Link: https://dev.wix.com/docs/sdk/business-solutions/ecom/extensions/dashboard-plugins/introduction.md

## Article Content:

# Introduction

Dashboard plugin extensions allow you to create interactive and feature-rich widgets that seamlessly integrate into pre-defined slots on Wix business solution dashboard pages. 

There are 2 types of plugins that can be added to a dashboard page:

* **Dashboard plugin**: A widget that can be embedded inside a dashboard page slot to extend the page's functionality.  
* **Dashboard menu plugin**: A widget that can be embedded inside a slot in a dashboard page menu. Clicking on the widget opens a modal or directs you to another dashboard page.

Learn more about [dashboard plugin extensions](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/extensions/dashboard-extensions/dashboard-plugins/about-dashboard-plugin-extensions.md).

## Get started

You can implement dashboard plugins with the following [frameworks](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/frameworks/about-development-frameworks.md):
* Wix CLI: Learn how to [implement a dashboard plugin with the Wix CLI](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/frameworks/wix-cli/supported-extensions/dashboard-extensions/dashboard-plugins/add-dashboard-plugin-extension-with-the-cli.md).  
* Self-hosted: Learn how to [implement a self-hosted dashboard plugin](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/frameworks/self-hosting/supported-extensions/dashboard-extensions/add-self-hosted-dashboard-plugin-extensions.md).

You can implement dashboard menu plugins with the following [frameworks](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/frameworks/about-development-frameworks.md):
* Wix CLI: Learn how to [implement a dashboard menu plugin with the Wix CLI](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/frameworks/wix-cli/supported-extensions/dashboard-extensions/dashboard-menu-plugins/add-dashboard-menu-plugin-extensions-with-the-cli.md).  
* App dashboard: Learn how to [implement a dashboard menu plugin in the App Dashboard](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/extensions/dashboard-extensions/dashboard-plugins/dashboard-menu-plugins/add-dashboard-menu-plugin-extensions.md).

<blockquote class="tip">

__Tip:__
It's easy to build and test dashboard plugins with the Wix CLI.

</blockquote>

## Slots
[Slots](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/extensions/dashboard-extensions/dashboard-plugins/supported-wix-app-dashboard-pages/about-dashboard-page-slots.md) are containers in the UI for plugins.

To enable plugins to interact with their host environment, each slot supports an API that provides contextual data to the plugin. The method for retrieving contextual data depends on the [framework](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/frameworks/about-development-frameworks.md) used to build your app:
- **[Wix CLI](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/frameworks/wix-cli/about-the-wix-cli-for-apps.md)**: Use the React component's `props` to retrieve the parameters passed by the plugin.
- **[Self-hosting](https://dev.wix.com/docs/build-apps/develop-your-app/frameworks/self-hosting/about-self-hosting-for-wix-apps.md)**: Use [`observeState()`](https://dev.wix.com/docs/sdk/host-modules/dashboard/observe-state.md) to retrieve the parameters passed by the plugin.

The contextual data can be retrieved by different components for dashboard plugins and dashboard menu plugins:
* **Dashboard plugins:** The code for the dashboard plugin can retrieve the contextual data.  
* **Dashboard menu plugins:** The code for the modal or page opened by the dashboard menu plugin can retrieve the contextual data.