A few days ago, Xiao Di saw a comment under an article promoting his own Knowledge Planet subscription on the “Spicy Boiled Fish” blog. The flattery was so over-the-top that it gave Xiao Mo goosebumps.
Xiao Di acknowledges the quality of the spicy fish dish, but from the customer’s perspective...单Judging by his plugins, he’s definitely not the top dog in the WordPress world. This comment also reminds me of the time I used to tinker with building WordPress sites and discovered the Shuizhuoyu website.
Xiao Di has also come through the “seeing the mountain as a mountain” stage; that commenter probably isn’t very experienced with WordPress and is still at that stage. That’s normal—beginners in China who are new to building WordPress sites all encounter the “Shuizhu Yu” mountain at first, think he’s really impressive, and end up spending some time on that mountain.
As our technology and understanding advance, we enter a stage where “the mountain is no longer just a mountain,” and we begin to question the concept of “boiled fish.” Ultimately, we come to respect the diversity of things as they are, no longer fixating on appearances—“the mountain is still a mountain” (the mountain is what it is, without clinging to the idea that it “must be” something, nor fearing that it “is not actually” something else).
Xiao Di no longer uses any Shuizhuoyu plugins or renews his subscription to Knowledge Planet; he’s completely out of that “rabbit hole.” Below, I’ll explain the drawbacks of Shuizhuoyu’s plugins and suggest some better alternatives.
The following are merely my personal, subjective opinions, based solely on my experience using the plugins he wrote; they are not directed at his technical skills or his character.
Seeing a mountain as a mountain; the "Water-Boiled Fish" plugin/person is really awesome
First, let me share how Xiao Di used the “Boiled Fish” plugin, so everyone can see that Xiao Di was once a seasoned user himself—he’s not just offering random opinions, nor is he bashing it.
Several years ago, Xiao Di wanted to link his website to his WeChat Official Account so that users could share and browse the website within WeChat. He searched online and found Shuizhu Yu’s “WeChat Bot”Plugins—that's how I got hooked.“
After doing some research, I found out that Shuizhu Yu is a top WP developer who has worked on many impressive projects, has a certain level of recognition, offers a lot of great free plugins, and—just like Xiao Di—lives in Guangzhou.
I had a pretty good impression of him at first, so even after a few minor incidents, Xiao Di still thought highly of him—she didn’t go from being a fan to a hater, but she did go from being a fan to just a casual observer.
For a while, Xiao Di made it a rule to install his WPJAM plugin on every e-commerce website he built, using it to optimize and enhance certain WordPress features. Later, he subscribed to his Knowledge Planet, renewing his subscription once or twice, and tried out all of his plugins.
As his technical knowledge and understanding of WordPress deepened, and as he came across more and more foreign plugins, Xiao Di gradually began to notice the shortcomings—or rather, the limitations—of the Shuizhu Yu plugin.
The negative effects this plugin has had on me seem to be starting to outweigh the positive ones. I’m beginning to wonder: Is there still a need for plugins like WPJAM? Are there any better alternatives?
"Seeing a mountain as not a mountain"—the "Water-Boiled Fish" plugin is hard to describe in a few words.
As Xiao Di’s understanding of WordPress and his website-building skills have improved, the process of building websites has become simpler, while his standards have grown increasingly high. Through long-term use of plugins like WPJAM, he has come to understand some of their bugs and limitations.
At the same time, Xiao Di also discovered many amazing plugins from abroad that are far superior to plugins like WPJAM in every way (for example,ASE Plug-in), I stopped using the "Water-Boiled Fish" plugin. Now, the "Water-Boiled Fish" content on the e-commerce websites we build is零.
What are the drawbacks of the “Boiled Fish” plugin? Here are my personal experiences and opinions—these do not represent objective facts, so please evaluate them carefully. This is for reference only.
Drawback 1: Bulky + Lack of Features
Although Shuizhuoyu is touted for its speed and performance, its plugins aren’t exactly minimalist for us users—they’re a bit bloated in terms of both features and code.
Feature-heavy:Shuizhu Yu mentioned in his article that he developed his plugins specifically for his own projects and themes, and that he just sells them on the side to make a little money; therefore, the plugin bundles are available for download through a paid subscription on Knowledge Planet.
So they add features that most of us don’t need, making the code bloated. Maybe Xiao Di has high standards, or perhaps it’s just a matter of personal preference—there are many features in plugins like WPJAM that we don’t use,
Bloated code:InWPJAM Release NotesAs you can see, every update adds a whole bunch of functions and extensions, many of which have nothing to do with the features we’re currently using—they’re purely for the benefit of his own projects or themes.
Changelog (Includes only the two most recent updates at the time of writing):
7.0
Added Gutenberg Editor component rendering (sidebar/pop-up)
Remove jQuery UI Tabs and use `hashchange` to implement tab switching
For WPJAM_Field checkboxes without options, the type is uniformly set to "toggle."
WPJAM_Field Adds a New "Cascade" Multi-Level Linkage Component
Enable multilingual support and add the wpjam_translate function
A new function, `wpjam_register_widget`, has been added to register widgets.
New functions wpjam_compress and wpjam_uncompress have been added to encrypt and decrypt data
The new wpjam_column function supports retrieving multiple columns
The new function `wpjam_entries` converts an associative array into an indexed array.
The wpjam_chart extension supports various chart operations
New function `wpjam_formula` parses mathematical expressions
New function wpjam_calc for calculating mathematical expressions
Other optimizations and bug fixes
6.9
New function: get_term_level
New function: get_term_depth
New function `wpjam_lines` converts text into an array
A new function, `wpjam_hook`, has been added. Unlike `add_filter` and `add_action`, it supports the `check` and `nonce` parameters.
Added the new function `wpjam_is`, which checks whether the current query is `is_main_query` and also supports checking which pages it applies to.
Added the wpjam_matches function, which supports multi-condition matching detection
Added the functions `current_shortcode` and `doing_shortcode` for retrieving and checking shortcodes.
Added compatibility with PHP 8.5 `array_first` and `array_last`
The wpjam_try and wpjam_catch functions now support the :: and -> notations
The `wpjam_value` function now supports the `model` parameter
The `wpjam_set` function supports adding elements using the [] syntax
list_table_action adds the update_setting function
WPJAM_DB and list_table support search_column
WP_Query Now Supports the `sticky_posts` Parameter
A new `pick` method has been added to `WPJAM_Args`
The `show_in_posts_rest` property has been added to `WPJAM_Taxonomy` and `WPJAM_Meta_Option`
Added the `list_table_load` event to the backend JavaScript
....
Lack of features:This might not exactly be a drawback—everyone has different needs—but let’s call it a shortcoming. Most of the features in Shuizhu Yu plugins are just the bare minimum; they always feel like they’re missing something. In terms of functionality, foreign plugins are much better.
Xiao Di is now using a more feature-richASE、Perfmatters Once these plugins fully replace the “Water-Boiled Fish” plugin, you’ll see just how powerful and effective they are. Don’t worry about speed—Xiao Di has personally tested them and found them to be very fast. This site uses these plugins.
Drawback #2: Constant bugs and slow fixes
As mentioned above, Shuizhu Yu’s plugins were all developed specifically for his own projects and themes. He almost exclusively uses his own plugins and rarely relies on third-party plugins like Elementor or WooCommerce. As a result, he hasn’t thoroughly tested the compatibility of his plugins with some well-known third-party plugins, which has led to numerous bugs.
In particular, it has very poor compatibility with WooCommerce; Xiao Di has reported at least three obvious bugs related to WooCommerce on Knowledge Planet ↓. Eventually, I just got fed up with it and stopped bothering to report them.
After that, "Shuizhu Yu" started using an AI rewriting plugin, and bugs became even more frequent. For a while, there were noticeable bugs in three consecutive version updates. I reported them until my hand went numb—I guess he got tired of me, too.
It’s one thing that there are so many bugs, but it’s another that they’re fixed so slowly—or not at all. At first, they were fixed pretty quickly, but once he started working, his efficiency dropped significantly. Take the WeChat bot bug reported on June 11 shown below, for example—a new version wasn’t released until July 10, and yet the issue shown in the image below still hasn’t been fixed...
He posts on his WeChat Official Account every day on average!This guy would rather spend his time writing articles than fixing bugs. Now that he’s making more money, he looks down on the pittance he makes from selling plugins. Plus, he mentioned in one of his articles that Knowledge Planet’s subscription and renewal numbers have dropped by more than 80% this year, so I guess he couldn’t care less about the plugins anymore.
Here are a few questions we’ve discussed on the “Boiled Fish” Knowledge Planet↓:
Drawback 3: Not powerful enough; there are better alternatives
The "Boiled Fish" plugin started out byNot based on user needs...but it's mainly for personal use—as long as it's good enough—so people often mention on Knowledge Planet that some features aren't quite polished.
Whether a feature is "complete" is a subjective judgment—everyone has different needs. But if there’s a plugin with more powerful features and better results, why not switch to it?
For example, the Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) plugin—you can take a look at itsList of Features/Overview...It's so powerful and comprehensive—one plugin can do the work of 5 or 6 plugins.
Xiao Di uses this ASE plugin for his website. It performs well in terms of speed and other aspects, is stable, offers excellent customer support, fixes bugs quickly, and regularly updates with useful new features. You can enable features as needed. This is exactly what a plugin should be like.
If you can't find a better plugin, developing with AI as described below is also simple and quick.
A mountain is still just a mountain; it’s better to ask AI than to ask people
His "Boiled Fish" technique is impressive, but he isn't a developer who caters to the general public, and his customer service skills are lacking. Selling plugins is just a small side hustle for him—he doesn't even take it seriously himself, so how can I feel confident continuing to use his plugins?
We have to admit that Shuizhu Yu’s technology and plugins are quite good, and there are things we can learn from them. Let’s not dwell on its shortcomings or expect it to meet all our requirements. Let’s understand and accept it, and move forward by getting past this hurdle.
In addition to the options mentioned above—such as using plugins like ASE as alternatives to "water-boiled fish" plugins—you can alsoYou can use AI to develop plugins with the same functionality.. AI is now incredibly powerful and mature when it comes to plugin development; even beginners can use AI to develop plugins that are just as good as those created by Shuozhuoyu.
The EdgeOne Purger plugin was developed by my friend Xiao Li using DeepSeek. It works fine, but it has a few minor flaws, and there are some areas where it doesn’t quite meet my needs. After I made too many requests, Xiao Li went on strike and refused to make any more changes—haha—so I decided to modify it myself.
Xiao Di uses onlyChatGPT 5.5 Based onEdgeOne Purger PluginWe've developed a brand-new CDN cleanup plugin that offers improved speed and performance, a cleaner interface, and enhanced security. We've fixed numerous bugs, removed several unnecessary features, and achieved better results.
Here are some of the parts I optimized ↓
I sent the plugin’s ZIP installation package to Codex Software and asked them to enhance its features and optimize its performance according to my specifications. The software automatically unpacks the files, reads and modifies them, and generates a new ZIP installation package for me, which I can upload and install right away.
That's right—it's that simple! And that fast! Optimizing the plugin only cost me a few yuan worth of tokens (to purchase a reliable proxy API)! It’s better to rely on AI than on other people—in the age of AI, there’s no need to depend on others anymore. Just do it yourself!
Recommended useCodexWith software like this, you can read and export local ZIP installation packages. Just look up tutorial links for the latest GPT and Claude models, spend some time learning, and in three days you’ll be able to create something just as good as plugins like Shuizhuoyu!
You can also modify the "Water-Boiled Fish" plugin installation package or create a new plugin based on it (licensed under the GPL; this is legal for research and educational purposes). Just send the ZIP installation package to Codex, clearly explain your requirements, and they’ll modify it and provide you with a new installation package—then simply upload and install it.
No further updates are needed; security and other aspects are already solid. If any bugs arise or features need to be adjusted in the future, just have the AI handle the optimization. If a conversation is lost, simply start a new one, provide it with the reinstallation package, and clearly outline your requirements.
Beyond every mountain lies another; choice matters more than effort. Don’t get bogged down by the mountain right in front of you—keep moving forward.
Goodbye, Boiled Fish—let’s say a proper farewell. (Music begins to play) The river of time flows into the sea, and finally, we go our separate ways...
2 thoughts on “为啥我不再使用任何水煮鱼插件, 见山不是山, 见山还是山”
Well said. I don't use the "Water-Boiled Fish" plugin anymore either—AI-generated code is the best!
It's better to rely on AI than on other people