Settings options not showing up on Sub Menu page in WordPress plugin?

How does one make a WordPress plugin settings available on the front end?

• For example: Most WP plugins come with a settings page in /wp-admin/. Is there a way to bring these settings to the front end with a shortcode on a page or code I can use in a page template so I can create http://mysite.com/plugin-settings/ and keep my branding without using the default WP admin backend?

• Answer:

  Yes, it's possible. I wouldn't want to do it without some kind of privacy wall (membership, etc), but it does sounds like you've considered that already. All that's really needed is that you hook into the WordPress http://codex.wordpress.org/Settings_API -- while that usually happens on the admin side (as usually via http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/add_menu_page), you don't need to use an admin page for it, and you could, instead, hook your options page into a shortcode to display on the front end (or a page template, or whatever). All an admin page does is submit a form that posts to yourdomain/options.php -- as long as the user can submit that form (and, presumably, has rights/capabilities to view it, which they would unless you wrapped it in a check for user roles/capabilities), it doesn't matter where the form is on the site. I should note, however, that if this is actually a plugin settings page, then anyone who has access to that page can change the global settings for that plugin. So, if you had a plugin that allows custom CSS and user A adds some CSS, user B can come along, remove that CSS and add new CSS. If what you're trying to do is give some user preferences, or hook into the user profile on the front end, that's a different thing (and also possible).