Description
NOTE: If you’re looking for something more user-focused, take a look at OrganizeWP which is complete rethinking of Hierarchy!
Custom Post Types (sometimes) need context, Hierarchy allows you to rework your content management workflow by essentially moving Custom Post Type admin menus into your Pages list. What this does is mimic the navigation you’ve set up on your site by placing Custom Post Type edit links amongst your Pages where they belong.
» Check out the screenshots to see Hierarchy in action
Hierarchy removes unnecessary entries from the Admin Menu and instead injects theme where appropriate amongst your Pages, grouping everything under a single ‘Content’ Admin Menu entry.
Custom Post Types NEED context
Custom Post Types are great, but the editing workflow can be improved. Adding a Custom Post Type likely results in another WordPress admin sidebar menu, abstracting the management of that content from the main organization of your site, Pages. Hierarchy intelligently extends your Pages menu by including your Custom Post Type admin links within the Page structure, allowing for a much more natural workflow when managing your content.
Examples
Chances are you’ve customized your Front page displays setting to display a static page instead of your latest blog posts. Now you’ve got a sidebar link to manage your Posts and a WordPress Page called “Blog” that sites in your list of Pages doing absolutely nothing. Hierarchy remedies both problems by converting the “Blog” page link to be one that lists your Posts. It also hides the Posts sidebar entry (if you want it to).
It’s also likely that you’re utilizing Custom Post Types to power sections of your website, but it’s awkward to manage the content of an internal section of your website using the main WordPress admin sidebar links to your Custom Post Type. Hierarchy will allow you to hide those sidebar links and instead nest them amongst your Pages, providing contextual links to manage the content of your Custom Post Types.
More information
If you’d like a lot more information on the implementation and workflow changes, check out the screenshots and please see the introduction and the follow-up for 1.0.