In our usual fashion we’re collecting and sharing with you guys some of the news that came through our channels (and that darn Submit News button) that we weren’t able to cover in the past week – there are always great stories and great WordPress-centric content that still deserves a bit of attention.
Last week there was a lot of feedback about the style of which we present this information – such as removing the pagination and changing the order of images with titles (thanks @ChrisWallace, @Norcross, @Drewapicture and others.
Those were great suggestions and so we’ll test it out on this post and see how our readers like it.
1. WordPress News Sites and the Bermuda Triangle
Jeffro over at WPTavern has spoken a lot of wisdom around a number of things that we here at WP Daily have been wrestling with and it’s worth a read.
Many of us in the WordPress community has seen the rise and subsequent fall of many WordPress news sites. We don’t have to necessarily name them (Jeffro does though) but it’s a shame to see such great sites be lost in the shuffle due to increased demands on the founders and the inability to monetize them successfully.
We know this all-too-well and that’s why we didn’t entertain the challenge of a news / editorial site unless we had both a winning strategy, the money to make it happen, and a team that wouldn’t back down. These are our greatest advantages to start but it’ll take much more to make it successful long-term.
But even our first month or so has shown some incredibly-positive results as we’ve had tons of guest authors, a growing community, and we don’t have the pressure of making a buck every single post. Sure, we want to make it profitable and make sense (cents) long-term, but that wasn’t why we started it in the first place. Even our community in our last Contributor Google Hangout meeting this past week brought up monetization because they are smart enough to know that if this doesn’t work then everyone loses.
Thanks Jeffro for voicing obvious concerns that exist in our community and we love all the feedback we’re getting to make this work. We will survive and we won’t back down.
2. Soliloquy’s 2012 Reflections
Thomas reflects on how the last year has been for his slider-based business. I love this honesty and a look behind the curtain!
3. WordPress.tv Updating Process, Requirements
The group that oversees WordPress.tv has begun to lock-in some better requirements for videos as well as a better process for uploading and managing the overall system. For example:
- To increase the usefulness of the content we publish, we now include full text descriptions as well as links to relavent content, such as source code and presentation slides, with every video we publish. Sometimes this is easy, and sometimes a little sleuthing is required.
- At times we have also (sadly) had to make the call to not publish videos. This does not happen often, but we want to put the quality of the videos we publish first and foremost, which makes for some tough decisions. It’s never a good feeling to hold back great information due to technical problems such as weak audio, poor video, etc.
- We have started creating (and need to finish) a set of guidelines/approval standards for videos that we can pass on to WordCamp organizers; hopefully this will reduce the number of submissions we reject due to technical problems and lead to a higher quality experience overall.
- Create process documents for the day-to-day stuff we do; an instruction manual on how to be a mod, if you will. As WordCamps grow worldwide, the need for moderators can only increase, and we want to be sure we’ve got good materials ready for that eventuality.
4. Sliders Suck?
A thoughtful dialogue about the existence of sliders in today’s design economy.
5. Detect Plugins on a WordPress Site
Ever want to know what’s underneath the hood of a WordPress-powered site? Use this Google Chrome extension or Firefox extension.
6. WP Explorer’s Design Trends of 2013
WP Explorer sticks their neck out to share what they think will be the hot trends of 2013.
Many authors are providing support on their own properties instead of on WP.org. Here’s how you do it.
8. Resolving Multisite Redirect Loop
Tom helps you figure out that issue that you were having with MU… like we were in some of our tests for a new hosted solution. What!
9. Getting Started with WooCommerce
Love this via Tutsplus!
10. Optimize Your Site via A/B Testing
Noupe shows you how:
11. Increase Traffic via Video
WPBeginner has a great overview of how video can impact your traffic.
12. WP_Query: A Lesson via Smashing Magazine
WP_Query is a powerful class. Did you know? Yes? Good. If not, here’s your primer and/or review.
13. UX Mag Shares Thoughts on Speech Recognition
Not related to WordPress directly but worth a read about some of the advancements going on around us in terms of usability. Fascinating stuff to think about in terms of how we build WordPress products and core.
14. Pricing Mistakes with Virtual Products
And incredible article about pricing mistakes that can be made for virtual products. This is really a must-read type of post!
A primer and review of some of the most important parts of a website:
16. Data Sanitation and Why It Matters
17. Max Buttons – Everything for $100!
Get it while it’s super-hot!
18. What Will Happen To Max Foundry?
Dave Donaldson shares some really candid thoughts on what it’s like to run an online business and the challenges of making it work.
I love this honesty and perspective. Dave’s got a few posts now sharing his thoughts so it’s worth perusing the archives.
19. Interface Concepts for Modern eCommerce Web Design
This overview might be a good place for those who are interested in studying up on some best practices for eCommerce site design.
20. Mobile Book Review (via Smashing Magazine and Noel Tock)
Looking to go mobile? This book might help as well as Noel’s review.
21. Page.ly’s New Affiliate Program
Wanna earn some cash? Might want to check out Pagely’s new program.
22. Frank: Free WordPress Theme via Smashing Magazine
Sweet! Live Demo right here!
23. What’s the Catch with WordPress Being Free?
Many of us hire sub-contractors to get stuff done whether it’s client work or even for our own stuff. Some pros and cons of doing this are mentioned here.
25. Manage WP Turns 1 Year Old!
Congrats guys! Here’s to year 2!
26. The Evolution of Responsive Design
27. Interviews with Isaac Keyet and Brad Williams
Sweet interviews over at WP Engine!
28. Bitnami Stack for WordPress
BitNami Stack for WordPress provides a pre-configured version of WordPress and all of its required dependencies.
29. VaultPress Opens the Doors for Access
You can now let other WordPress.com users access your dash. Sweet!
A collection of useful data about iOS devices and things you have to keep in mind when designing something for iOS!
So, what did we miss?
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