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Torque
Since
June 28, 2018

Tom Rankin

Tom Rankin is a key member of WordCandy, a musician, photographer, vegan, beard owner, and (very) amateur coder. When he's not doing any of these things, he's likely sleeping.

How to Develop a Strong Internal Linking Structure for Your Website (4 Key Tips)

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Community

Published

February 25, 2019

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We’re willing to bet that you’re always on the lookout for ways to drive more traffic to your site. In addition, keeping that traffic around long enough to experience a solid chunk of your content is vital. However, it can be a challenge to find easy ways to accomplish both of those goals. While there are plenty of ways to attract traffic in WordPress, developing a strong internal linking structure is one of the best. In a nutshell, this means linking to your own pages and content in a way that performs well on search engines and encourages visitors to […]

Client Onboarding: A Primer for Working on Hassle-Free Projects

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Tools

Published

February 18, 2019

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All WordPress developers want their projects to run stress-free. While you can’t guarantee that throughout the entire project, you can manage things more smoothly by onboarding your clients carefully. This is a step that many developers skip over, mainly because it involves a lot of work and patience. However, onboarding is vital, especially for large projects where the final product is likely to be used by a lot of people. It helps everyone get on the same page about what the project will involve and what’s required to get it done. In this post, we’ll look at what client onboarding […]

How to Maintain Your WordPress Plugin After It’s Published

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Community

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February 11, 2019

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In the past, we’ve discussed how to get started with WordPress plugin development. However, what happens after your plugin is finished and in the hands of users? Of course, your job is far from done at that point, as it’s important to maintain your plugin after launch. After all, you’ll want to make sure that anyone who downloads and installs your plugin can use it effectively. What’s more, keeping your plugin secure and compatible with recent versions of WordPress is also a key consideration. This will ensure that it remains relevant over time, and doesn’t have a negative impact on […]

Why Chatbots Are Not a Dying Trend (And What That Means for You)

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Community

Published

February 4, 2019

3 Comments

Are chatbots on the way out? Some seem to think so, declaring the concept a passing fad that never lived up to its potential. However, while it’s true that chatbots have seen a slump in popularity over the past few years, they’re not even close to going away. Given the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the popularity of automating ‘mundane’ tasks in general, many people have begun to rely heavily on algorithms to streamline their workflows. It comes as no surprise that a lot of developers dislike dealing with customer support, for example, so a chatbot can be a […]

How to Keep Your Site Secure Using a Web Application Firewall (WAF)

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Security

Published

January 28, 2019

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If there’s one phrase more prevalent than ‘website security‘ in the conversations about running a WordPress site, we’re yet to find it. You may already know the ins and outs of protecting your site using security plugins. However, that’s not the only step you can take, especially if you want to leave no stone unturned when it comes to locking down your site. For instance, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) is a vital tool for ensuring that your site can stand up to malicious users and bots. However, on many sites, it’s either not implemented in the most optimal way […]

7 Things You Should Look for in a Managed WordPress Hosting Provider

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Community

Published

January 21, 2019

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Which web host to choose is an important question for the majority of new site owners (not to mention some experienced ones). This is because there are so many to choose from, and many questions that need to be answered to find the best option. It can leave you looking to simple, yet restrictive solutions such as ‘site builder’ websites – and they’re not usually cut out for decidedly ‘pro’ use. Fortunately, self-hosted WordPress is easy to install, the hosting options are plentiful and powerful, and what’s more, you always control (and own) every aspect of your site. Even better, […]

Can You Create a Functional (and Effective) Website Without Spending a Dollar?

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Community

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January 14, 2019

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It’s said that nothing tastes as good as free, but is it really possible to get a website up and running without spending any money at all? This is a common question – for both beginners and experts to site development. In fact, there are plenty of tools, platforms, and services that offer completely free services. Usually, they’re of a lower-tier, designed to entice you into parting with your cash for upgraded functionality. However, that doesn’t mean they’re not sufficient for many types of projects. In this article, we’ll discuss how far free will get you when it comes to […]

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP): A 2019 Primer

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Community

Published

January 8, 2019

6 Comments

Mobile browsing has become the primary way most people use the internet. As such, any developer who’s not taking a mobile-first approach is likely going to let their clients down. Fortunately, if you’re new to mobile-first development, there are plenty of easy solutions you can put in place. One of the most important is Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). We’ve talked about this subject previously on the blog, but three years down the line, it’s time to revisit the topic and look at how the technology has evolved. In this post, we’ll look at AMP and why it matters in more detail. […]

A Developer’s Guide to Varying Vagrant Vagrants (VVV)

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Beginners

Published

January 7, 2019

2 Comments

When developing for WordPress, it’s important to have the best tools at your disposal. Arguably, the process starts with a solid local development environment. However, there are now plenty of additional solutions for getting your project up and running quickly. Whether you’re creating a theme, working on a plugin, or contributing to WordPress core, Varying Vagrant Vagrants (VVV) can help you out. It’s a command-line tool with a browser-based dashboard, offering development flexibility. It’s also WordPress-approved, so learning it now could serve you well in the long run. In this article, we’ll introduce you to VVV, explain what it is, […]

A New Developer’s Guide to Creating Blocks

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Beginners

Published

January 7, 2019

1 Comment

If you keep up with the latest WordPress developments, you’ll know that the Block Editor has already landed. This packs a punch with its block-based system, but it’s still missing many options we’d like to see. As developers put out new block-based plugins, it should become easier to find the ones you need. For now, however, the landscape is a bit bare. In other words, if you want to add specific functionality to the Block Editor, you may need to learn how to create your own blocks. This isn’t too difficult, and you’ll be able to use those blocks to add bespoke […]

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