When you’re a newly minted WordPress developer, you are met with many challenges, but perhaps most taxing is, where to look for new clients. It can be a challenge of epic and perplexing proportions. So it probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that so many new developers feel compelled to work for free. It happens to a lot of developers in the beginning of their careers, judging from the results for the exact phrase search “should you work for free”: The solution to the “work for free” quandary really boils down to how you answer three simple questions: How do so many […]
9 Popular Managements Solutions for WordPress
Managing multiple WordPress websites can be a challenge for even the most seasoned WordPress users. With a management solution, however, the process is streamlined. Making it easier than ever to manage all of your sites from one central location. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular solutions. InfiniteWP InfiniteWP is a management solution for WordPress websites that works from your own servers. Thus, you download and host InfiniteWP from your own server and run it therein. Unlike ManageWP, InfiniteWP does not operate remotely from its own cloud clusters. The feature set is pretty standard, including backup and […]
Static Methods As A Solution For Cross-Cutting Concerns In WordPress
I’ve written a lot recently on object-oriented programming (OOP) for PHP development. One of the things I’ve tried to stress is that using classes doesn’t make code OOP and it doesn’t always use it better. OOP involves using classes to create reusable objects. Too often we use classes as collections of namespaced functions, missing the point of OOP. But, that doesn’t mean all code has to be “true OOP.” No one goes to your website or loads your app and says “dang, that’s some true OOP.” They care that it works and is performant. As a developer, these are your […]
Designing Better WordPress Database Abstractions Using Dependency Injection
For the last couple weeks, I’ve talked about creating database abstractions. In the first article, I spoke about the need for creating a high-level API, on top of standard WordPress APIs to act as a CRUD interface for your projects. The second was about using classes with all static methods for validation and storage of options. In part three, I want to talk about dependency injection and illustrate the value of this concept by offering a different way to create a database abstraction than I did before. What I showed in the last article works for its purpose. But, that […]
The Pros and Cons Of Pop-Ups
Ah, the eternal question: To pop-up, or not to pop-up? All apologies to Hamlet, but this question just became critical, thanks to Google’s recent announcement that it’ll begin penalizing sites for certain types of pop-up ads. If you missed this announcement, or if you caught it but are wringing your hands trying to decide what to do about it, this article is for you. The Details Of Google’s New Pop-up Penalty The official announcement states that Google will begin docking sites with certain pop-ups — what they call “intrusive interstitials” — that make the underlying content less accessible. What does […]
Using Static Methods & Late Static Bindings In Your Database Abstractions
In some cases, creating classes that produce objects for working with a specific item, like an order in an eCommerce store, are perfect. You create one class and instantiate a new object every time you need it. Conversely, some data, like a plugin’s options, really only need one “store.” This is a perfect use for a class with all of the static methods. In this article, I will show you how to build a database abstraction for options used in a plugin or theme and provide an example of when a class with all static methods is useful and explain late static […]
Basics Of Creating A WordPress Landing Page
Landing pages are single web pages designed to persuade a viewer to do one thing, and one thing only. What that “one thing” is can vary quite a bit, but two of the most common purposes include persuading a visitor to opt-in to an email list or sign up for a free trial of a product or service. If you’re ready to incorporate landing pages into your content marketing mix but don’t know where to start, this article is for you. Let’s begin! 1. Study Effective Landing Pages And Learn What Makes Them Work One of the best things you […]
Is Your Site Translation-Ready? Here’s How to Tell
Pop quiz: Out of the ten countries that search most often for “WordPress themes,” what’s the highest rank achieved by an English-speaking country? We’ll just tell you: it’s the United States, and it comes in 9th. In fact, the English-language version doesn’t even make up half of all WordPress core-file downloads. Of course, these facts shouldn’t be terribly surprising, since English is far from the most commonly-spoken language in the world. It’s third, behind Mandarin and Spanish. One reason why WordPress is so popular all around the globe is its availability in so many different languages. In 2014, the number […]
How To Customize The WordPress Login Page
Even after working with WordPress for a long while, many people are still surprised to learn that the backend of their website is just as customizable as the front and that none of the things they take for granted are really set in stone. We ‘ve covered this a bit in how to customize the WordPress dashboard and customizing the WordPress editor. Today we want to continue with this theme by turning to another internal page users interact with on a daily basis — the login page. Just like other parts of WordPress, we can completely customize the login page. First, we […]
5 WordPress Themes For Musicians
In this day and age, getting your music online is imperative to your success as a musician. Sure, you can use Bandcamp or Facebook, but you can’t use those sites to sell merchandise or layout a full concert schedule. If you’re serious about making a name for yourself, you’re going to need a website and WordPress is your best bet. There’s a countless number of themes created specifically for musicians and artists. Instead of trying to embed a new song, these themes come with audio players, which can be easily changed and updated. Want to drop a surprise weekend album like […]
1 Comment
Join the conversation