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Using a class autoloader to improve WordPress development

Author

Josh Pollock

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Community

Published

January 20, 2015

3 Comments

Over the last few articles I’ve been looking at the benefits of using class autoloaders and namespaces in PHP. Despite the clear benefits of using these features, WordPress developers tend to shy away from them. One of the big reasons for this is because of WordPress’ continued support of PHP 5.2, which reached its end of life years ago. Class autoloaders have been available in various forms since before PHP 5.3. However, the more up-to-date class autoloader — as is generally used in PHP development — require namespaces, a feature added in PHP 5.3. In this article, I will show […]

Measuring key marketing metrics for your WordPress site

Author

Nick Schäferhoff

Filed Under

Community

Published

January 19, 2015

No Comments

We are living in a world where almost anything can be put into numbers. We have people measure their sleep quality, fitness level, even their happiness. Death by data overkill? No problem. However, no matter where you stand concerning the quantified self movement, there are areas where this kind of vigilance is important, even essential. Running a website is such an example, where measuring key marketing metrics is of utmost importance. At the same time, it is also an area in which you can track pretty much everything and create an almost infinite set of data points. How do you […]

Why And How To Use Class Autoloading and Namespacing To Improve WordPress Development

Author

Josh Pollock

Filed Under

Community

Published

January 6, 2015

6 Comments

Chris Aprea recently wrote a great post on why WordPress’ (continued) support of unsupported versions of PHP, especially PHP 5.2, is preventing WordPress developers from taking full advantage of the way the language has evolved over the last 8 years or so. Two of the best features in PHP, which WordPress developers have generally shied away from since they were not fully supported by PHP 5.2, are SPL autoloaders and namespacing. These two complementary features make it easier to use small, more manageable, and more easily reusable classes. Technically, PHP has had autoloading since 5.0, but the addition of namespacing […]

WordPress Highlights from 2014

Author

Marie Dodson

Filed Under

Community, Featured

Published

December 31, 2014

1 Comment

It’s been a great year for Torque Magazine — filled with plugin reviews, business development, WordPress releases, interviews, and more. Let’s take a look at some of Torque’s most popular articles in 2014! WordPress mobile 2014 was a big year for mobile devices in WordPress land. The year kicked off with a the release of AppPresser — the first mobile application framework for WordPress. The theme of WordPress mobile gained momentum throughout the year. . . Torque even went mobile: You can read about the official app (made with AppPresser’s Reactor service) here. Here are some of the top WordPress mobile articles on Torque in 2014: Yes, you really can use WordPress […]

Google’s Anti-Spam Strategy: No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA

Author

Shaun Quarton

Filed Under

Community, Featured

Published

December 30, 2014

23 Comments

If you’ve spent any amount of time online, it’s likely you’ve been asked to solve a CAPTCHA to verify you are, in fact, a human – this is the awkward-looking, distorted text you have to squint really hard at to solve! And, if you’re anything like me, you probably fail this test more often than not. Google is in a catch-22 situation, really: We all hate CAPTCHA, but we hate spam more. Without CAPTCHAs the Internet would be rife with bots spamming and stealing data from websites. CAPTCHAs aren’t perfect, but they’re an extra anti-spam measure, and a small price to […]

Which WordPress events will you attend in 2015?

Author

Shaun Quarton

Filed Under

Community, Events, Featured

Published

December 23, 2014

No Comments

WordPress really is an amazing platform, with a huge wealth of online information to help newbie users quickly become competent — there are a number of great resources out there, including the one you’re reading now! As great as the online material is, nothing beats attending a WordPress event, though. Not only do you get a rare opportunity to learn from the industry leaders in person, but you also get the chance to meet and collaborate with like-minded people. This makes them great places to learn the information needed to become a proficient WordPress user, launch a WordPress-related business, or […]

WordSesh 3: Interview with co-organizer Scott Basgaard

Author

Marie Dodson

Filed Under

Community, Events

Published

December 18, 2014

No Comments

Let the countdown begin! There’s less than 24 hours left until the third annual WordSesh, a much anticipated online event that live-streams WordPress presentations for 24 consecutive hours. And, best of all, you can watch it free from anywhere in the world. This article broadly discusses the accessibility issue with WordCamps, Meetups, etc., and talks about the future of online conferences and WordSesh, in particular. Greater accessibility There are various reasons why one may be unable to attend a WordCamp, Meetup, or other WordPress event. WordSesh eliminates many of these barriers, because it is both free and easily accessible, with one basic requirement: an internet connection. You don’t even […]

100 WordPress Influencers to Follow in 2015

Author

Syed Waseem Abbas

Filed Under

Community, Featured

Published

December 17, 2014

51 Comments

2015 is looming near, and there are a lot of expectations from the new WordPress releases in the pipeline. With the ever-increasing popularity and demand, it is anticipated that the year 2015 will see a complete overhaul in the WordPress ecosystem, with WordPress becoming a truly responsive application framework. Surely, there will be progress on the core coding practices, with new plugins and themes being developed by the core development team. Three people who inspired us all with their unrelenting and untiring efforts to make WordPress a huge success in 2014 are: Andrew Nacin (Lead for WordPress 3.9) Helen Hou-Sandi […]

Interview with Vladimir Prelovac

Author

Marie Dodson

Filed Under

Community, Featured

Published

December 16, 2014

3 Comments

The growing number of plugins is part of what makes WordPress so appealing. There’s literally a WordPress plugin for everything; from contact forms, to security, to holiday snow. That being said, entering into the world of WordPress plugins may be challenging, particularly if you haven’t already established yourself as a leading plugin author. Today, Vladimir Prelovac, the brains behind ManageWP, announced the release of the Plugin Discovery Tool on ManageWP.org, a tool that will increase the discoverability of new plugins and plugin authors. Torque reached out to Vladimir Prelovac to learn more about his journey, his new plugin discovery tool, and future initiatives for ManageWP. Torque: […]

How blogging is reshaping the connection between farm and fork

Author

George Lawton

Filed Under

Community, Featured

Published

December 12, 2014

No Comments

Our fascination with food and where it comes from is helping to drive somewhat of a revolution in food choices and our ability to connect with the farmers that grow them. Food-oriented blogs run by farmers, distributors, packers, and food aficionados and the content syndication infrastructure they allow are helping to better connect the dots from farm-to-fork. This has profound implications for food safety, improving brands, and increasing awareness of the use and nutritional properties of food. Rob Trice, an AgTech venture capitalist and Co-founder of The Mixing Bowl said: “Farm-to-fork is about understanding where your food is coming from […]

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