Anyone who has been using WordPress for a while has probably had at least one case where an update or change didn’t work out as planned, and you had to revert to backups. Or maybe you want to try some development on your site and need the results to be live on the internet. Whatever the reason, when creating a clone of your website to be hosted at another address (for example test.website.com, next to website.com) you have probably followed the Codex page on moving your site and spent some time changing the configuration and searching and replacing the old URL […]
Responsive vs. Adaptive Design
Nowadays, internet access is not limited to just laptops or desktop computers. Instead, with the advent of mobile devices, more and more users are accessing the internet using a diverse array of gadgets—and screen resolutions. As a result, the importance of having a website that performs well across multiple devices, like smartphones and tablets, cannot be stressed enough. And when it comes to creating a website that looks great across these different devices, there are two major approaches: responsive design and adaptive design. In this article, I’ll be taking a look at the benefits and drawbacks of both these approaches. […]
Confessions of a Reluctant GoDaddy Customer
Yesterday, I did the unthinkable. I signed up for a year of GoDaddy hosting on their least expensive (shared) plan. The account is for testing and would hardly qualify as noteworthy, except when viewed through the lens of my background. Let me explain. A couple years ago I left the fixed hardware world, better known as shared, VPS, and dedicated servers, and set sail for the lush beaches of cloud services. During that time, and continuing today, I worked almost exclusively with Amazon Web Services, Rackspace Public Cloud, and VMware vCloud. It’s been quite a while since I had to […]
The Year Without Pants: Reviewed
I discovered this eye-catching book amidst my mail, and of course it sparked instant curiosity. A bright red book with a suggestive cover…who wouldn’t push their boring bills aside to further investigate? First Impressions I have to admit, American Apparel is what immediately came to mind. An urban art school grad, I’m among American Apparel’s prime demographic, so the fact that I instantly thought of the overpriced hipster brand speaks more to the brand’s aggressive (though clearly effective) marketing than to the design of the book cover. But many WordPress users are in this same cultural sphere, subjected to the same references, so it’s worth […]
3 Metrics for WordPress Startups
I don’t know if you’ve ever visited Boston or Cambridge. I’ve been out to the area several times and other than where I live (San Diego), it’s my favorite part of the country. One of my favorite things to see there happens on the Charles River. Wake up early enough and you’ll notice rowers out on the river, working in tandem to move up or downstream. Only a couple of years ago did I get curious about how they do what they do. After all, I think it’s the only sport where people cross the finish line looking backwards. Right? […]
20 Best “Flat” Themes
Any design puritan will tell you: there is no such entity as “flat design.” At best, it can be described as minimalism, accompanied by a flat look and feel, which is more a matter of aesthetics than anything else. However, even if it be mere aesthetics, flat design has recently gained a good deal of momentum in web design. More and more websites are now shifting towards flat design. Naturally, WordPress theme makers too are not lagging behind. In this roundup, we shall be taking a look at 20 amazing premium WordPress themes that are sporting a “flat” look and […]
WordPress Search, Better
When it comes to search, WordPress isn’t always the best tool right out of the box. It’s a problem that the WordPress team is aware of, but a tough one to solve. By default, any pages featuring a searched keyword will be listed in results by date order, not by relevance. It can get the job done, but it’s far from the best solution. I recently heard about the premium plugin SearchWP, which aims to improve this. It has a simple tagline: The Best WordPress Search Plugin You Can Find Bold, perhaps, but it has all the signs of a […]
The Cost of Support
As a human-type, I like things like food, clothing, shelter…and coding. Although it would be nice to live in a cave, throwing pointy sticks at other members of the food chain, my family—and stomach—may grow impatient. So instead, I am a developer. I do have my own little cave where I chip away at the code that is my livelihood, like my Neanderthal ancestors chipping away at an obsidian blade. He was a specialist too, cousin Og. Making blades, spear points and other hurty-type tools for his clan. I wonder though, when someone came to him and said, “Hey, that knife you […]
Episode #24: DradGram – Be the Cloud
Show Notes Host The guest host of Episode #24 was Cody Landefeld of codyL. Contact him on Twitter. What were they sippin’ on? Dre and Cody were sippin’ on water. Brad was sippin’ a chub soda. How did the host get into WordPress? Cody has been building websites since about 2000. Cody was always drawn to design, but he learned to code out of necessity. Cody has brought great developers into his company to create the perfect harmony of code and design. CodyL has been around for a while now, has 5-6 people, and is looking to expand. Pressing Topics […]
Your Ultimate Guide to Planning a WordCamp
Put a bunch of developers in a room, provide food and wi-fi, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist (although one might be present) to conclude that tech conferences can be both fun and educational. However, it’s a different story for someone to actually want to start and organize a conference. You’ll need a desire and understanding of the many moving parts. Planning a big event is stressful; it’s not for the faint of heart. That’s what I realized about 4 years ago when I (along with a few others) wanted to bring a WordCamp to Florida. Fast forward to 2013 and […]

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