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How To Get Your Blog Everywhere Like The Force Awakens Merch

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Community, Featured

Published

October 13, 2015

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Did you participate in Force Friday? I know all of that new Star Wars merchandise came out over a month ago now, but there was something noteworthy about the whole product rollout that’s been sticking with me. No, not BB-8. Though that was undeniably cool, too. What I want to talk about is the way Disney decided to put Star Wars absolutely everywhere. This was not a quiet launch. This wasn’t just a few things in a few stores. This was a massive, you’ll know about all the new Star Wars loot even if you’re asleep sort of reveal and […]

5 Of The Top WordPress Podcasts And Why You Should Listen To Them

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Community, Featured

Published

October 12, 2015

5 Comments

Podcasts are very clearly on the rise. A study done by Marketing Podcasts revealed that iTunes has over a quarter of a million podcasts on it, up from 200,000 in 2010. In fact, iTunes boasts of a billion subscriptions to various podcasts via its app. What’s more, roughly 30% of all Americans have listened to a podcast, and 15% have listened to at least one within the past month. So evidently, podcasts are fast becoming a preferred way to digest content — and the trend is no different in the WordPress industry. Not only are there many different podcast networks […]

What Will WordPress Be Like In Next 10 Years?

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Published

October 8, 2015

38 Comments

Gone are the days when people used to say that WordPress is just another CMS.  In 2003, I’m sure even Matt Mullenweg didn’t expect that WordPress would grow to power more than 24% of the Internet. Since its release, WordPress has cultivated a growing community of enthusiasts, users, and developers. It is a recent trendsetter in work ethics and principles, where people are making contributions in the form of plugins, themes, frameworks, and more. WordPress was about five years old when I first learned about it. During the seven years I’ve been a part of this community, I’ve seen people selflessly […]

Using The Symfony Router For A WordPress Front-end

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Published

October 7, 2015

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WordPress provides a solid foundation from which we can explore seemingly endless opportunities. Even when I was totally new to PHP development, I was still able to conduct experiments using WordPress. This got me started as a developer and in turn helped me learn PHP and JavaScript. Before last summer, I had no experience working with RESTful APIs. But then I got introduced to the WordPress REST API, and suddenly had a good way (and reason) to learn how to use RESTful APIs. That’s what I love so much about WordPress. Recently I’ve been teaching myself to use the Symfony router […]

10 Mobile Testing Tools For Your WordPress Website

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October 6, 2015

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It’s no secret that mobile traffic is a force to be reckoned with. In recent years, the number of mobile Internet users has surpassed that of desktop users. By now, more than one-third of Internet consumption happens via phones, tablets, and other mobile devices. In some cases, these numbers are even higher. In the USA, for example, mobile devices account for more than half of all digital media consumption. It is, therefore, no wonder that mobile capabilities of websites have become a ranking factor in Google as evidenced by the “mobile-friendly” tag in the SERPs. The conclusion: As a WordPress […]

Find Your Point Of Differentiation… And Find Success

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Published

October 5, 2015

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Let’s do a quick exercise together. Open up a text document, or grab a pen and paper. Now write down answers to the following two questions: What makes you different from your competitors? If I were a potential customer, why would I hire you over anyone else? If you struggle a bit answering this, you’re not alone. Most business owners and freelancers have trouble answering this. And those who do have an answer, their element of differentiation is usually not strong enough to sway customers to their business. If you don’t have as many customers as you’d like, and find […]

Habits, Skills, And Tools Of 10 World-Class WordPress Developers

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Published

October 1, 2015

7 Comments

WordPress has revolutionized the way we think about websites. These days, with a little bit of effort, anyone can learn to build a WordPress site and extend it to fit their needs. The tools are readily available in the form of the WordPress platform itself as well as themes and plugin. Many of us have probably thought about “going pro” at some point. To leave the realm of the WordPress aficionado, site builder, and hobbyist behind to write plugins, build themes, contribute to the WordPress core, be one of those people behind all the software us mortals use on a daily […]

What Happens At WordCamp Vegas, Hopefully Won’t Stay In Vegas

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Community, Events, Featured

Published

September 30, 2015

3 Comments

A few weekends ago I attended WordCamp Las Vegas. I had a great time, made new friends, learned some new things, and managed to keep my gambling losses to $50. In this article, I’d like to share a little bit about WordCamp Las Vegas — especially some of the unique things I’d like to see more of at other WordCamps. After the event, I spoke with organizer Russell Aaron about what motivated him to deviate from the traditional WordCamp format. WordCamp Las Vegas didn’t follow the traditional track styles most WordCamps adhere to, and, unlike most WordCamps, it also ended […]

10 Of The Best WooCommerce Extensions

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Published

September 28, 2015

1 Comment

WooCommerce, as you probably know, is easily the most popular free eCommerce plugin for WordPress. It’s accrued nearly 10 million downloads (currently it sits at 988K downloads) and it boasts a 4.5-star rating on WordPress.org, with 1000+ reviews. The plugin was officially launched on September 27, 2011, which makes it just about four years old, to the day! Now, although the basic WooCommerce plugin is totally free (no strings attached), you do have the option to extend its functionality using one of the 350+ extensions. In fact, if your goal for your e-store is to reach enterprise levels, then it’s […]

5 Books Every Business Owner And Freelancer Should Read

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Community, Featured

Published

September 25, 2015

2 Comments

A great book will teach you a new skill, inspire you, or expose you to opposing ideas. Even better: it will do all three at the same time. An important aspect of being a smart business owner or freelancer is educating yourself. And second to first hand experience is learning from other business owners. Below are five books that have inspired, educated, and challenged me to become a better business owner and freelancer. 1. The Goal: A Process Of Ongoing Improvement Admittedly, this is one of the most boring book covers ever. But remember, never judge a book by its cover. Within […]

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