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This week’s round-up of WordPress news, views and reviews summarized in our daily email newsletter, The WhiP.
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A Song of Ice and WordPress – Newsletter #242
A Song of Ice and WordPress
(WordPress News)
StackExchange is testing a proposed Q&A site for WooCommerce. There are a bunch of questions on the test site already, but it needs to reach at least 40 questions that have a score of at least 10 net votes. So if you’re keen to see a new WooCommerce resource, jump in and help out.
In other WooCommerce news, Sucuri has found a dangerous object injection vulnerability in the plugin and is urging users to update to the latest version.
In the latest episode of the WPWeekly podcast, the guys at WP Tavern recap WordCamp Orange County and why Jeff Chandler spent two days of the event in his hotel room.
Nathan Porter from Ukuu People, a WordPress-based CRM solution, talks about why he goes out of his way to help non-profits in the latest interview in WP Engine’s Finely Tuned Consultant series.
If you want to take your development skills to the next level, check out iThemes’ 4-day, 8-session, 16-hour online event, the “Firehose of WordPress Knowledge” (their title, not mine!).
Goodness Gracious Me
(Opinion)
There’s no stopping WordPress hitting 50% market share and here’s why.
Pagely’s CEO has written an “honest to goodness” review about CrazyEgg and why it’s worth using the heat mapping service.
Is WP Rocket worth forking out cash for? Here’s an awesome review on the new Pro Plugins Directory site.
Elegant Themes knows the secrets to making more money with fewer clients.
And if you’re looking for a new theme, why not try one of these six WordPress theme clubs.
The Proof is in the Pudding
(Themes and Plugins)
Here’s a proof-of-concept plugin that experiments with adding a typography control class to the WordPress customizer. It’s worth checking out.
WordPress Social Sharing Optimization 3.3 is out and includes a bunch of new features as well as extensive code changes to support WordPress taxonomies.
If You Can’t Stand the Heat, Git Out of the Kitchen
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
Google Maps in WordPress: Adding a Marker (Tom McFarlin).
So You Want to Use WordPress to Make an App? (Torque)
The Tuts+ Guide to Template Tags: First Batch (tuts+).
15 WordPress Hacks You Can Do Without Plugins (Codeable).
An Alternate Git Flow for Client Work (WebDevStudios).
An Introduction to the WordPress Filesystem API (Sitepoint).
In a Pickle
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
“I am filing ‘receiving a phone call on my Apple Watch’ in the same category as ‘stuffing pickles up my butt.’ I have pickles. I have a butt. It’s something I can do, the opportunity is there, but it’s not something I’d ever want to do.” Thinking about getting an Apple Watch? Here’s what The Oatmeal learned after wearing one for a couple of weeks.
Those are our links for today. We’ll be back with more next week assuming our Apple Watch will let us sit down long enough to put it together.
Ch-Ch-Changelogs – Newsletter #243
Ch-Ch-Changelogs
(WordPress News)
Jeff Chandler from WP Tavern has called out WooCommerce and VaultPress for failing to update their changelogs to mention important security fixes. Oversight? Laziness? Or no big deal? Either way, Jeff says a survey proves users read changelogs and developers need to up their game.
If you’re a developer you’ll find this interesting (otherwise it’s a whole lotta gobbledygook): This week HHVM developers shared the results of their first ever open source performance lockdown and found a 1.8% requests per second improvement for WordPress and it worked 18.7% faster than PHP 7 on a WordPress workload. Cool, right?
Buy and SellWithWP
(Opinion)
A while back, SellWithWP published a popular article on marketplace stats for free eCommerce plugins. Here’s the six-month update and how the plugins have changed.
Looking for a new web host? CodeInWP has a mega-post on the best shared hosting providers, including a neat infographic.
Why pay when you don’t have to? Here’s how you can get by with a free WordPress theme.
WordPress Themes Must Did, or 5 reasons not to build your website on a WordPress theme, according to a hater. (Did you know a kitten dies each time you hate on WordPress…?)
Here’s how to deal with clients who think they are designers.
And here’s a handy guide to promoting a new WordPress themes. TL;DR: Get your game face on.
What’s Your Story, ThemeBro?
(Themes and Plugins)
ThemeBro is an awesome search tool that makes finding the perfect theme less of a chore.
Here are the 9 best audio player plugins, according to WP Beginner.
WP Featherlight is a new lightbox plugin for images and galleries.
If you’re a Medium fan, here are 14 WordPress themes that look a lot like it.
And here are 20 Genesis framework plugins to help with customization.
Mad Maximum Upload
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
How to Increase the Maximum Upload and PHP Memory Limit in WordPress(WPMU DEV).
Use a Custom Post Type for Your Sidebar Content (tuts+).
A Handy Guide on Using Masonry to Add Grid Layouts in Your WordPress Site (WP Mayor).
A Walkthrough on Conditional Tags in WordPress: Series Finale (tuts+).
InfoWindows for Google Maps in WordPress (Tom McFarlin).
The Beginners Guide to WooCommerce: General Settings (tuts+).
What is Code? Baby Don’t Hurt Me
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
What is code? Paul Ford answers the question in 38,000 words. If you haven’t read this story yet, stop what you’re doing right now and read it. Seriously.
And here’s a Q&A with Paul about his article.
Here are 3 tools techies are using to boost productivity.
Have you heard of BenchPress? It’s a thing.
Those are all our links for today. See you back here tomorrow right after we finishing reading Paul Ford’s article (It’s a long one!). Seriously, read it, it’s good.
Unidentified Flying WP_Post Object – Newsletter #244
BackPress to Basics
(WordPress News)
Automattic’s long-awaited O2 project is now publicly available on GitHub. O2 is the successor to P2, the innovative group blogging theme created to power communications at Automattic.
“This (BackPress) + JSON REST API could be the next evolution of WordPress for developers.” BackPress is coming back from the dead, according to WP Tavern. For the uninitiated, BackPress is a PHP library of core functionality for web applications. It essentially provides the core of bbPress and powers the translation GlotPress application.
Get your resumes out! WP Mayor is looking to hire a designer/theme developer.
On WPwatercooler this week, the usual folks talk about the WordPress customizer and some of the controversial changes planned for it.
And on the KitchensinkWP podcast, Adam Silver answers listener questions about bartering for WordPress work and ideas on meetup engagement.
Fair and Squarespace
(Opinion)
Here are 9 lessons learned while creating a WordPress app. TL;DR: It’s not that easy.
“Just last week I finally cancelled my (mt) shared grid account and deleted my WordPress install forever.” Developer Anton Pugachevsky cheated on WordPress with Squarespace and says he’s never going back.
Here are 20 useful resources for plugin and theme developers you might want to check out.
iThemes has some pricing tips for freelancers trying to work out how much to charge.
Johnny Cache
(Themes and Plugins)
Here’s a detailed review of the top three caching plugins for WordPress and who should use them.
And a comprehensive comparison of commenting plugins that’s worth a read.
Speaking of commenting, the latest version of the Postmatic includes new importer for the subscribe to comments plugin.
Here are some client-side applications built on the WP REST API along with a few explainers about why you should get excited about them.
The WP Estimation & Payment Forms Builder plugin lets you quickly add a cost estimation and payment form to your site.
Unidentified Flying WP_Post Object
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
__get() post_meta From a WP_Post Object (Josh Pollock).
Refactoring Our Code For Google Maps in WordPress (Tom McFarlin).
How to Add a PayPal Donate Button in WordPress (WP Beginner).
Styling Sections in a Page-Based Site Differently (tuts+).
Using WordPress with Lumen (Adam Patterson).
Work-life Balance
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
If you love todo lists, here’s one that plays on tab anxiety to make your workload even more annoying. Enjoy!
Those are our links for today. We’ll be back tomorrow. Hopefully, some Johnny Cache will ease our todo list anxiety. Maybe some O2 will help?
WordPress Core Workout – Newsletter #245
WordPress Core Workout
(WordPress News)
One of the most controversial new features added to WordPress in recent history, the Menu Customizer plugin, has been merged into core and will be one of the headline features of the upcoming 4.3 release. For now, the old way to add menus will remain in WordPress so users don’t get a shock when they find the new menu layout in the customizer.
“‘I didn’t make it to the gym yesterday but still did some great Core work,’ says every WordPress employee.” If this is your joke, you’ve won our second giveaway. We’ve giving away free memberships each week for four weeks.Find out how to enter week 3.
Spaceships, type hints and 2x speed. Here are the coolest features to look out for in PHP 7.
Chop and Changelogs
(Opinion)
Here’s how a WordPress digital agency cut loading time for its clients by 100% (true story).
“What assumptions in your life are keeping you chained to a peg? After leaving WordCamp Denver, that was the one question I kept asking myself.” A lot of lessons were learned at WordCamp Denver, says to Brandon Yanofsky, in this eye-opening read at Torque.
Maybe it’s time we look at an alternative to changelogs, writes developer Tom McFarlin.
Build Me Up Buttercup
(Themes and Plugins)
Build your own WordPress.com or Squarespace in a few clicks with Pro Sites 3.5.
WP Live Search is a new plugin that uses the WP REST API, in combination with Backbone.js and Underscore.js, to deliver live search results as a user types in a search query. It’s by the guy who made Aesop Story Engine.
Every month WebDevStudios releases plugins for free on GitHub. Here’s their stash for May, which includes WP Contributions, a plugin that gives you an easy way to display your WordPress.org theme, plugin, core ticket and Codex contributions on your site.
Organize data with tables in WordPress with the aptly named TablePress.
Create an email newsletter for your site with the MailPoet plugin.
Easily add a mobile menu to WordPress with the TapTap plugin.
The new Yoast Comment Hacks plugin adds improved functionality to the default WordPress commenting system.
Multisite Movers and Shakes
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
Finding and Fixing Slow WordPress Database Queries (CSS Tricks).
How to Add Social Media Icons to WordPress Menus (WP Beginner).
How to Move a WordPress Multisite out of a Multisite Network (ManageWP).
Too Cool for School
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
Here are some cool games for designers (and other cool cats, too).
Typography is why Jeb’s logo is worse than a piece of c!@#, so says Wired (and we agree).
Those are our links for today. See you back here tomorrow, assuming we can tear ourselves away from KernType. Who knew kerning could be so fun?
BackPress to the Future – Newsletter #246
BackPress to the Future
(WordPress News)
BackPress isn’t quite back from the dead. Organizers Roy Sivan and John James Jacoby ran into a few stumbling blocks yesterday during a Google hangout with others interested in reviving the core PHP project. Core developer Andrew Nacin described BackPress as “five-year-old vaporware” that was “terrible and should be thrown away.” Ouch.
CodeInWP analyzed 202 posts to see which topics are shared the most on social media.
Automattic has your back. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has given the company a perfect score for its user privacy practices. Apple and Dropbox also got five stars, while WhatsApp got a big thumbs down.
“My dad gave me great advice a few years back: stop trying to do it all yourself! You’re not an accountant, so why are you doing your accounting? Leave professional jobs to the experts so you can concentrate on what you’re good at.” Mind-Blowing Things founder Chris Perryman passes on a bit of advice his dad gave to him in Pagely’s latest 8 Questions interview. Read the full interview for more pearls of wisdom.
The WordPress Theme Review team has launched a code examples library on GitHub.
Get Off On the Wrong Foot
(Opinion)
Here’s a fantastic history of WordPress security exploits and what they mean for your site.
And here’s a great read at ZDNet about what happens when you take all right precautions and a plugin release still goes horribly wrong.
This is why you need to stop caring about Google PageSpeed Insights.
WordPress.com VIP isn’t the only enterprise hosting option, you know.
Heroes of Might and CSS
(Themes and Plugins)
Competing for the longest announcement post with the most comments everis Elegant Themes with Divi 2.4.
In other product announcement news, WooCommerce has released a long-awaited Memberships extension.
The latest version of BuddyPress inadvertently introduced a vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated user to view the subject lines of a user’s private messages by manipulating an AJAX request. If you haven’t already updated to the latest version, get to it now!
If you don’t like messing around with code, CSS Hero lets you design your own theme without messing about with, well, code.
Title Capitalization for WordPress is a free plugin that properly capitalizes post titles and heading elements in post content.
Track your Google ranking from within WordPress with Rankie.
Theme Lock-in and Load
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
A Proven Method for Frustrating Devs: Theme Lock-in (Carrie Dils).
Setting up a WordPress site on AWS (Eric Lewis).
Beginner’s Guide To WordPress Loop (Cloudways).
Not All It’s Quacked up to Be
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
Here are the presidential candidates’ 404 pages ranked best to worst.
And if you want to be more productive, try listening to nature.
Those are all our links for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with more right after we finish updating our Spotify playlist with bird song.
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