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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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Waiter, Can I Get a WordPress Menu, Please? – Newsletter #247
“Excuse Me, Can I Get a WordPress Menu, Please?”
(WordPress News)
Sarah Gooding at WP Tavern explains WordPress for Android’s big move away from the “hamburger” style navigation menu: “WordPress for Androidversion 4.1 is sporting some major design changes. Navigation in the app has been redesigned to remove the hamburger button in favor of four simplified tabs spanning the top of the screen.” You lost me at beer and hamburgers.
Pagley hosted sites are also sporting a new menu. The Pagely Management Plugin was just released with four active modules: News, Stats, Caching and CDN. Yay for stats!
WPMU DEV is running four weeks of giveaways for no real reason: Enter Week 3! (and find out who won week 2).
“I Will Be the Greatest Jobs President That God Ever Created”
(Opinion)
The only positive thing Matt Mullenweg could say in his latest post was, “I do agree that La Guardia airport is a hot mess.” #Trump2016 #3DollarWebsites
Speaking of job creation, if you want to be able to work from anywhere on the planet, on a beach in Hawaii or taking your lunch break fly fishing a stream in Alaska, WordFence is looking for a PHP developer.
“Not everything has to be some polarizing issue that divides an audience. Sometimes, there are considerations and other points to be made that sit more on neutral ground than anything else, that gets lost in the heated debate on a hot topic, and that’s what I’d like to discuss.” Tom McFarlin takes a political approach to the current heated debate over adding WordPress Menus to the Customizer.
“Please trust me when I say this — it’s a bigger challenge than you think. But, it’s a fun challenge to tackle — if it’s not fun try something else.” Josh Polk gives WordPress capitalist hopefuls business advice when it comes todeveloping and selling plugins.
WordPress Decepticons
(Themes and Plugins)
Are you as spooked by the growing use of Artificial Intelligence as Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates are? If so, you’ll probably want to stay away from these 10 WordPress plugins that use A.I. to get smarter.
WP Lift put together a list of 20 of the Best Free MultiPurpose WordPress Themes for 2015. They are all basically Transformer themes that “can be used for a range of different purposes such as for creating business websites, blogs, landing pages and so on.”
Pro Sites 3.5 will *transform* your Multisite into your very own WordPress.com or Squarespace in a few clicks. (yep…that’s three Transformer references.)
Nobody Understands the Cloud
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
How to Add Audio Files and Create Playlists in WordPress (WP Beginner)
The Tuts+ Guide to Template Tags: Second Batch (tuts+)
A start to finish guide on Setting up a WordPress site on AWS. (And it’sManageWP for the assist.)
He Said He’d Be Back… and HE IS
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
What do you get when you cross a politician and a robot?
If not that one… Maybe this one? The Governator never gets old.
Those are our links for today. I hope they were as satisfying as a cold beer and a hamburger on a beach in Hawaii, or something like that.
The Court of WordPress Opinion – Newsletter #248
The Court of WordPress Opinion
(WordPress News)
The WordPress Foundation has sued the owner of TheWordPressHelpers.com and a bunch of other domains. Jeff Yablon, who runs The WordPress Helpers says, “the fight over WordPress trademarks will be waged in the court of public opinion.”
If you can’t make it to Seville for WordCamp Europe this weekend, sign up for the live stream – it’s free! And if you are going to be there in person, nice! Say hello to the WPMU DEV team, we’ll be there! Blogger Dragan Nikolic says the €40 entry fee is the best money you’ll ever spend as a WordPress enthusiast (if that’s what you call yourself).
WordPress.tv is branching out into beginner tutorial videos and has put a call out for content.
Torque talks to plugin developer and writer Josh Pollock about how best to go about building an app with WordPress.
WP Pusher has pushed a free git crash course for WordPress developers. Did I mention it was free?
WordPress for Android 4.1 doesn’t like hamburgers.
Sweet Dream or a Beautiful Nightmare
(Opinion)
Here are 17 easy marketing tips to boost your WordPress business.
“The year is 2020. WordPress powers over 35% of the web now. The REST API has been in WordPress core for a few years; the year after the REST API was merged into core, WordPress gained nearly 5% market share… we’ve entered the Golden Age of the WordPress REST API.” Ryan McCue, the lead developer of the WordPress REST API, can dream, can’t he?
Chris Lema from Crowd Favorite says there’s nothing wrong with bouncing.
From trials to triumphs, here’s the story behind AppPresser, a mobile app development framework for WordPress.
Control-Alt-Delete
(Themes and Plugins)
Now this might ruffle a few feathers (or become really popular): developers Andy Wilkerson and Jesse Petersen aren’t exactly fans of the WordPress customizer, so they created a plugin that removes every last trace of it from WordPress.
Coherent is a new theme by the folks at Automattic that features a cool slide-out panel that tucks away navigation.
Here’s how to add an appointment calendar and booking system to WordPress with the Booked plugin.
Web host Pagely has released a handy management plugin.
Dress Code
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
The Developers Guide to the WordPress Database (and Writing Better Code) (WPMU DEV).
A Detailed Guide To WordPress Custom Page Templates (Smashing Magazine).
Batch Processing for Big Data (Pippins Plugins).
Hirsute Pursuit
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
The average web page is 2099 KB, almost twice the size of the average page just three years ago. Guess what makes up most of that extra bloat?
Here’s the story behind the greatest Wikipedia hoax ever pulled.
What would you look like if you had a beard? Why not find out.
Lastly, what type of procrastinator are you? You can find that out, too (if you can be bothered).
Those are all our links for today. We’ll be back tomorrow right after we find an excuse to get our of jury duty and pack our bags for Sevilla. Adiós amigo!
WordPress Is Dead To Me (Just Kidding) – Newsletter #249
A Little Something WordPress For Everyone
(WordPress News)
Beta 1 of WordPress 4.3 is only one week from being released and despiteall the grumpy WordPressian banter, integration of menus into the customizer isn’t slowing. All this talk of menus in the customizer made me forget core password are improving.
The *best* part of attending WordCamp is you’ll never need to buy another t-shirt again…ever. As an added bonus, every t-shirt you own is now adorned with your favorite WordPress brands. Make sure and visit the Mange WP table for “swag” and be on the lookout for the studs in the WPMU DEV shirts (if you ask nicely and want to take a selfie we may even have a shirt for you.)
If you know someone interested in possibly using WordPress, and can’t make it to WCEU, BobWP is hosting a “What is WordPress and Why Should I Use It?” Workshop in Seattle, WA July 29th. “This workshop—What Is WordPress and Why Should I Use IT?— helps you make better decisions, whether you are a hobbyist, a blogger or a business startup.” It’s kind of the same thing…right?
And for those of you that can’t make it further than the local café, Tuts+ takes learning globally with over 1000 tutorials in 37 different languages. In this interview Ian Yates, editor of Web Design content at Tuts+ talks about his decision to translate tutorials to better reflect Envato’s global values and community.
WordPress Is Dead To Me (Just Kidding)
(Opinion)
The next “WordPress killer” CMS has arrived and Tuts+ has a tutorial on how to use it. “For developers who want more control and performance than WordPress offers, Craft CMS offers a compelling solution.”
Tom McFarlin, a WordPress aficionado and WP Bubble Boy, is trying to move out of his own WordPress bubble and has some suggestions on doing it the right way.
If you are considering leaving WordPress talk to Freddy first. He loves WordPress “way too much”. He even likes him some WordPress as much as he likes coffee and stout beer (That is bold Freddy…that is bold.).
That New Guy Puts Everything In The Wrong Place
(Themes and Plugins)
WinningWP put a fantastic list of 14 top plugins for WordPress Multisite. Five of 14 is not bad I guess 
This is not really a theme or a plugin but I like free, and I like icons. If you’re a designer or just like cute little things, bookmark this post of 20 free multi-purpose icon sets.
And, here are 5 WordPress tweaker plugins worth checking out…tweaker meant something different when I was a kid.
Put A Bird On It
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
Want to make your embedded video stand out? Put a frame on it. (WP Beginner).
Score big with these quick style wins using CSS animation tools for WordPress (WPMU DEV).
Get a google rankings boost by using SSL (WP Mayor).
Write an ebook without a ton of typing. Who knows, you may even become the next Chris Lema (Chris Lema).
So Much Time, So Little To Do
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
If you’re a freelancer it means you probably have a ton of extra time for a summer reading list. If you don’t have time, this reading list includes a suggestion for how to find the time. TL;DR: Make it.
That’s it for today. Now to find a local café so I can watch WordPress tutorials in languages I don’t understand… It’s for fun.
This One Time at WordCamp… – Newsletter #250
A Boy Named Sue
(WordPress News)
If you haven’t already heard, the WordPress Foundation is suing some guy who owns thewordpresshelpers.com for a bunch of money because he’s using “WordPress” in multiple domains names. Here’s WP Tavern’s take on the case. Chris Lema from Crowd Favorite says this is why you don’t put “WordPress” in a domain name. Lawyer Richard Best breaks down the complaint in this excellent article.
Delaware leads the pack as the state with the most WordPress jobs available per 100,000 residents. WP Engine has put together an awesome inside look at the WordPress economy across the US.
It’s your last chance to enter our four weeks of giveaways and win yourself a WPMU DEV membership worth $588. All you need to do is leave a comment on our post. Too easy!
On this week’s episode of KitchensinkWP, host Adam Silver reviews iThemes BackupBuddy staging and deployment.
And on WPwatercooler, the folks talk about plugin and theme updates and some best practices before hitting the update button on live sites.
Fools Rush in Where Angels Fear to Tread
(Opinion)
Happy birthday, Automattic! Matt Mullenweg reminisces.
Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a WordPress Wayback Machine?
How do you create future-proof, extensible WordPress plugins? Here’s a best practice guide.
Here’s a look at the WordPress theme business over the past five years and how much it’s changed.
Off the Record
(Themes and Plugins)
If you run a small business site, like for a record shop or a cupcake delivery service, CustomPress makes organizing products and services so much easier. Create cool custom post types for things like vinyl records and red velvet cupcakes, all without having to mess around with code, leaving you more time to listen to cool tunes and eat cupcakes.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes looks at the WP-CRAP plugin, which removes all customizer links from the Appearance menu, Themes screen, and the admin toolbar in WordPress, essentially rolling your site back to the days prior to WordPress 3.4 when the Theme Customization API was introduced. Woah… Customizer haters gonna hate.
Argent is a beautifully bold portfolio theme that was launched on WordPress.com last week.
Conditionally hide BuddyPress profile field groups based on user role with the aptly named BuddyPress Conditional Field Groups plugin.
Here’s WP Lift’s review of the free McAfee Secure plugin.
And customize and display more information on the WordPress posts screen with admin columns using the free Admin Columns plugin.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
How to Better Manage WordPress Pages with Nested Pages (WP Beginner).
Theme Juice: A New Auto Site Generator for WordPress Development with Vagrant (WP Tavern).
Introduction to Cloud Computing with WordPress (WP Explorer).
Get a Google Rankings Boost by Using SSL (WP Mayor).
This One Time at WordCamp…
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
Free Code Camp was slack getting on to Slack, but then did and… deeply regretted it. Not great.
If that last article didn’t phase you, here’s the Unofficial Slack Guide.
Google has added a life-saving “undo send” feature. Let’s see if it works…
And here’s a rhyming keyboard to distract and confuse you.
That’s all our links until tomorrow. Today’s edition of The WhiP is brought to you (a little late, sorry!) by sweat, mineral water and tasty, tasty paella. Hola!
Mmm… BBQ – Newsletter #251
Riding in Cars with Boys
(WordPress News)
The WordPress community in France is creating cool stuff, like MailPoet and WP Rocket. Have you heard of Polylang? You will soon. Developer Jenny Beaumont writes with pride about how her fellow French are embracing WordPress.
The Jetpack team has relaunched its beta testing program. When your plugin is active on more than a million sites, it makes sense to try to keep breakages to a minimum.
Former car dealer and Slocum Studios co-founder Matt Medeiros says,“everyone should sell cars” in the latest interview in Pagely’s latest 8 Questions series.
What’s the weirdest thing a client has ever asked you to create? If you’re an Orange is the New Black fan you’ll get a giggle out of this one.
Former Smashing Magazine editor, DigWP.com owner and the author of many plugins. Jeff Starr is a star. He lays his career bare for PSDtoWP.net to comb over.
On the latest episode of WPWeekly, the guys from WP Tavern interview Joshua Millage, host of the Infusioncast and LMScast podcasts, and Mark Nelson, lead developer of codeBOX and LifterLMS.
Young Hearts, Run Free
(Opinion)
The secret to growing your business is giving away as much as possible for free, so says WP Site Care.
Do you give a damn about BackPress and whether it blooms or dies?Developer Marko Heijnen certainly does.
Here is everything you ever wanted to know about the Extended CPTs library.
Designing for people who have color blindness is one thing, but what aboutdesigning when you have color blindness yourself?
Don’t be one of those suckers who neglects mobile. Here are the 5 biggest mobile design trends so far this year.
Mmm… BBQ
(Themes and Plugins)
BBQ Pro is the new premium version of the free Block Bad Queries plugin, which, as you probably guessed, blocks bad queries.
Thinking about changing your theme? Here’s what you should know.
Faith No More
(Tutorials, Tips, and Tricks)
Convert a Website From Any Other Platform to WordPress in 10 Simple Steps (WPMU DEV).
How to Properly Use the More Tag in WordPress (WP Beginner).
Wouldn’t It Be Nice
(Off-Topic, Random Stuff)
Highly productive people have five uncommon habits. Spoiler: be nice to yourself.
That’s all for today. See you back here tomorrow, right after we give away a few cars for free.
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