Rewrite API
Rewrite API →Rewrite rules are one of the features of WordPress I’ve never had to deal with in more than quick and cursory way. For the most part, custom post types and pages are good enough for my...
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WordPress Hooks, Actions, and Filters: What They Do and How They Work
Hooks are one of the most important ideas in WordPress development. Today we’re covering one of the most important ideas in WordPress plugin and theme development: hooks. If you’ve felt a little...
View ArticleMaking Themes More WYSIWYG with the WordPress Customizer
The WordPress customizer makes tweaking visual settings and customizing the look of your site much more intuitive. One of the coolest features WordPress has gotten in the last few years (in version...
View ArticleAnalysis of WordPress.org Themes
Analysis of WordPress.org Themes →Devin Price did some interesting fiddling with the themes you can get for free on the WordPress.org Theme Repository. He highlights a number of interesting little...
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Polishing the WordPress Customizer Experience
The same day that my last post about the WordPress customizer went live, the WordPress.org Theme team made headlines with their decision that all future themes submitted will have to use the customizer...
View ArticleMaking Plugins and Themes Translation-Ready
Internationalization makes WordPress accessible in other languages, and it’s a must-have for work intended for wide distribution. As WordPress continues to grow, not just in English-speaking countries...
View ArticleThe Finer Points of “Posts” and “Pages” in a WordPress Context
One of the most complicated things for a relative-beginner in WordPress use and development is that WordPress has some specific and overlapping vocabulary. Some things mean multiple different and...
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WordPress’s Conditional Tags
One of the most straightforward, dependable, and useful things in WordPress is what the Codex calls “Conditional Tags.” In her interview for Up and Running, Helen Hou-Sandí said conditional tags were...
View ArticleA Review of John Blackbourn’s Extended CPTs Library
A Review of John Blackbourn’s Extended CPTs Library →I’d come across the Extended CPTs library from John Blackbourn before, but had neglected to fully check it out. So when I saw this review from Ian...
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How to Add Custom Data to a WordPress RSS Feed
You’ve quite likely heard of “RSS Readers” or “Feed Readers” before—if only when a lot of people got angry that Google was shutting theirs down. In fact, RSS feeds are one of the most important and...
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Understanding PHP Output Buffering, and Why It’s Great for Shortcodes
One of the first things in PHP that really stumped me was the difference between code that created output and code that didn’t. I knew, vaguely, that things that had an echo statement in PHP meant...
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An Introduction to Genesis for the Non-Genesis Developer
I have a confession to make: for a long time I’ve been scared of Genesis. Genesis is a resiliently popular commercial theme from StudioPress that is rather different than most conventional WordPress...
View Article“Bolt is WordPress done right(er)”
“Bolt is WordPress done right(er)” →This is a really interesting article in favor of a CMS I’d been vaguely curious about for a while, Bolt. Though the title’s intentionally a bit inflammatory, the...
View ArticleThe WordPress Template Hierarchy: An Interactive Resource
The WordPress Template Hierarchy: An Interactive Resource →If you’re an Up and Running buyer you probably already know, but I make frequent references to wphierarchy.com when talking about the template...
View ArticleThe Evaporative Cooling Effect
The Evaporative Cooling Effect →Before you shoot off, this isn’t an article about either physics or how to keep your home cool in the summer. Rather, it’s about a problematic dynamic that can and does...
View ArticleWhat “Namespaces” Mean for WordPress Developers
It’s not uncommon for people, especially those new to a knowledge-area, to hear a word bandied about a lot and never really explained. I think “namespacing” is one of those words, and more importantly,...
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Four Different Meanings of “Template” a WordPress Pro Should Know
Experienced users and developers will use the word “template” casually in and around WordPress to mean slightly different things in slightly different contexts. There are four general things that...
View ArticlePost Status Drafts
Post Status Drafts →While I’m a little disappointed Brian Krogsgard didn’t pick me as his co-host when he re-started doing a podcast about WordPress news and development, I’ve been so glad he’s back to...
View ArticleWhy, When, and How to Make Your Own Template Tags
One of the great things about WordPress is that there are a lot of things that work the way you’d expect. You might not have the foggiest idea what WordPress does under the hood — that it’s pulling...
View ArticleWhat Makes a Good Software Community?
What Makes a Good Software Community? →Sarah Sharp’s recent post explaining why she was going to stop contributing to the Linux kernal project attracted some well deserved attention. The most potent...
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