WordPress plugins require a number of headers to be included in the plugin file for them to render correctly in the dashboard. If releasing a plugin on WordPress.org then a number of additional headers are required in the readme file. The problem I have is that I can never remember which header goes where. Each […]
For WordPress site owners wishing to use real cron via a crontab job, it’s fairly common to see advice to use curl to request the site’s wp-cron.php file on a regular basis. In the days before the WordPress CLI (WP-CLI), using the wp-cron.php file was the only technique available to site owners wishing to use […]
I write quite opinionated front-end code. It’s one of the advantages of working in the industry for around twenty years, I know what does and doesn’t work. Working in a rapidly developing industry long term has taught me to be open-minded too, to listen to new ideas and to be prepared to adapt them. I’ve […]
As detailed on the Make WordPress blog, the order of comment fields will change in WordPress 4.4, scheduled for a December 2015 release. This may affect your theme if the comment form doesn’t use the typical layout of one field above the other. Preparing your theme for the release of WordPress 4.4 will require your CSS […]
WordPress 4.2.3 has reminded me why being conservative with enhancements is a good thing. If a bug is committed, you lose the benefit of time to fix it. WordPress 4.2.3 has broken some sites using shortcodes in HTML tag attributes. As part of a security fix, certain ways of doing this are no longer possible.
Ryan McCue has started a discussion around plugin dependencies in WordPress, Gary Pendergast has responded. Ryan thinks it needs to be solved, Gary doesn’t – but if he did, would solve it a different way. As a user, I don’t want to be exposed to security issues in orphaned code. Each of them go into some technical details, […]
Complaining about WordPress 4.2’s inline Emoji script is to complain about the biggest front end performance gain of the feature. You see, that tiny script does two things: check if your visitors browser supports Emoji, and, asynchronously load the JavaScript to polyfill Emoji if the visitor’s browser requires it.
I like a much reduced set of body classes when coding up a WordPress theme. Two template types, two main classes. Oh, and I put it on the HTML element too. To call my coding opinionated is somewhat of an understatement.
I’m in the process of redeveloping this site. The site will still use WordPress but I’ll be adding a custom skin. I’ve been wanting to try Pattern Lab for a while, so the first step is to create a pattern library. It’s early days, today’s task it to set up a reset and base styles. […]
When producing a theme, we try not to limit the website owner’s options within the WordPress Dashboard. The owner may wish to enable an option down the track and be disappointed to find they can’t.