Software Engineering in WordPress, PHP, and Backend Development

Tag: Envato (Page 2 of 17)

A listing and summary of all posts that I’ve contributed to the Envato WPTuts+ blog.

Understanding WordPress Hooks

WordPress hooks are arguably the foundational topic that developers need to learn and understand when it comes to building more advanced functionality for WordPress.

WordPress Hooks

Yes, you can build an entire theme primarily with markup, styles, and JavaScript. Though you may need a few server-side functions in PHP, it’s easy to find things like this in the WordPress Codex or in Underscores.me.

But if you’re someone who’s new to WordPress or who is ready to take the next step regarding extending the platform or writing a plugin, then it’s important to understand to know what WordPress hooks are, how they work, and what they’re designed to do.

And that’s what I’ve covered in my latest series on Envato.

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What Are WordPress Plugins, Anyway?

For those who work with WordPress on a daily basis, the ideas of WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, and other WordPress-related topics become second nature.

As is the case with anything any of us do on a regular basis.

Anyway, when there are others who are interested in getting started with WordPress either as content managers, bloggers, or developers, there’s a lot to learn. And sometimes, when we talk about WordPress plugins in blog posts, WordCamp presentations, and podcasts, we assume that the audience already has some understanding of the words we’re using.

But that’s not always the case. Some time ago, I started a series for Envato on Understanding WordPress Themes and Plugins.

Recently, the second portion of the series ran in which I talk about WordPress plugins specifically targeting those who are looking to have a greater understanding of what they are, how they work, and how they fit into the overall WordPress economy.

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Running a Business Amidst Changing Technology

Whenever I have the opportunity to speak at an event, I always try to cover the events, any slides, any footage, and any other material related to the event in my speaking category.

Sometimes, though, I’ll write an article on another property that spends more time diving into a talk or a presentation that I gave in an attempt to help reach people through a site with a larger audience.

And it in a recent post for Envato, I did exactly that. Specifically, I did a deeper dive into my WordCamp San Diego speech on what it means to focus on running a business while keeping up with changing technology.

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What Should I Build? Ideas for WordPress Projects.

Anyone who writes regardless of if it’s prose, creative writing, code, a blog post, or more is familiar with writer’s block in some form or fashion. And when it comes to programming, I think some experience the same type of thing (programmer’s block, perhaps?).

Case in point: I remember when I was younger, and was learning to program, I had this insatiable desire to want to create something to use, or others would use. The problem was that I didn’t know what to try to write.

Granted, I was young at the time, and I lacked several skills that were needed to build something like that, but – as they say – I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

Now, much of my work is spent building things for others. That is, they have a problem that needs solving, and I have the desire and means by which to provide said solution.

And I love it.

There are times, though, that I still bump up against a particular problem that I wish I could solve. The only difference between now and two decades ago is that I have the means by which I can do that.

Clearly, it’s taken a while to get to that point. But the point remains: People are learning to program and want to build something, but they don’t know what to build or how to discover what to create.

It’s easy to spout off “well just scratch your itch.” But that doesn’t do much to get the creativity flowing, does it?

So in my latest article for Envato, I try to provide some practical advice on how to determine what to build when using WordPress.

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Installing PHP CodeSniffer with WordPress

In previous posts, I’ve talked about using PHP CodeSniffer with WordPress, how to install it (in a variety of ways), and why I think it’s important.

In continuing the series on code smells and writing higher quality code for WordPress (by avoiding code smells), I followed-up the initial article with two other pieces. The first article covers a high-level definition of code smells.

The second article, which I outline below, talks about how to install PHP CodeSniffer with WordPress starting from ground zero.

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