Tag: WordPress (Page 136 of 219)

Articles, tips, and resources for WordPress-based development.

The Versions of WordPress and PHP

March 11, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

One of the biggest challenges that comes with working with PHP and WordPress is determining which version of PHP to use.

From the WordPress.org Requirements page:

PHP version 5.2.4 or greater (recommended: PHP 5.4 or greater)

With respect to PHP, a lot has changed between 5.2.4 and 5.4. And the problem, for developers, usually comes down to something like this:

If we opt to stick with the oldest supported version then we have the largest audience appeal, but if we stick with newer versions then we get some nice, new features in the language but at the expense of certain hosts.

So when it comes to WordPress and PHP, what do we do?

Speaking at WordCamp Atlanta 2015

March 9, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

This year, WordCamp Atlanta is going to take place March 27th – March 29th and I’m really looking forward to it.

WordCamp Atlanta 2015

As it has been for the last few years, the event is going to be held at The Loudermilk Center in downtown Atlanta.

Two Take Aways From Jason Schuller’s Pickle Project

March 5, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

Earlier this week, WP Tavern wrote up an excellent piece on Jason Schuller’s newest project, Pickle.

I’ve ended reading over the article (and the comments) a number of times because I think there are some really, really great though as it relates to using WordPress as an application platform.

Jason Schuller’s Pickle Theme Re-Imagines WordPress as an Invisible CMS

This is something that I’ve talked about a number of times and it’s something that I really want to see happen more and more in the future; however, this is one of the first times that I’ve really seen someone take WordPress, use it as a foundation for solution that’s built towards a specific market, and then articulated it in such a way that does a great job of expressing what exactly it means for WordPress to be an application platform.

Using Transients For Storing Google Maps Data

March 3, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a quick tip on working with multiple InfoWindows with the Google Maps API specifically within the context of WordPress.

Google Maps InfoWindow

When working with this API, there are a number of considerations to take into account each of which is going to depend on how much of the API you’re going to be using; however, one constant that’s going to remain regardless of how much you’re using is the rate limit.

That is, unless you’ve paid Google a decent chunk of change, then you’re going to have to take rate limiting into account whenever you’re working with this API. And if you’re charting quite a few locations for, say, several different pages or several searches, then you can hit that limit quickly.

If you’re not at the point where you can pay Google to up the rate limit, but you’d like to still make sure your project doesn’t totally bomb out if the rate limit is hit, then I recommend using transients to store Google Maps data for an interval of time so that you aren’t making frequent calls to the API.
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Aesop Story Engine and WordPress (Why Do We Reject Our Own Innovation?)

February 27, 2015 / Tom / 0 Comments

For some time now, I’ve been a big fan of using WordPress for web application development, but I think that developers actually embracing the CMS (let alone seeing the CMS) as a foundation for something like that is still a couple of years off.

Sure, we’re going to see some people using it for things like that. I mean, we’re already seeing some out-of-the-box applications like AppPresser, but projects like that are the exceptio, not the rule. In my own experience, I’ve found that clients are very interested in using WordPress, but using it for more application-like capabilities.

This doesn’t mean that gigs for themes, plugins, and what not are slowing down, but that people are wanting web applications for themselves or their companies, but want to be able to administer it using the WordPress dashboard or using a some custom front-end work.

But that’s beside the point.

What I’m getting at is that as developers, designers, and other people end up seeing WordPress as potential foundation for web application development, the more innovative things we’re going to see entering the space.