Tag: WordPress (Page 214 of 220)

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

Why WordPress Themes and Plugins Are Software

August 13, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

I’ve shared my thoughts on WordPress as an application framework, but I think that simply making a case for how the core application can be used for web applications isn’t enough to help others see that it’s a viable platform.

Lately, I’ve had several conversations with others who are skeptical (and rightly so). Themes are often viewed as “skins” for WordPress and plugins are often viewed as little ways to add new features to a blog. If anything, I’d say that one could make a stronger case for plugins being software rather than themes.

But to a point, I disagree. There are several reasons why I think both WordPress themes and plugins are software.

The WordPress Page Lifecycle

August 10, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

When working with WordPress, one of the most important things that a developer can learn is the WordPress Page Lifecycle.

Understanding this single topic will make it exceptionally easy to know when to properly include your various hooks and filters so that they don’t interfere with the rest of the application and so that speed or other data isn’t compromised in the process.

If you’ve built web applications using other frameworks, then you’re likely familiar with the typical page request lifecycle, though there are nuances that exist between each platform.

WordPress’ unique action and filter model, although powerful, may end up confusing some people coming from other backgrounds. Of course, the WordPress Codex provides a terrific article on the topic, but if you’re more of a visual learner it may not be of much help.

In that case, check our Rarst’s diagram – it’s an excellent breakdown of the core application’s life cycle along with a high-level overview of the page lifecycle.

Notes From WordCamp San Francisco

August 10, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

The Internet has made the world flatter but that doesn’t mean it’s made it any easier to miss out on events that you’d like to attend, right?

Last weekend, WordCamp San Francisco – arguably the WordCamp to attend – was happening and those who are involved in WordPress in some capacity were tweeting all about the awesome things happening.

Jealousy!

In all seriousness, it was evident from the various tweets and blog posts that it was a killer time for everyone, but here’s something cool for those of us who weren’t able to attend: 23 pages of notes taken from the various sessions held throughout the weekend.

Two Ways To Optimize Adding JavaScript in the WordPress Dashboard

August 8, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

Once you’ve been working on WordPress-based projects for a while, you quickly learn how to properly include stylesheets and JavaScript dependencies for the administrative dashboard or the public-facing aspect of a theme or plugin.

That is, you’re familiar with admin_enqueue_scripts and wp_enqueue_scripts.

And although these two hooks provide a way to segment the way in which scripts are loaded, it’s possible to further optimize how JavaScript dependencies are loaded by only loading them on the page that they are required.

Specifically, there are two ways that you can add JavaScript in WordPress in the dashboard:

WordPress User Interface Design

August 6, 2012 / Tom / 0 Comments

For years, I’ve been using PayPal and although I don’t hate the service as much as many (in fact, I have very few complaints), I really dig Stripe for its simplicity, design, and ease of integration.

On top of that, I’ve used it in a variety of client projects but I’ve never actually done anything with it myself.

But this past weekend, I finally had the opportunity to integrate Stripe into a page on my site, and I used the WP-Stripe plugin by Noel Tock.

This morning, I tweeted the following:

for an example of #wordpress plugin interface design done right, see @noeltock's work on wp stripe. http://t.co/lAetjqot

— Tom McFarlin (@tommcfarlin) August 6, 2012

This tweet sparked an excellent conversation in WordPress user interface design.