I got a crash course in the world of "higher education" when I joined the amazing team at the Vanderbilt Web Communications department. Higher-Ed was a brand new world to me, and while a lot of the same issues carry over from "normal" web design, there's a whole different set of things to worry about. Now, over a year later, I feel like I've…
Chances are, you've bookmarked a site to re-visit it later. And, if you have, you've seen the small icon that shows up next to the site in your bookmarks. See the first three? No icon. The final one, however does have an icon - called a 'favicon' associated with it. WordPress, for a long time, didn't have a native way to include favicons -…
There are very few subjects debated so hotly in the WordPress world as the ones regarding "Page Builders". For the unfamiliar, a page builder allows the end user to set up content without needing knowledge of code. While - to the end user - the allure of being able to have full control over design and content is nice, most developers shy away from them…
Every morning when I get into the office, I fire up my laptop, grab some coffee, and immediately navigate to my favorite online streamer - MrHappy. A full time streamer, he - and thousands of people like him - make a living out of livestreaming himself playing games or practicing a creative art in front of a live audience. His stream - and the…
Editor's Note: I try not to bring politics into my development discussions, but when they intersect, it's always a good time for a teaching moment. If you leave a comment, be civil and follow the rules of having a good discussion, or I will outright delete your comments. There's no room here for rude people. We're here to talk about encryption, not start a…
I love conferences. There is a certain vibe you can only get from being in a room with people who are just as excited as you about a subject. And not just because there's great speakers: some of my favorite times at a conference come from the "hallway track" - getting out of the session halls and chatting with people I see. I've made…
I've been using Vagrant and VVV with VV (a site creation wizard) for a while now as the cornerstone of my development workflow. I have customized my VVV quite a bit over the years, and - while I was happy with it - I was always on the lookout for something better to see if it would fit my development workflow better. On a…
I love Twitch. I actually spend my work day with one browser dedicated to Twitch, and subscribe to MrHappy's daily Stream. So when rumors surfaced a few years ago their API, of course I wanted a way to interface with that API. In doing research, I realized that a lot of streamers don't have real websites. A few of the top ones do, but…
Achievers in games want one thing out of their experience: to be the absolute best in whatever the game has in store. Whether it's winning the top prize or beating the baddest boss, these players want to climb to the top of the pyramid of success. Prestige, and the thrill of the achievement, are what drives these players to keep playing and to keep…
We've learned that Gamification is the act of taking gaming principles and applying them to real world situations in order to modify behavior. But before we jump in with both feet, there's a few things we have to consider. Let's look at a few sample "players" - a term used to define the users we will be interacting with. We'll do so in the context of an…