Quick: how do you add a custom function into a theme. If you said 'add it to your functions.php file', then you would be correct. But is that really the best way to go about things? The Problem Let's say you've customized your site with some pretty fancy functions you've added in through the hooks and actions in WordPress. You're in the process of…
Any good content marketer worth his or her salt knows the value of using links in their content. It's a good strategy to practice - whether you're linking internally to content you've written in the past or to external resources you mention in posts. However, a lot of people overlook a small, single detail that could mean the difference between someone staying on their website…
Let's be honest: there's a lot to take in online lately. We started with Facebook and Twitter, might have dipped our toes into Plurk and Google+, and have communicated with Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope and Meerkat. Who knew that over such a short course of human history that the walls of communication could be broken down in so many ways. It's daunting to look around…
It's no secret that I love WordPress. I've built this site on it, for one, but I brag that I've used WordPress for nearly all of the projects I've done over the last few years. Other platforms have come and gone, but WordPress has remained steadily at the top of my list of "must-use" tools. My workflow has changed, but it still all centers…
It's 8:00 Central on a Friday night. For some, the work week is done; for others, classes are out of session. As for me, my kids are in bed, and I'm settling down with a drink in front of my laptop. I put on my headphones and click the icon. Credentials set, I log-in. My autumn desktop vanishes, replaced by a landscape of snow…
Having a job where you work from home is an incredible challenge. For people used to being in an office, it can be difficult to make the switch easily. Combine that with the knowledge that your loved ones (significant others, kids, pets, room-mates) are sitting feet away from you, and it's a wonder that anyone gets any work done at all! But, the number…
A long time ago, I released a version of my core WordPress theme, called Parthenon. It was well received, but I ended up making so many changes to it that I eventually scrapped that theme - and the name - in favor of something more fitting to it's purpose: to be the baseline for my client's themes. Thus, I created Downbeat about 2 years…
Just in time for Christmas, the amazing WordPress contribution team is getting geared up to release WordPress 4.1 on December 16. Right now, we can settle for the "WordPress 4.1 Release Candidate" In case you missed it, here's what to expect from WordPress 4.1: A new theme, Twenty Fifteen. It's more blog focused, and is very much designed for mobile as well as desktop. A…
WooCommerce is one of the most powerful WordPress eCommerce solutions on the market. Out of the box, it does everything you'd expect an eCommerce system to do: Host products Have a scannable product listing Take orders for products Accept payments through PayPal Allow people to use coupons But, sometimes, you need to think outside of the box. Sometimes the default functionality is great, but…
Since I've switched to my new design, I've also done quite a bit of cleanup work on the content side of things. I pruned a lot of old articles that weren't bringing in search traffic (and weren't related to the site anymore), cleaned up a lot of the categories, and set my permalink structure to something that was a little easier to digest. The…