Last month I volunteered to help create a WordPress site at GiveCamp Grand Rapids 2013. What's a GiveCamp? From the GiveCamp Grand Rapids site, GiveCamp is a weekend-long event where technology professionals ā from designers, developers and database administrators to marketers and web strategists ā donate their time to provide solutions for non-profit organizations. This […]
These are the best WordPress podcasts I've found. They have content for WordPress users (individuals or small businesses), designers, and developers. I prefer those that offer tips, recommendations, and tutorials over those that simply cover WordPress news. I listed them in order of preference. If you like these, you should read my other posts about […]
WordPress Web Design for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson My rating: 4 of 5 stars An updated version of the worthwhile 1st edition on designing and building WordPress-based sites. It covers installation, administration, basic theme development, and plugin use. It features colorful code snippets and screenshots. Most examples use the Twenty Thirteen theme. I liked Chapter […]
Here's a video of my talk , "The WordPress Admin Area: A Guided Tour" at WordCamp Grand Rapids 2012. Yes, 2012. In my post about WordCamp Grand Rapids 2012 I lamented that this video would never be published, but I'm happy to see that it has, over a year later! I previously published the links […]
I led a WordPress for Small Business Websites Q&A panel at WordCamp Grand Rapids 2013. We discussed goals, strategy, content, analytics, speed and performance, social media, SEO, and generally making sites effective. Below is a video of the panel discussion, followed by paraphrased versions of the questions asked by the audience. I'm so thankful for […]
Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog by Thord Daniel Hedengren My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is mostly a how-to guide for creating WordPress themes and plugins, and generally bending WordPress to your will. The book is laid out well, with colored blocks of code interspersed with the text describing it. It could have […]
People frequently ask, "How much does a website cost?" I've heard one web designer reply, "How long is a piece of string?" Others use the car analogy: "How much does a car cost?" I like to use a house construction metaphor. I say, "Building a website is like building a house. I can build you […]
Here's a guide to using the BackupBuddy plugin to back up a WordPress site to Amazon S3. The video only shows how to do the Amazon S3 initial configuration and user configuration, and adding Amazon S3 as a remote destination in BackupBuddy. The text below the video provides more details about configuring BackupBuddy in general. […]
This post has been a draft since August 2012. I intended to publish it once the video of my talk was uploaded to WordPress.tv, but it looks like that won't ever happen. š With WordCamp Grand Rapids 2013 nearing, I decided I may as well publish it, sans video. In August 2012, the WordPress Grand […]
Learn why it's important to update WordPress core, plugins, and themes, and how to safely update.
These are the best WordPress podcasts I've found. They have content for WordPress users (individuals or small businesses), designers, and developers. I listed them from most to least favorite. I prefer those that offer tips, recommendations, and tutorials over those that simply cover WordPress news. None of the WP Candy podcasts are active any longer, […]
WordPress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is best suited for WordPress users, but there are a few chapters for developers. Designers and developers are better served by WordPress Web Design for Dummies and WordPress All-In-One for Dummies. Iām a web designer who creates WordPress sites for small […]
