Its plugin architecture powers shopping carts, forms, and photo galleries. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. Niche functionality abounds, so it’s no wonder it leads the pack in market share.

But let’s take a step back. The ability to use plugins came about in WordPress 1.2. It was a new concept in those days. The project needed to educate developers on how things work. To encourage them to build and experiment. But how?

Well, hello, Dolly! Or, if you prefer more formality, Hello Dolly.

It’s one of two default plugins that come with each installation of WordPress. Maybe you delete it. Perhaps you leave it deactivated in your plugins folder. But do you know about its roots as a teaching tool?

In case you didn’t know: “Hello Dolly” is also a song made famous by Louis Armstrong. The jazz legend was a perfect fit for this project. WordPress releases are named for famous musicians. So, “Satchmo” gets some glory here. The plugin shows a random line from the song’s lyrics in the WordPress dashboard.

Love it or not, Hello Dolly (the plugin) has a purpose and is here to stay. I spoke to someone who knows a thing or two about the subject.

Why Matt Mullenweg Is Still Jazzed Up

WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg is a big fan of jazz. He also developed Hello Dolly. Matt was kind enough to take a quick trip down memory lane with me.

Besides sharing a classic song, what was the inspiration for creating Hello Dolly?

Matt Mullenweg: We wanted to riff on the “Hello World” that sits at the inception of many people’s introduction to programming. We felt like actions and hooks were a really nice paradigm alternative to purely object-based extending of applications.

Why has it continued to be a part of every new WordPress install?

MM: Because it’s nice to have a plugin with every install, and it’s funny and weird.

The plugin’s inclusion has resulted in some 1-star reviews. Does that keep you up at night?

Matt Mullenweg: Not at all.

Do you foresee a time when the plugin might evolve? For example, a Hello Dolly block might be a nice introduction to block development.

Matt Mullenweg: I think it would be cool if Hello Dolly could connect people to live jazz happening near them.

According to its development log, Hello Dolly has been around for 16 years and has over 700k active installs. Does that make you think about how far WordPress has come?

Matt Mullenweg: It shows that even though Hello Dolly is silly and simple, a pretty significant number of people appreciate the little bit of joy and randomness it introduces into their day.

” This is not just a plugin, it symbolizes the hope and enthusiasm of an entire generation summed up in two words sung most famously by Louis Armstrong: Hello, Dolly.”
– Hello Dolly plugin description from WordPress.org

A Living Connection to the Early Days of WordPress

Hello Dolly is a bit silly on the surface. However, it also represents something bigger.

Consider the importance of plugins to the WordPress ecosystem. Where would the CMS be without the likes of WooCommerce or Yoast SEO? What about the tens of thousands of plugins at our fingertips?

Every developer has to start somewhere. Some may have used Hello Dolly to take that first plunge into development. And people interested in building plugins can still use its code as a resource.

The plugin has played a role, however small, in the growth of WordPress. We owe it some thanks. Having said that…

Dolly, never go away, promise, you’ll never go away!

Thanks to Matt Mullenweg for chatting with me! Find more from Matt on his blog.

The post An Ode to Hello Dolly with Matt Mullenweg appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

These items ensure that users can access a website. But that’s only half of the battle. Our content also has to be easy to understand. Yet the subject seems to fly under the radar of web designers. Perhaps that’s because accessible content is more subjective. How do we know what passes muster?

There is no magic formula. But there are tried-and-true practices that will help you write accessible web content. And it’s something you can share with clients. With the help of an expert, we’ve put together some dos and don’ts. Let’s get started!

An Expert’s View of Accessible Web Content

Amber Hinds has seen all manner of accessibility mistakes. As founder and CEO of Equalize Digital, she and her team have a laser focus on the subject. That made her a natural choice for advice on the connection between content and accessibility.

We asked Amber about common accessibility issues. And she also provided some great tips for testing and talking to your clients about it.

What traits make content accessible to all users?

Content accessibility is less about things like focus states or HTML semantics and more about paying attention to the readability and structure of the content and being thoughtful about word choice. The most accessible content has a reading level below 9th grade and is clear and concise.

Adding headings throughout the content to break up long sections of text makes it more “skimmable” for all users. But it also enables people who are blind to jump to sections that interest them because screen readers allow people to use headings to navigate a page. Including HTML lists or data tables is another way to make content easier to consume.

Clarity of language and word choice also applies to link anchor text. You should be able to tell solely from the link text where the link is going. Just having meaningful links can go a long way in helping all people move quickly through your website and find the things they are looking for.

What are some common content accessibility mistakes you’ve seen?

When we audit websites, these are common mistakes that I see repeatedly:

• Headings not marked up as headings (people using bold paragraphs instead of an actual heading element) – usually, this is because they don’t like the styles their theme is applying to the headings.
• Headings were used out of order rather than in outline format (typically for the same reason as above – the H2 was too big, so they used H4s instead).
• Missing or incorrect alternative text on images.
• Meaningless links like “click here,” “visit the website,” or “read more.”
• Naked links that show the full URL without anchor text.
• Content that should be in a bulleted list, not formatted into a list.
• Videos missing transcripts and accurate captions.
• Videos that rely on sight to understand but without a written or audio description for people who are blind.

Are there any content types or formats we should avoid?

One thing I always ask people to rethink is PDFs. PDFs, whether menus for a restaurant or e-book lead magnets, are almost always in-accessible unless effort has been put in to make them accessible.

PDFs are designed for print – they’re not mobile responsive and particularly challenging for screen reader users. It is much easier for a screen reader user to access content on a web page than they can in a typical PDF. So, if you can put the content on a web page rather than in a PDF, that’s best for accessibility.

On web pages, more straightforward content layouts are better than “fancier” ways of displaying content, such as carousels, accordions, or tabs.

That’s not to say that you can’t have carousels, accordions, or tabs on an accessible website. But in WordPress, there are a lot of plugins that add this functionality where the plugin developer has failed to consider accessibility, and they are completely inoperable if you don’t have a mouse.

So if you do add these elements to your content, make sure to test them and ensure you can interact with them with only your keyboard.

Other content formats that can be troubling are video, animated GIFs, or audio that auto-plays, unless you have a pause button that allows users to stop it. Parallax and similar animations can cause nausea or dizziness, and rapid blinking can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy.

Is there anything content writers can or should be doing to test for accessibility? For example, are there any helpful tools or guidelines?

Our plugin, Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker, scans websites for common accessibility problems and puts reports on the post-edit screen.

It functions much like an SEO plugin does – alerting about problems or areas of improvement so content writers can improve accessibility as they write before hitting publish. We have a free version of the plugin that scans unlimited posts and pages, and the pro version provides full site reports.

Outside of WordPress, there are some free browser extensions that are really handy for testing and can be used by people with any technical ability. WAVE is a popular testing tool that will show accessibility problems on any web page. This is comprehensive, like Accessibility Checker, it’s just built in the browser rather than in WordPress.

HeadingsMap is a Chrome and Firefox extension I really like that shows heading structure and alerts if headings are used in the incorrect order.

How should web designers approach this topic with clients?

We start discussing accessibility early in conversations with clients before even writing a proposal. Over the past few years, we have found that bringing it up early has helped us to stand out.

During the sales process, my partner Chris will ask prospective clients questions about where they operate and their funding. “Do you have offices in California or New York? What about Ontario? Europe? Do you get federal grants or funding?”

Then he follows up their answers with an explanation that he wants to have a well-rounded idea of what accessibility and privacy laws might apply to them.

Many clients may have started to think about privacy laws, but accessibility will be new to them, and so that opens the door for them to have conversations about accessibility laws in various areas. They will frequently follow up in a later conversation and tell Chris they were impressed that he is so thorough because no one else they spoke with even mentioned accessibility.

In many ways, this is really about positioning. It’s a way to show that you’re an expert who stays abreast of changes in the industry and is going to be on top of things so the client doesn’t have to worry about it.

From the perspective of selling clients on the investment, outside of discussing accessibility laws or lawsuits, we talk a lot about considering accessibility in how we design and build as being a major part of the overall user experience. Improving search engine optimization, performance, and conversions once people are on the site. Accessibility is a marker of quality.

Accessible Content Is a Win for Everyone

The great thing about accessible web content is that it benefits everyone. And you don’t need to sacrifice quality. When users can read and understand your content, your chances for success improve.

Keeping this in mind during the content creation process is critical. All content should go through multiple revisions. Clarity and simplicity should be the ultimate goals.

Our thanks to Amber Hinds for sharing her insights! You can connect with her on Twitter and Equalize Digital’s website.

The post What You Need To Know About Accessible Web Content appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

However, when running a design business, you might think that being an extrovert is preferable. If you’re predisposed to going out and making new connections, that would seem to be an advantage over those who aren’t as keen on networking. But that’s not necessarily the case.

Consider that some of the world’s most successful people are introverts. We’re talking about the likes of Albert Einstein, Bill Gates and JK Rowling – to name just a few. They’re proof that you don’t have to be extroverted in order to find success.

Recently, I attended a talk at WordCamp Lancaster (US) that really shed some light on the subject. Aaron Campbell gave a fascinating presentation on succeeding as an introvert. Campbell, who leads the WordPress Core Security Team, spoke from the heart – having discovered that he fits into this personality type. There was some terrific insight into how our brains work, as well as adjustments that introverts can make to help their careers better fit into their comfort zones.

He was kind enough to sit down with me and share his story, insights and some sound advice for those of us who are introverts.

Tell us a little about your background in web design.

I started pretty early, transitioning from running a Bulletin Board System (BBS) to doing things on the web in the early 90s. I remember when GeoCities came online in the mid-nineties and really gave everyone a playground on the web. It was game-changing. Not because it was my introduction to it, but because there were suddenly other people being introduced to it and I could find people to talk to about HTML! At that time, and for a while after that, it was just for fun. I enjoyed the ability to create, and code – straight HTML in the early days of the web – was the medium that my brain worked in.

In 1999 I found myself transitioning, rather unexpectedly, into web development as a career. My parents’ company needed software to help manage it. They shipped cars through the southwestern US, had an office in San Diego and wanted to open another in Phoenix, and moved thousands of vehicles using only whiteboards on the walls to track them all. I thought I’d help them find the software they needed but when we couldn’t find anything that fit, I somehow found myself saying “I’ll just write you something”. It was an extremely uninformed offer – I had no idea what I was getting myself into – but I built the software, web based, and loved it.

I’ve been doing web development in some form or another ever since.

When did you realize you were an introvert? Had you already started your business at that point?

As a kid people had labeled me shy, rather than introverted, but shy and introverted aren’t the same and as it turns out…I’m not very shy. I didn’t realize I was an introvert, or at least I didn’t start to label it as such, until I had been in business for several years already. At that time, more than now it seems, being an introvert was looked at like a disadvantage. Like you were less – less likely to succeed, less of a leader, less capable. So I was somewhat reluctant to accept it.

What sort of challenges did this create for you as a freelancer?

People often say “it’s not what you know but who you know”, and there is a lot of truth to that, good or bad. Especially in the early stages of freelancing, I needed to make those connections. I needed to get people to hire me, or convince people to send me clients, and it was exhausting. While I was “succeeding“, it was taking a ton of energy and I wasn’t sure I could sustain that level of output. Looking back now, I can see that it was mostly because I was trying to act like an extrovert, but at the time it just felt like I was slowly failing.

In your WordCamp Lancaster session, you mentioned that you sought advice from others. What type of advice did they offer, and, did it help?

I wish I had sought advice from a wider variety of people. Instead, I sought out those that appeared to be particularly successful at the one thing I felt like I was struggling most with – interacting with people, especially in larger groups, with seemingly no effort. Basically I consulted a bunch of extroverts, and the advice I got was the opposite of helpful. “Become an extrovert” was the message and I spent well over a year, probably closer to two, trying to do just that. It was extremely unhealthy for me, not to mention unsuccessful.

It seems like, as time has gone on, you’ve become much more comfortable with who you are. How have you adapted your career to better play to your strengths?

I made a lot of small adjustments along the way and even now I’m still learning and trying to constantly adjust my career to better fit my strengths. At the beginning, as I first started to accept that my strengths were not necessarily the exact same as some of my mentors, the changes were slow and tentative. As a full-time freelancer, I tried to change my focus from local small businesses to larger, more complex projects. Not because they paid better – at first they didn’t – but because the projects better fit with my strengths as an introvert. They reduced the number of energy-consuming in-person meetings and increased the amount of time that I spent focusing on writing code or solving a problem – things that kept my brain both engaged and relaxed. But making changes is never easy, especially in your career where making a change often means letting go of something that’s working and sustaining you.

It’s important to realize that “climbing up” in your career is a bit of a misnomer. It gives the impression there are only three options – up, down, or stagnant – and people even talk about it as a “ladder” which further enforces the “one path” concept. But the truth is, there are many different ways “up”. Choosing the right direction – the one that’s right for you is not the same as the one that’s right for someone else – is just as important, more I’d argue, than just moving up.

Looking back, adapting my career to better play to my strengths was just as much passing on opportunities as it was choosing them.

You’re in quite an important position right now as the WordPress Security Team Lead. How has being an introvert meshed with the responsibilities and interactions that the job requires?

When it comes to security, I think calmer heads prevail. My introverted brain, preferring to be on the calmer side, lends itself to that. Also, most security work is done behind the scenes. People don’t see it, you don’t get credit or accolades, there’s not a lot of buzz – and I’m good with that.

You speak at a lot of conferences. Do you find those engagements to be stressful?

Not any more, although they definitely take a lot of energy. They used to be stressful, when I wasn’t so aware of the energy it took (or didn’t allow myself to admit it). Running out of energy – feeling exhausted but still feeling the need to perform – is highly stressful. Expending energy, even large amounts, isn’t bad though. We make tradeoffs with our energy all the time, spending energy to get back something that we deem worth it; walking miles because you’re at a mall and enjoy shopping, staying out late with friends because you value your time with them, even making dinner because you’re hungry and want to eat. Life isn’t only about conservation of energy, but I find that spending it purposefully helps. And for me, conferences are a place I enjoy spending some of my energy.

What advice would you give to other designers and developers out there who are introverts?

When I was younger, G.I.Joe was famous for telling kids that “Knowing is half the battle”. When it came to succeeding as an introvert, this was absolutely the key for me. Read up on why introverts and extroverts are different. There are a couple great books that I highly recommend as well; The Introvert Advantage: How Quiet People Can Thrive in an Extrovert World and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Being introverted isn’t worse than being extroverted (nor the reverse), they simply have different strengths. Don’t try to change who you are or succeed how someone else does, you’ll burn out. Instead work to succeed by leveraging your own unique strengths.

Introverts Can Succeed

Many thanks go out to Aaron Campbell for taking the time to share his wisdom! I have to say, his session was inspiring. As someone who is also an introvert, I found myself identifying with his struggle and buoyed by his self-awareness.

For those of us who are in the same boat, Campbell shows us a path forward. By better understanding our own needs, we can make adjustments that lead to both success and happiness.

For more information on Aaron Campbell, visit his website or connect with him on Twitter.

The post How Find Success in Web Design as an Introvert appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

The problem for designers is that, while some parts of accessibility are fairly obvious (like adding alternative text to images), other facets aren’t as widely publicized. Plus, we often depend on third-party items like themes, plugins, et al, that may claim compliance – but how do we really know?

The other question many designers may have is: When is a website accessible enough? In other words, at what point does a site cross that threshold to being accessible?

Designers (including yours truly) have a lot of questions about accessibility. So, we’ve enlisted the help of Joe Dolson, an accessibility consultant who is both knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. He’ll provide some insights into some of the most vexing questions we face.

Read on to get a better understanding of web accessibility and discover some helpful resources to point you in the right direction.

Missing Pieces

Accessibility encompasses a vast array of practices and techniques – more than we may realize.  Even those of us who think we have a decent handle on accessibility issues may be missing some important elements.

“When developers and designers start to learn about accessibility issues, they usually start by focusing on issues for people who are blind.” says Dolson. “This results in missing two areas of accessibility that are crucial to sighted people with other disabilities.”

Visual Focus

The first item on Dolson’s list is Visual Focus. He explains it as such:

“Visual focus is the ability to visually identify where you are on a page as you navigate using a keyboard. If you press the tab key to navigate through links, form fields, and buttons on a page, you’ll frequently find that you are unable to distinguish where you currently are on the page – this is due to a lack of visual focus.”

Learn more about Visual Focus: https://accessibility.oregonstate.edu/focus

Enlarged Text

Another missed element of design is – what happens when a user enlarges the text? Dolson elaborates:

“Enlarging text is crucial to people with low vision, who may need to enlarge text to several times its normal size to be able to read it. There are a few different problems this can cause: overlapping text, horizontal scrolling to see the entire page or extremely narrow columns where the text wraps every few characters can all make the page very difficult to consume.”

Accessible Content Strategy

When adding content to a website, sometimes the easier thing to do is to write a blurb of text and link to an attachment file, such as a PDF, that contains more information. But, is this the best practice for accessibility?

Dolson says that attachments should be made accessible, but notes “It’s the content of your document that needs to be accessible – and that can be accomplished in a wide variety of ways. You could make an argument that an accessible web page would constitute an alternative to an inaccessible PDF.”

So, while the content of PDF files and the like should be made accessible, it may still be preferable to take that same content and place into HTML.

Learn more about Creating Accessible PDF Files: https://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/

Utilizing Tools to Find Potential Problems

One of the great advancements in creating accessible websites is the availability of tools that can help you sniff out issues. According to Dolson, these tools “…have an invaluable role in the process of evaluating for web accessibility”. However, he cautions that, “…while they are important, they are in no way something that can substitute for human judgment and review”.

WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) is one of the best known solutions out there. Paste in your site’s URL (or, better yet, use their Chrome or Firefox extensions) and WAVE will load in the page with a sort-of heat map of what’s good and what’s not. It will catch things like missing alt tags, form labels and even point out color contrast issues. You’re then able to click on specific errors and see them highlighted right on the page you’re currently testing.

It’s a tool that really shows you how easy it is to miss certain things. But it’s also good for pointing out deficiencies in third-party plugins and themes.

Once a tool like WAVE has found any issues, you can then go through the process of manually applying fixes. Dolson points out, however, that there can be a bit of an issue with alt text that tools won’t necessarily detect. He says “…an automated tool can only tell whether or not your image has alternative text provided. What it can’t do is determine whether the text is truly an appropriate alternative to the image.”

So, while a tool like WAVE can make your life much easier, you’ll still have to do a little sleuthing to ensure accessibility.

Learn more about Alternative (ALT) Text: https://oregonstate.edu/accessibility/alttext

Are You in Compliance?

Here’s the question that can really cause some confusion for designers and site owners. In fact, even accessibility experts aren’t able to provide an absolute declaration. Dolson explains the challenges:

“The first challenge is identifying what the law actually dictates about the accessibility of your web site. This will vary depending on who pays for your web site, what segment of industry you’re in, and what country your web site is liable in (which is a separate and even more complicated question!). Within the United States, accessibility is governed largely under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or ADA.

The ADA dictates that places of business should provide equal accommodation for people with disabilities – but, as you can surmise from the date of the act, it doesn’t actually include any information about what would constitute an accessible web site. There are specific guidelines covering US Federal Government web sites described in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1998, but that’s a completely separate body of law, and you can’t draw the conclusion that the ADA would or should follow the same guidelines.”

So, it’s complicated to say the very least. In Dolson’s view, following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WGAC) 2.0 will at least give you some sound defense should you be legally challenged.
* As always, be sure to consult a legal professional for advice specific to your situation.

Advice for Testing Your Site

In addition to testing for and fixing errors through an automated tool, it’s also advisable to do some testing on your own. This way, you’ll at least get a sense of what the user experience is like. Among Dolson’s suggestions:

Use a Screen Reader

Mac or iOS users can enable the VoiceOver feature. Windows 10 has a built-in Narrator feature. Or, you may want to install a third-party app like NVDA.

Unplug Your Mouse

Try navigating your site using only a keyboard. Here are some tips for enabling keyboard access.

Increase Fonts

Zoom in on your site to make its text 400% and see how it affects layout.

Install Browser Extensions

NoCoffee is a free Chrome extension that will simulate color blindness and other vision problems. RGBlind performs a similar task for Firefox users.

Utilizing these methods is a great way to at least give yourself an idea of how accessible your site is. But they shouldn’t be considered a full-on simulation. Dolson advises that these tools, while valuable, aren’t always an accurate representation. For example, experienced users of a screen reader will probably have a different experience with your site – especially if you’re not familiar with using such software yourself.

Worth the Effort

As we have learned, there is a lot to consider when it comes to accessibility. Thankfully, there are some very useful tools, resources and experts we can lean on to get us going in the right direction.

Ideally, the practices and concepts discussed above should become just another part of your typical site design and build process. That way, it will become second-nature to you – just like HTML or CSS. Slowly but surely, it will help lead us to a more accessible web.

The post The Challenges Web Designers Face in Ensuring Website Accessibility appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

But here I am, attempting to change my own sentiment. Why? Because it’s simply too important to ignore. Both web designers and their clients need to have an understanding of how SEO works. More than that, a healthy realization of its pitfalls is also necessary.

It’s easy to develop the wrong expectations for SEO and the required effort it takes. And the market is littered with dubious claims – making it difficult to determine sound advice from hyperbole.

In an effort to provide some clarity, I reached out to a place I knew would have some answers: Yoast. The free version of their Yoast SEO plugin has over 11 million active installations – making it one of the most popular on the market. In addition, they provide a massive amount of sound advice on their company blog.

Yoast’s Edwin Toonen Talks SEO Essentials

The following is a short Q&A with Yoast content manager Edwin Toonen, where we dive into the essentials of SEO. Some answers have been edited for clarity.

What’s the most common SEO myth or misunderstanding that you see from users?

I think people tend to forget that SEO is a lot of work. While advances in technology have made it a lot easier to build a site, it hasn’t become much easier to rank with that site in search engines. So, you really need to put some effort into it!

At Yoast, we jokingly call SEO Seriously Effortful Optimization as that is what it is. With Yoast SEO, we are lowering the barrier of entry and giving everyone a fair chance at good results in the search engines.

Unfortunately, we can only do so much. We can’t write that epic piece of content for you. We can give you hints on what to improve, but we can’t set out a strategy for you. You need to put in the work.

Some people seem to think that you’re done with SEO once you install Yoast SEO. Of course, that’s not true — it’s only the beginning.

Should every piece of content on a website be optimized, or should the focus be on the most important content?

Ideally, you should have thought about every piece of content on your website. Every article or every page should have a goal.

Of course, that’s hardly how it works in practice. You might have a site with hundreds or thousands of posts and pages collected over many years. That is the reality for many sites.

In cases like this, you have to go through all that content and make hard choices — do I really need this? Do these pieces of content fit my goals? Do they bring traffic? Do they help my brand?

You can start going over everything and improve the pieces of content you want to keep while deleting and redirecting the ones you don’t need. In addition, you can also choose to merge a couple of low-value posts into a single really good one.

And then, there’s cornerstone content. These are the epic, all-encompassing articles that show your expertise and that you want to rank with the search results. These should be your main focus. Cornerstone articles should be updated and improved regularly. Linking your supporting, relevant articles to the cornerstone helps boost their importance.

For a small, local business on a tight budget, what would be the best area to allocate their SEO resources? Is there one investment that stands above the rest?

I always say you have to build an awesome business first. Make something that customers need to have or experience.

From there, get reviews and tend to them. Build a full Google My Business profile, including up-to-date information and great photos.

In addition, make sure that your site is properly optimized for local results and write high-quality, local-oriented content that can get you local links and citations.

If one had to choose between quality content and keyword repetition, what’s the better option? Do search engines really know the difference?

Content quality should be your number one priority. It’s one of the things that Google keeps hammering on about: improve your content. Search engines are smart enough to look beyond keywords, so it is better to find ways of improving your content instead of trying to fit in more keywords.

Of course, things like keyword density have taken on a different meaning as it is no longer about fitting in a certain percentage of keywords based on the length of the text. Today, metrics like this are more like a guide that helps you keep everything in check and warns you when you are overdoing it.

How often should SEO for existing content be reviewed and tweaked?

It depends, this is not set in stone. Some content does really well, even without touching it for years. Other pieces of content need constant tweaking to get results.

The main thing to remember is that you have to keep an eye on your content. You need to know what particular content needs to do and regularly check in Google Analytics if it does what you set out to do.

If it doesn’t work, you need to fine-tune it or replace it with something else. Of course, there’s a lot of room to experiment — and sometimes you get the best results accidentally. And keep at it — SEO is not about quick results.

The Keys to Effective SEO

A hearty thanks to Edwin Toonen and the team at Yoast for taking the time to chat! If anything, I hope this helped to separate some of the fact from fiction when it comes to search engine optimization.

As Edwin points out, SEO requires a good bit of work to find success. But even then, there’s no guarantee that the likes of Google will reward you with high rankings. To be sure, there will be some trial-and-error in the process.

In addition, we learned that content should have specific goals. If you want search engines to prioritize your content, it has to be both high-quality and focused.

Above all, SEO is something that both designers and clients need to stick with for the long haul. The game is always changing. Thus, it requires regular analysis and adjustments to stay on top.

Maybe SEO isn’t quite as bad as I’ve made it out to be? While it’s still not my favorite subject, this talk has helped me exorcise some of those past demons. Hopefully it did the same for you!

The post What Web Designers and Their Clients Need to Know About SEO appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

But beyond the programming skills, releasing a piece of software that anyone in the world can use also requires some courage. When you think about it, there’s a tremendous amount of responsibility that goes along with making your work available to the public.

For instance, could you imagine releasing an update that ends up breaking a user’s website? Or the amount of support you might find yourself having to provide for free? Even though a good number of plugins are written as side projects, the upkeep of a popular title could be similar to a full-time job.

I wanted to dig in and find out how some real-world plugin developers handle it all. So, I sat down with two very talented gentlemen who were kind enough to share their philosophies and experiences.

Meet the Developers

Matt Cromwell is the Head of Support and Community Outreach at WordImpress. They are the developers of Give, a popular plugin that helps non-profits take donations online. He’s also known as one of the administrators of the Advanced WordPress Facebook Group.

Robert DeVore is a Michigan-based developer who has authored several WordPress plugins and themes, including an upstart Gutenberg content plugin called Pillar Press.

I asked each of them the same set of questions via email. Below are their answers, some of which have been edited for brevity.

1. Whether you’re developing a new plugin or updating an existing one, how much time do you spend trying to avoid conflicts with other themes/plugins a user may be running before a release?

Matt Cromwell: We test against the most popular themes like Divi, Storefront, Avada, X Theme, as well as major plugins like Yoast SEO, WooCommerce, etc. But that’s always a moving target because you never know when they will push out a new update. We lean heavily on our Priority Support team (me as Head of Support) to work with customers on issues as they arrive.

When a conflict arises, we try to provide workarounds as well as reach out to the other author to see if we can get things working more smoothly. Authors who are responsive and make changes quickly are awesome and we create close relationships with them.

Robert DeVore: Time spent on potential conflicts with themes/plugins really depends on the work I’m currently doing. For instance, if I’m working on something WooCommerce related, I’ll make sure that it works with the Storefront theme and any of the official add-on’s from WooCommerce that it may be interacting with. Other than that, I build and adjust things based on conflicts as they’re brought to my attention.

2. With so many potential plugin and theme combinations out there, do you have an expectation of something breaking?

MC: Yes. Things will break, always. That’s an inevitable reality of providing code to tens of thousands of environments that you have ZERO control over. Every user has a completely unique environment which is virtually unpredictable for us to prepare for. We just work hard to make sure we aren’t the code in that environment that is creating the problem – as much as possible. Again, problems will happen, so we lean hard on Support to work out what exactly the conflict is and potential workarounds and then to create actionable issues for development to address.

RD: Yeah, I live by “hope for the best but expect the worst” with every release I push out :)

3. Do you feel pressure when a user reports a problem with one of your plugins?

MC: Currently we power 40,000+ websites all over the world, and generally they are all good causes wanting to do good in the world. If they can’t accept donations because of a problem with our plugin (or their unique combination of plugins and hosting and theme) then yes – we feel a real urgency to address the issue via Support as quickly as possible. On the other hand, when their problem is a niche issue, with a niche plugin, that only affect convenience in their admin experience but donations are still flowing – there’s a lot less pressure in that case.

RD: I wouldn’t describe it as pressure, but I do feel a bit of a pull inside to try and fix the problem as fast as possible. So, maybe it is pressure? lol

4. How much effort should a developer put into supporting a free plugin?

MC: I might be in the minority here, but I believe 100% in free support. It’s been absolutely vital to the success of our business and the robust quality of our code. Of our 40,000+ active installs, we have about 9,000 customers. That’s less than 1/4 of all our users. Free support is one of the best places we can interact with those 31,000+ other users (and) help them have a positive experience with our plugin.

Besides that, free support is part and parcel to being part of the global Open Source community that is WordPress. Any business that depends on WordPress should be contributing at least 5% of their time on the WordPress support forums in one way or another. The more educated user-base we have, the better it is for everyone.

RD: Personally, if it’s a free plugin and ONLY a free plugin (meaning, no commercial add-on’s or themes to go with it), then I think a developer should take bug/security notices seriously and look into fixes for them. Beyond that, any feature/enhancement requests can be taken with a grain of salt since it’s a free plugin you took the time to build and release, without much in the way of financial upside to spend too much time supporting it.

5. In your opinion, what is the biggest responsibility you have when releasing a plugin out into the world?

MC: That it serves the need of those who want to use it. I wrote a piece on what I call “The Single Purpose Philosophy” which says that a plugin should always ONLY do one thing. That’s the developer’s responsibility. Make the plugin serve that one purpose with efficiency, clarity, without fuss or clutter and get out of the way… All of the tweaks and bugs and compatibilities will come with time; but if you’re not serving your one purpose then there’s no reason to launch at all.

RD: SECURITY! Regardless if it’s a free or commercial product, the user’s security should always be #1. There’s a lot of “workarounds” that developers use to save time and cut corners, but those end up leading to more problems down the road for the end user and the developer.

Maintainers of the WordPress Ecosystem

The more you use and develop with WordPress, the more appreciation you gain for everyone who helps to keep it functional and flexible. While not necessarily “official” maintainers of the WordPress ecosystem, plugin developers play a very important role in its ultimate success. Useful and well-maintained plugins are part of what makes WordPress appealing to users and a viable option for web designers.

Many thanks to both Matt and Robert for letting us peek into their world! While their plugins, user bases and philosophies differ, both have shown the dedication required to serve the needs of users.

The post The Responsibilities of a WordPress Plugin Developer appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Consider a recent report from the security firm We Watch Your Website, for example. The report claims that 60% of hacked WordPress sites stem from stolen session cookies. I sure didn’t see that one coming.

We know about using strong passwords and setting file permissions. We understand the importance of updating our WordPress installs. We may even use a security plugin or two.

However, even the most security-conscious among us can miss things. That one oversight can lead to a hacked website. And that’s despite taking a bevy of security measures.

Stolen session cookies weren’t on the radar. So, what can we do to prevent this from happening? The author of this report has some advice.

How to Prevent Stolen Session Cookies

Thomas J. Raef is the author of “The Real Attack Vector Responsible for 60% of Hacked WordPress Sites in 2023.” His report demonstrates the threat of stolen session cookies in great detail. And a recent appearance on the WP Tavern Jukebox podcast shed more light on the subject.

But what about remedies? How do we stop these attacks from impacting our websites? I asked Raef for some preventative tips. The answer is as simple as logging out.

Our interview was lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

How do session cookies get stolen?

Thomas J. Raef: If it’s not WordPress, they’re frequently stolen via cross-site scripting. However, WordPress uses the HttpOnly option in the headers. So, that prevents cookie theft in WordPress via XSS.

The main way is by info stealers. If you Google the term, you’ll see it’s almost as popular as ransomware. Some ransomware hackers are starting to use info stealers more for their infections. Info stealers are designed to evade detection from most anti-malware programs. Some are dedicated to evading detection on Windows, others on Macs.

They typically steal everything possible in about 10 seconds. Some ask, why would they bother stealing WordPress session cookies if they’re also stealing bank logins, etc. But look at the cybercriminal industry. What do they need for the majority of their attacks? Oh, a legitimate website to infect unsuspecting visitors.

They steal the session cookies because it totally bypasses 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication), MFA, etc. because the user is still authenticated. As long as the cookie hasn’t expired.

Raef’s report shows that nearly 60% of hacked WordPress websites were the result of stolen session cookies.
Image credit: We Watch Your Website

How can we secure our devices against this type of threat?

TJR: The easiest way is to remember to log out. That’s it! When you log out you expire the cookie. If you just close your browser window, it leaves the cookie active. So, if it’s stolen, it can be used by anyone.

One simple prevention is using SolidWP (Solid Security). Their Trusted Devices feature uses the IP address to generate the session cookie. If it’s stolen, it can’t be used anywhere other than where it was originally created. Those two things are the best way to prevent session cookies from being used against your sites.

Are there any changes the WordPress project could take to increase the security of session cookies?

TJR: Possibly. If there was a procedure that checked for inactivity after 30 minutes, and then automatically logged out the user, that might help. But I believe that would involve JavaScript and that’s getting too complicated. They already include the HttpOnly option, so they’re doing a lot to prevent this from being even bigger.

Do you have any other advice for web designers managing WordPress sites?

TJR: Make sure that everyone with admin access to your site is also focused on sanitary procedures for all local devices. We’re seeing more and more sites being infected due to malware on the local device of an admin. It can steal usernames, passwords, and session cookies.

2FA can stop the usage of username and password, but not session cookies. Tell all devs to log out! It’s quite simple and 100% effective.

One thing we’re starting to see more of is hackers attacking from the local device. Not stealing session cookies or anything else, just piggybacking on a legitimate admin session.

We see the legit IP address of an admin, and they’re doing their work and then suddenly from the same IP address at the same time, the legit admin is working – BAM! – a bogus plugin is installed from the same IP address!

The hackers have control over the local device and they’re attacking from that device. This supports the fact that you MUST be concerned about the health and well-being of your local devices.

Your Device Is Also a Factor in Website Security

A compromised computer or mobile device can impact your website’s security. On the surface, this theory makes sense. However, we typically don’t hear much about it.

Website security usually means a focus on the site itself. We attempt to filter out malicious traffic. And we employ various methods to prevent direct attacks.

It’s past time to look at our devices as well. You know, the systems we use to log into our websites. Good security should start there.

An info stealer can do untold damage in mere seconds. We won’t know the consequences until it’s too late. Let’s do something about it.

Follow best practices to secure your device – and encourage your clients and colleagues to do the same. A few simple steps could prevent a catastrophe.

And to follow Raef’s advice: Be sure to log out of your website! An expired session cookie is useless. Thus, it can’t do any harm.

Many thanks to Thomas J. Raef for chatting with us! Check out more of his security advice at We Watch Your Website.

The post The Risks of Not Logging Out of WordPress appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

However, if you don’t regularly use assistive technology, accessibility can be a bit of a guessing game. With that in mind, how many of us have consulted a person with a disability – someone who uses this technology daily?

Taylor Arndt is someone who understands website accessibility from multiple angles. She not only consults with all types of organizations regarding the subject, but she is also blind. This provides her with a first-person perspective on the challenges of using a typical website. In addition, she has the expertise to both define and fix any outstanding issues.

If you really want to learn the ins and outs of accessibility, Taylor is someone you’ll want to know. She was kind enough to answer some questions about her background and offer advice for fellow web designers.

The following is our Q&A session, slightly edited for brevity and context.

Could you tell us a little bit about your background in web development? How did you get started?

I got started when I worked for the local university auditing and fixing websites to meet the web accessibility standards. During 2020, after I lost my job at the university, I decided to start a business.

Today, I own my own company, Taylors Accessibility Services LLC, where I build websites but also educate developers on the best ways to ensure websites meet standards. Not only that, but I emphasize compliance along with usability.

How did you come to focus on accessibility?

I came to focus on accessibility because being blind myself, I faced these challenges and I wanted to do something about it.

What sort of assistive technology do you use when browsing a website?

The assistive technology I use is called a screen reader. A screen reader is a tool that reads what is being presented on the screen aloud to users so they can get information – just like the rest of society.

Is there any particular item related to accessibility that developers commonly miss or implement incorrectly?

The most common thing I see developers not implement has to be heading structure. I see lots of times where headings are used as a visual formatting indicator, rather than the real use of a section indicator for a new block of content.

Are there any specific website features that tend to hurt accessibility?

There are for sure features that are not accessible most of the time. One good example is carousels or slideshows. While these features make the website look nice, they can be an accessibility nightmare.

How do you go about certifying that a website meets the appropriate standards?

The certification of websites is not the easiest thing to do. There is no real recognized thing that says you met the standards. Instead, there are companies like mine who do accessibility statements saying that the website has been reviewed and meets all standards.

This review is done using manual auditing performed by users who have disabilities along with an automated report that only catches the things wrong with the code aspect. (With) those things working together, we can make the statement.

What advice would you give to web designers who perform accessibility audits?

The advice is simple. Have someone on your team who has a disability to audit along with you. The reason for this is that people without disabilities may have a basic idea of how to use the assistive technology, but they don’t use it daily, and they may not understand how a disabled user navigates.

Many thanks to Taylor for taking time out to speak with us! Be sure to check out her website and connect with her on Twitter.

The post How Taylor Arndt Brings a First-Person Perspective to Accessibility appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

Now imagine that, a few months into this new adventure, a global pandemic takes hold. Suddenly, you’re charged with building a website that puts critical public health information out to the citizenry. It’s got to be done right – and quickly.

This is the reality Andy Stitt faced in 2020. Just a few months into his tenure with the Delaware (USA) Department of State, he was named lead front-end developer of the state’s COVID-19 website. His job was to lead a team in building a WordPress website that would help residents access the information they needed to know.

Of course, the pandemic is ever-evolving. That means the website has had to keep pace. The details of virus testing and vaccine availability have been added over time. The work is never really done.

What has the experience been like? Stitt was kind enough to fill us in by answering a few questions. The following Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity.

Tell us a little a bit about your background in web design.

I built my first website as a bored teenager in 1998 and learned Dreamweaver in college in 2002. I then had an opportunity in 2008 to manage my company’s website using static HTML and CSS. I’ve held many different web-focused digital marketing roles since then, and I’ve been a full-time web developer since 2016. I spent many years as a solo developer for nonprofits, and now I happily work on a team in state government.

In 2020, you were hired by the Delaware Department of State – just before the pandemic. What was your initial role supposed to be?

My role was to be the lead front-end developer for the Government Information Center, Delaware’s internal marketing agency located in the Department of State. I was supposed to build and maintain WordPress websites for many state agencies across departments as well as municipalities.

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, how did that impact your role?

We suddenly had to build a COVID-19 information website, and it became the bulk of my work for quite a while. I rarely worked on other website projects in the first few months of the pandemic. We had to put a few projects on hold due to our help being needed for a national emergency.

What was your first thought after becoming the lead developer for the state’s COVID-19 website?

My first thought was “who, me?” I looked behind me to see if they were pointing at someone else to take on the lead developer role, but there was no one standing behind me! Thankfully I had the front-end development and WordPress skills to take it on, and having a fantastic supportive team behind me sure makes the job much more doable.

What was the process for getting the site online? How much time did you have?

We had about 2-3 weeks. The funny thing is, I was only there for the first week of it. My wife and I had a pre-scheduled out of town trip for her to have major surgery, and then I needed to help her recover.

Initially, we worked with the governor’s office, public health, and emergency management to define the scope, information architecture, content, etc. We got approval to build a WordPress website so that non-technical people could make content edits on the fly if they needed to. The situation was so dynamic that we wanted to allow as much flexibility as possible.

Once we had the basic parameters defined, I created a layout wireframe for the website. Once that was approved, I handed it off to my fellow developers and then went on my trip. They built the website using our existing WordPress theme setup and reused branding from the Delaware Health and Social Services website. The branding allowed us to get a styled website up more quickly and gave it a cohesive look with our health department. We have since developed COVID-specific branding as we’ve gone along.

When I got back from my trip, they gave me the keys to the car, and it became my primary focus at work.

Beyond the quick turnaround, what were the biggest challenges you and your team faced?

The single biggest challenge was not knowing exactly what to do. The virus itself is a thing in nature that humans can’t control as much as we’d like. We didn’t know what exactly would happen, we didn’t know how bad it was going to be, and we didn’t know when it would be over.

So, to the best of our ability, we helped our team communicate information on statewide public health measures as quickly, accessibly, and accurately as possible.

In previous website builds that I was involved with, we had plenty of time to strategize. They were marketing projects with specific goals to increase leads and revenue. This website project was a leap into the unknown that had to be done urgently.

As the pandemic has continued on, were there any unexpected changes you’ve had to make to the site?

Because of the uncertain nature of the pandemic, I’d say pretty much all changes were unexpected. Two that come to mind:

There was growing demand for an easy way to find where you could get a COVID test near you. I had previously used Modern Tribe’s Events Calendar plugin, so I built a testing calendar with a searchable Google Map using that plugin. An external marketing agency that we work with then built a more robust user interface for it using VueJS (yay for headless WordPress!).

The other unexpected changes have been vaccine information-related. We’ve had to update much of that on the fly, based on when the vaccines became available for emergency use, different phases of eligibility based on how many vaccines were being distributed by the federal government, etc.

Having gone through this experience, what lessons have you learned?

I learned two main lessons:

Lesson one: I’m a solid front-end developer and user interface designer. Several months into the pandemic, we redesigned and redeveloped the website based on analytics showing what content people were looking for and public health’s priorities. I actually got to develop the website based on Figma mockups from our lead designer, and I got to make some design decisions along the way.

Imposter syndrome can be a bear, and being a solo developer for so long, I never really got meaningful feedback on my design and development chops from other designers and developers. I finally got that feedback from this project, and I take a ton of pride in the work that I did.

Lesson two: You can do anything with the right team in place. I went from solo developer for small nonprofits to lead developer for the biggest project of my career. I wore 10 different hats in my previous roles, but I couldn’t do that for this role.

Our department leaders maintain our relationships with our partners and manage the requests coming in. Our creative director and lead designer make sure everything is beautiful and usable. Our developers help me with my work when needed, troubleshoot technical issues, and build out API integrations that we have.

The best part is, we unconditionally have each other’s backs. I have the psychological safety to ask questions, ask for help, and make mistakes. With that kind of freedom and safety, you can tackle any task at hand, no matter how big. And this was quite a big one!

Thanks to Andy Stitt for sharing his story! You will also want to check out the slides from his WordCamp Philadelphia 2020 presentation on the subject. Be sure to visit Andy’s website and connect with him on Twitter.

The post Critical Info: The Story Behind Building a Government COVID-19 Website appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

The author of four books, along with dozens of both free and premium WordPress plugins, Jeff’s work has likely touched more of our projects than we can count. But as I found out, he’s also a man of many interests outside of WordPress. And, like so many of us, he strives to achieve a balance between these passions.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Jeff via email as we discussed his busy life, how he got started with WordPress and his thoughts on the software’s evolution. Note that some portions have been edited for brevity.

How and when did you get started with WordPress? Was there a particular project that piqued your interest?

Back in 2004, I was diving into web design and learning how to build dynamic PHP sites that connect to a database. Around the time I was figuring it all out, I stumbled upon b2/cafelog, which was the precursor to WordPress.

After seeing what it could do, I realized that I really didn’t need to build my own dynamic sites from scratch. Instead I could just install b2 and customize things as needed. It made my life so much easier, saving huge amounts of time and work.

Really opened up a lot of doors with so many possibilities. All very exciting and inspiring. And as b2 evolved into WordPress, things kept getting better and better. I’ve been hooked ever since.

You’ve made quite a career as both a prolific plugin author and an author of WordPress-related books. Did you start out looking to do both?

I started out just doing regular “web design”, which is what the work was referred to way back in the day. Then got into WordPress pretty heavily as it continued to grow. I started sharing tips and tutorials about my WordPress adventures at my main site, Perishable Press. Back then there were some but not a ton of useful WordPress tutorials out there. So, as I continued writing these crazy, in-depth articles about WordPress and web development, things began to take off.

Because of my WordPress tutorials at Perishable Press, readers were giving me ideas to write a book about WordPress. So I asked Chris Coyier if he wanted to co-author. About a year later, we self-published Digging Into WordPress, and launched a WordPress-focused website at DigWP.com, to share tips and tricks and help promote the book. That whole experience was very rewarding, so a couple of years later, I wrote my second book, .htaccess made easy, which is all about optimizing and securing your site using Apache/.htaccess.

By this time, I was writing tutorials for Perishable Press, DigWP.com, and some other sites. Really building things up. I also continued with lots of other projects, like the 7G Firewall, video tutorials at Lynda.com/LinkedIn, and of course WordPress plugin and theme development. And while keeping all of that going, I self-published two more books on WordPress, The Tao of WordPress and WordPress Themes In Depth.

So, looking back, my current focus on developing plugins and writing books happened organically. There was no plan per se, only a drive to learn, build, and share as much as possible.

If you had to choose between writing books and writing code, which would you pick?

Eventually, that is exactly the choice I will need to make. For a multitude of reasons. Foremost of which is the time factor. There just isn’t enough time anymore to keep it all going, writing books, developing (and maintaining) plugins, running a web development business, security research, plus all of my favorite pet projects, etc. It’s a lot of exposure and a lot of work that takes a lot of time.

So, it’s a great question, because I already have had to sacrifice activities that I used to do. For example, I love to draw and paint, do graphic design, audio mixing, video editing, photography, drone flying, and lots more. Most of the time that I used to spend on those activities now goes to writing books/tutorials and developing plugins. I’ve been honing my career focus for years now.

And so now, looking ahead, it is becoming more apparent to me that I will need to further focus my efforts on just one or maybe two things. I like the idea of doing both writing and developing, because they’re really sort of the same thing. I guess if I had to choose right now, I would stick with plugin development. But there are a lot of reasons to go with book writing. Also, a lot of reasons to dial my focus in on web security, which I greatly enjoy. So, I don’t know to be honest. At this point, for the time being, I am working on plugins, security, and books. Time will tell where it goes from there.

One of the more interesting aspects of your books is that you provide updates to them as WordPress evolves. How do you manage that process?

It’s a pain, but a labor of love. WordPress changes so frequently these days, especially with all the Gutenberg stuff. Fortunately, the core of my books focuses on aspects of WordPress that are close to core and don’t change that often, or as significantly, at least as far as the average person learning WordPress is concerned.

So, when I update my books, I make sure that all of the content is accurate based on the latest WordPress changes. Then I cover any new features and key changes as needed, with links to additional information. So far, the technique seems to resonate well with readers. They love getting the free updates and new information. People who purchased Digging Into WordPress when it first came out have received 23 (and counting) free book updates. Other books as well, customers definitely are getting their money’s worth.

Fortunately, my non-WordPress book, .htaccess made easy, covers Apache-related techniques. And Apache does not change nearly as quickly as does WordPress. So, keeping that book updated is less of a chore.

But overall, keeping three WordPress books updated with all the latest means constantly chasing WordPress and putting in the time to make required changes. Going forward, I think I’ll just write books without any promise of updates. Maybe update if there are any grave errors or earth-shattering changes, like with a new edition or whatever. I think going that route will free up a lot of time and make my life easier.

You have authored a number of popular plugins, with both free and pro versions. Pro users purchase a plugin once and get free lifetime updates. The revenue model for plugins is something a lot of developers struggle with. I’m curious – why did you choose lifetime licensing and what advice would you have to others looking to monetize their work?

I hate paying every month for software. It’s like renting. I don’t like to rent. I like to own. So that’s what I am doing with my own products. You get the keys to the house when you purchase one of my plugins. Free updates and support for the life of the product. It’s really that simple. At some point, I may change the pricing model or provide additional purchase options, etc. But for now the lifetime deal is working great. And my customers seem to like it too :)

Not sure about what to tell others about how to monetize their stuff. Each case can be unique. I guess in general I would say, try to provide more value than whatever you are thinking currently. Go above and beyond even your own goals. Be generous. And if you must use a recurring pricing model, be fair and don’t keep raising prices. I understand that price increases sometimes are necessary, but for the love of your customers don’t be ridiculous about it.

Getting into WordPress specifically, what are the biggest changes you see on the horizon?

WordPress is being taken over by JavaScript. The whole Gutenberg movement is changing everything. And will continue to do so. That’s the biggest change, now and into the future.

From what I understand, the goal of Gutenberg is to be more competitive with services like Wix and Weebly. As if 30% global market share is not enough. So, you’ve got WordPress now aiming for the newbies. People who have zero clues about anything code related. They just want to click buttons, not mess with code.

WordPress effectively is widening the gap between developer and end-user. One of the great things about WordPress for a long time was its tech-savvy user base. Working with WordPress required at least some knowledge of code. So, the gap between developer and end-user was fairly narrow. It was during that time that WordPress went from basement project to massively popular CMS. “The Golden Days of WordPress”, as it were.

Eventually, WordPress users won’t need to touch or even look at any code in order to publish content on the Web. Not necessarily a bad thing in general, but again, it’s 180 degrees from what made WordPress exceptional in the first place.

And things are changing for WordPress developers as well. WordPress was built on PHP, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. So, you had a diverse mix of languages and skills contributing to the pot. Now with Gutenberg, the mix is tasting more and more JavaScripty. And developing for Gutenberg JavaScript stuff requires significantly more skills and setup than it does for PHP, HTML, and CSS combined. It really is a different world, requiring much more knowledge, tooling, and skills to make even the smallest of changes.

Again, all of that is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just not the WordPress that I fell in love with. I still think WordPress is the best. But I rest much easier knowing there are so many great alternatives, like ClassicPress, which is a developer-friendly non-Gutenberg fork of WordPress that’s been steadily improving and quietly gaining momentum.

What can the WordPress community expect to see from you in the future?

This year (2020) was nuts. Not only all the crazy stuff happening in the world. But also in my own personal life, some very heavy stuff went down this year that really slowed things down with my work and projects.

So now that 2020 is nearly over, I am looking ahead at 2021. And the name of the game for 2021 is keeping plugin development going strong and writing new books. Not sure how many books, it really depends on how things are going in the world and online.

As 2020 has shown us, anything can and will happen. So, my plans really are more of a general direction, flexible and adaptable as things continue to change.

Many thanks to Jeff Starr for taking time out to speak with me! Visit Perishable Press to stay up-to-date with his various projects.

The post Get to Know Jeff Starr, WordPress Author and Entrepreneur appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.