Simplesteps for WordPress

WordPress optimization that works easily and safely.

July 30, 2020 / dimitrios

I see lots of new WP users trying to optimize their sites using the most advanced plugins and methods, DONT!. Most of the times you end up destroying your site and spend many hours debugging. The following plugins will help you without needing to change their default settings or read tutorials.

No 1 thing to keep in mind is to clear your cache regularly to actually see what your visitors see. Using a browser with empty cache just for that is the easiest way.
No 2 , if you use a bloated theme and 100 plugins no need to go the extra mile to optimize your site, it is not possible.

WP Super Cache, really easy to use without having to change the defaults. Plenty of documentation and tutorials. Works with WooCommerce and if you have a good host you can enable the ‘expert’ mode.

Autoptimize, use it for HTML, CSS, JS and images.

Redis Object Cache, caches your database queries, unfortunately you need a good hosting company to support it and it can cause trouble some times 🙂

Sticky FacetWP flyout menu

July 30, 2020 / dimitrios

To make it sticky I used the offsetParent, offsetTop and scrollY properties. I placed the button in a positioned element ( not sticky ) hid it with opacity so I can animate it and get the offsetParent ( does not work with display:none; ) and then used scrollY to change it’s opacity. I added a class ‘.sticky-facetwp’ to the button to target it.

The CSS

button.sticky-facetwp {
	opacity: 0;
	position: absolute;
	z-index: 99;
	color:#000 !important;
	transition-property: opacity;
	transition-duration: 1s;
	transition-delay: 0s;
}

.archive button.fixed-sticky-facetwp {
	opacity: 1;
	position: fixed;
}

The JS


const page = document.querySelector('#content')

// get the filter button
const theFilter = document.querySelector('.sticky-facetwp')
const theFilterTop = theFilter.offsetTop

function stickyfacetwp() {
	if (window.scrollY >= theFilterTop) {
        theFilter.classList.add('fixed-sticky-facetwp');
      } else {
        theFilter.classList.remove('fixed-sticky-facetwp');
      }
}

window.addEventListener('scroll', stickyfacetwp)

offsetHeight of image equals zero

July 23, 2020 / dimitrios

Scripts without async , defer or type="module" attributes, as well as inline scripts, are fetched and executed immediately, before the browser continues to parse the page.

To get the offsetHeight when using an inline script you can use an event listener like

window.addEventListener(‘load’, start);

load to wait for all assets OR link the script with ‘src’

to load it after the assets loaded.

The Usual suspects ( how to troubleshoot WordPress )

If you are new to WP, chances are that you will have issues with your site. Do not panic, you can ask for help or google the exact problem/error you have, most of the times you will find many resources with fixes. From my experience 90% of the cases can be diagnosed easily though.

First things to try :

Disable any caching/optimization plugins, clear your browser’s cache!
Disable all your plugins or the ones you do not need to view/use your site.
Switch to one of the default WP themes ( twenty fifteen, twenty nineteen etc)

If you do these and still have the same problem, like not able to view your site or create a post, here are more advanced ways to find the problem.

htaccess

WP log

Browser’s console log

If again you cannot find the culprit it is better to hire a professional : )

tip: always work on a staging site!

Creative WordPress themes

February 13, 2019 / dimitrios

Croccante

Qusq Lite

https://wordpress.org/themes/heythere-lite/

Hexa

New free plugins I tried

January 21, 2019 / dimitrios

Google Reviews Widget

Yes it works, not so easy to find the Google keys + Ids etc but it works, thanks!

Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer

I had to edit a client’s email template and found this gem! Amazing work, great plugin

How to update Xampp

December 19, 2018 / dimitrios

Easy, you just rename the old xampp directory and install the new version. PhpMyAdmin works for each one so you can import/export your databases and your files! Doh! I was really worried about this for a long time and thought I should share my ‘solution’

Sites with JS exercises

December 19, 2018 / dimitrios

The WP Gutenberg gallery block

December 17, 2018 / dimitrios

I think this one needs a lot of work.

Testing the Gutenberg code block