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WordPress optimization that works easily and safely.

July 30, 2020 /

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 🙂

The Usual suspects ( how to troubleshoot WordPress )

February 27, 2019 /

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 /
Croccante
Qusq Lite
https://wordpress.org/themes/heythere-lite/
Hexa

New free plugins I tried

January 21, 2019 /

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 /

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’

The WP Gutenberg gallery block

December 17, 2018 /

Photo by Damon Lam on Unsplash

I think this one needs a lot of work.

Simple security tip for WordPress

December 17, 2018 /

BACKUP EVEYTHING! 

That’s it folks

done looney tunes GIF

Used Themes

December 17, 2018 /

I am testing the new editor, its tough I don’t know really if I am going to keep it to be honest : ) 

So over the last 10+ years I used and abused many themes. A good theme for me is one that works ( there was a time that this was a concern ), it is WP friendly customizable ( I am going to write a separate post about this ) and how well it’s supported! That’s the most important, customer support, updates and new features. 

Here is my short list:

Sober 

Cool name, cool theme. It works and customer support is friendly and responsive. The theme includes many features which I didn’t try but I customized it easily and that’s a good sign.

Pinnacle 

Good theme, still using it for a client. Too many options for me but handy if you do not want to get your hands dirty with coding. 

I will probably need to update this post : ) 

JointsWP + WooCommerce = Woojoo theme

December 7, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Fun project using JointsWP + WooCommerce, nothing fancy. JointsWP is a great starter theme that uses Zurb Foundation framework with WordPress. I added the code to make it compatible with WooCommerce, some styling and voila!

I start doing it for a client that wanted a ‘simple’ theme and decided to publish it here as well. If you use it you can check the documentation of

Plugins i am using are

Simple Social Icons really simple, does the job, great plugin

WooCommerce doh!

This is not a complete theme, but i will use it as a reference if i need to, you can do the same if you like.

Woojoo demo

Where to get free help with your WordPress site

October 27, 2017 /

Here is a list of places where you can get help for your WordPress site

  • https://wordpress.org/support/
  • https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/
  • https://codex.wordpress.org/IRC
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