MXRoute Email Server Review
Posted on January 8, 2020
So one problem with moving from traditional web hosting with cPanel/GoDaddy/Plesk to Cloud hosting like GridPane and Cloudways is that you don't get email support. Cloud servers are built without incoming email services. So if you're going to host a web site with these Cloud products, you may need to find somewhere to host email for yourself or your clients. The best solution in my experience is setting email up with Google GSuite. In addition (more...)
Filed Under: Review, Web Server
GridPane: Migrating Web Sites
Posted on December 26, 2019
One of the biggest pain points I've had with GridPane is migrating existing sites from Cloudways and cPanel. GridPane structures things a little differently than CW and cPanel, so simply creating a backup of a site with Updraft, BackupBuddy or another backup plugin and then restoring it to the GridPane managed server doesn't always work. In my case it frequently failed, requiring some extra work on my part to get the site up and working. (more...)
Filed Under: GridPane, Web Server, WordPress
GridPane Review
Posted on December 26, 2019
A couple of months ago someone turned me on to GridPane... and I am now a disciple. I've completely moved off of Cloudways and I'm in the process of moving everything off of my dedicated LiquidWeb server onto the GridPane platform. What is GridPane? First, let's talk about what GridPane "is and is not". GridPane is not a hosting platform. They do not have their own hosting servers, like Cloudways, you provision servers with Digital (more...)
Filed Under: GridPane, Review, Web Server, WordPress
Goodbye My Beloved Beaver Builder
Posted on December 4, 2019
I started using the BeaverBuilder Page Builder plugin not long after it launched. I am not a designer, so I love how easy it made creating a new web site. Especially after having used Visual Composer for nearly a year. BB not only let me "drag and drop" with a "What You See Is What You Get" interface, but it generates fairly optimized HTML and CSS for a small page footprint. Support has always been (more...)
Filed Under: WordPress
REVIEW: Cloudways Hosting Platform
Posted on September 23, 2019
Cloudways Managed Cloud Hosting Platform is gaining in popularity for many good reasons, but do they "check all the boxes" for GREAT WordPress hosting? One constant struggle for all WordPress site owners is finding the right hosting. Even when you think you have it, something will cause you to look elsewhere, even if to reassure yourself you're with the right hosting company. I spent a year evaluating Cloudways and found it to be pretty solid, (more...)
Filed Under: Review, Web Server, WordPress
REVIEW: GoPinleads from AppSumo
Posted on July 16, 2018
Is this Automated Chrome Extension for generating sales leads worth the purchase? At $39 for lifetime access, I bought it. After a couple of hours playing with it, here is my review. (more...)
Filed Under: Review
WordCamp Fayetteville 2018
Posted on June 24, 2018
I had the great privilege again of speaking at WordCamp Fayetteville, and this year I gave the keynote address... "I have never worked a day in my life". Of course, I have worked and I work for a living, but it's hard to call programming, photography and shooting video work. I enjoy what I do for a living and have been blessed for my entire adult life that I've been able to take that passion (more...)
Filed Under: WordCamp
Meta Box - A replacement for Advanced Custom Fields?
Posted on June 1, 2018
I had a chance to built a new project with Meta Box instead of Advanced Custom Fields and I think we have a contender... In this article I'll explore my observations in using Meta Box and comparing it to ACF for ease of use and functionality. (more...)
Genesis Theme Mods
Posted on May 29, 2018
I use the Genesis Framework from StudioPress for 99.9% of all my WordPress web sites. This is a plugin of functions I use on all my Genesis sites to clean things up in the interface a little bit. (more...)
WordCamp St Louis 2018 - Advanced Custom Fields for Coders
Posted on May 12, 2018
So excited to be in St Louis for WordCamp 2018 and speaking about Advanced Custom Fields. At past WordCamps the ACF talks have always been for non-coders. ACF is a great plugin for everyone to extend their web sites, but if you are a coder you can really do some amazing things. I’ve only got roughly 45 to 50 minutes and a lot to cover, so I will assume those attending have used ACF previously (more...)
WordCamp Kansas City 2018
Posted on March 5, 2018
Once again I have the great privilege of being selected to speak at WordCamp Kansas City 2018. This will be my 5th consecutive year as a speaker. My topic this year is "Advanced Custom Fields for Coders". At past WordCamps the ACF talks have always been for non-coders. ACF is a great plugin for everyone to extend their web sites, but if you are a coder you can really do some amazing things. I've only (more...)
Instant IDE Mini Review
Posted on February 6, 2018
I was an early adopter of the Dynamik theme before Cobalt Apps changed their name and switched to the Dynamik Web Builder as an addon to the Genesis Theme. And their support and product quality have always been stellar, in my opinion. The author is great at answering questions and the community around all of the Cobalt Apps products has been positive and helpful. I decided to upgrade my Cobalt Apps account to their new (more...)
Adding Custom REST API Endpoints
Posted on February 1, 2018
At my new job, I have been adding lots of new Custom Post Types for tracking data. A big one is a new Web App written in jQuery Mobile for managing reservations on collaboration rooms in our library. Next to the door of each room is an iPad mounted to the wall that shows the status of that room. It allows library patrons to check in for their reservation and make future reservations. All of (more...)
Enhanced WP_REMOTE_GET
Posted on December 11, 2017
After reading a bunch of articles about using WP_REMOTE_GET, I have been making a concerted effort to switch. One problem I've run into is when I need to pass POST variables using WP_REMOTE_POST. So I created this function that tries to intelligently pick the correct one for me. (more...)
cPanel: Moving your root domain into the PUBLIC_HTML folder
Posted on November 30, 2017
In cPanel, by default, the root domain of your account is the "/home/$account/public_html" folder. Addon domains and subdomains are placed into subfolders within that folder. My preference is to place the root domain in a subfolder as well. But there is no simple way to do that in cPanel or WHM. But it can be done. Using SSH, log in to your cPanel account. Then go to the /var/cpanel/userdata/$account folder. So if your account name (more...)
Filed Under: Web Server
Code Snippet: Font Awesome Star Ratings Shortcode
Posted on July 21, 2015
Using Advanced Custom Fields I built a "Rating System" addon for my web site to show rating information, and I wanted to show actual stars for the ratings, so I wrote some code to create a shortcode that will let me insert them into my reviews. The following PHP creates a shortcode called "fa_ratings_stars" that inserts a row of stars into a post or widget for a ratings system. Examples: [fa_rating_stars stars="4" maxstars="5"] - [fa_rating_stars (more...)
Review: Advanced Custom Fields
Posted on July 18, 2015
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) allows developers and non-developers to add "Custom Fields" to any kind of post or page. More often than not, you'll add custom fields to custom post-types, but ACF lets you add them to regular posts and pages. And it will even let you create your own options pages. Thing of it as adding your own FORM to any page or post on your web site. When you create a new post, (more...)
Speaking at WordCamp Fayetteville
Posted on July 18, 2015
After a very successful day speaking at WordCamp Kansas City in June, I was thrilled to be contacted by the good folks in Fayetteville, Arkansas to speak at their WordCamp on August 1st. Once again, I will be speaking about the Mobile Web. Specifically, I will be talking about using plugins in WordPress to create a better mobile experience. From reducing your mobile footprint, to displaying widgets and data on Mobile Only and/or Desktop Only. (more...)
I Am A WordPress Developer
Posted on July 17, 2015
When I was 8 years old my father bought a TRS-80 Model I Level I computer from Radio Shack. It had 4k of RAM and used a cassette deck to load programs. After a happy accident, it ended up in my hands and I learned to write my own programs. When I entered college, I was certain that I wanted to be a computer programmer for the rest of my life and so far, it's (more...)
Filed Under: WordPress
