Category: Development

Use Git to Test & Update Your Plugins for WordPress 4.2

So, you get an email like this one every time WordPress publishes a new release. 4.2 just went out, so I got this email a few days ago. I’m not a serious plugin developer like most out there. They aren’t premium plugins;...

Brackets.io, How I Love Thee

Let me count the ways… I have been having a great time testing Brackets.io, the open source text editor by Adobe. Ever since switching from Espresso to Sublime Text, I have missed many of the preview features in Espresso…and then along comes Brackets.

Making Developer-Friendly Themes and Plugins

As every newbie knows, when you’re starting out it’s much easier to download or purchase a theme or plugin than to make your own. However, as you grow into WordPress, you find these ‘commercial’ themes/plugins cumbersome to edit or extend. In this...

The Fundamentals of Writing Clean Code

Writing “clean” code is something we talk about a lot in software development. Developing for the web is no different in the pursuit of code that is “clean” than any other type of programming. It’s also something that you could write a book...

How to Submit a Plugin to the WordPress Repository

The WordPress.org Plugin Repository is the canonical location to find plugins for WordPress. There are many good reasons to add your plugin to this repository–the primary being that the built-in “Add New Plugin” search capabilities are linked directly to the WordPress.org repository....

WDS Github Releases for March 2015

Every month, WDS releases a bunch of goodies over on Github (and occasionally WordPress.org and elsewhere). While we typically share the links on our social media, we know that it’s easy for things to get lost in the noise, so we will...

The Basics of Developing Accessible Websites

Imagine not being allowed to buy a gallon of milk because you’re color blind. What a ridiculous scenario right!? But the reality is: Grocery stores don’t discriminate against those with disabilities…but your website (probably) does. The reality is that there are millions and millions of...

Handling AJAX in WordPress in Style

AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML) isn’t something that should be feared by anyone. It’s insanely powerful, versatile, and can provide your users cool experiences like processing forms without page redirection, dynamically loading posts while a user scrolls the page, and much more....

A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Command Line Tools

As someone who loves the command line, I’m always striving to make my workflow easier, more efficient, and just overall better. Hopefully, by walking through my set up and my recommendations for the best command line tools, you’ll find some nifty tips...