The Blog
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Stop Jetpack from Slowing Down Your WordPress Site
When you install Automattic’s Jetpack plugin, it comes with a ton of features enabled by default. While it has a lot of great features, you probably don’t need all of them. I recently installed it for a client in order to use WooCommerce Services and USPS shipping calculation. I got the shipping information just like…
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My Dog Remus, His Poop, and User Experience
One of the biggest reasons I moved into the apartment I live in now is that it accommodated large dogs (doggos or puppers, if you prefer) like mine. Many places here in Eugene may claim to be dog-friendly, but only up until forty or fifty pounds. They aren’t prepared for my 85 pound black lab,…
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Fix My Slow Website! Part 3: Plugins
This is part 3 in my series on fixing slow websites. Be sure to check out parts 1 and 2! First off, if you’re following this series as a non-WordPress developer, you might skip out on this particular entry, as it’s very WordPress-oriented. Might I suggest finding something else on the blog? Most WordPress sites…
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Adding a Gravity Forms PayPal Continue URL
Just Get the Plugin Gravity Forms is my go-to plugin for any form-related tasks on WordPress. It does everything. Well, almost everything. Recently, I leveraged it to create an online signup form for Camas Swale Farm’s community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. If you aren’t familiar with CSAs, it’s a way for people to buy into a local farm. Their…
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Fix My Slow Website! Part 2: Optimizing Images
This is part 2 in my series on slow websites, what causes them, and how to fix them. Read part 1 here. Big images are all the rage in web right now. Seems like you can’t turn around without finding high-res hero images and videos. And there’s nothing wrong with these. They generally look great and,…
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Fix My Slow Website! Part 1: Why is my Website Slow?
This is part 1 in my series on slow websites, what causes them, and how to fix them If you ever review a job board for web developers, you’ll see many variations on “my WordPress site is slow, what do I do?” I have got 6 websites. The load speed is very slow. Looking for…
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Capitalize on SEO and appear genuine in 2017: The 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer
Every year, Edelman does a survey of people across the world to determine how much the average person trusts government, business, media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 2016 started strong, with respondents showing higher trust levels than at any time since the 2008 recession. However, after a rocky 2016, trust levels have dropped across the board.…
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6 digital resolutions for 2017
New year, new you. Or that’s what I hear. For business owners, the laundry list of resolutions is often inseparable from their business. “Reorganize the filing cabinet.” “Paint the ceiling.” “Be a little more hands-off this year.” While sorting out all the things you want to tackle in 2017, don’t forget about your business’s digital presence!…
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Add Google Fonts to the Divi customizer
Divi is a powerful WordPress theme and page builder from Elegant Themes that allows folks like me to quickly generate modern and professional designs when a custom job just isn’t justified. It’s one of the most popular theme solutions for WordPress out there and offers a lot of customization options. Out of the box, Divi…
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Snapchat group chat, and why you need user research
The latest update to Snapchat includes a feature that has a lot of people excited: group chat. This new feature targets folks who use the app as a primary way of communicating with friends, rather than something like Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts or traditional text messaging. Like those other apps, users can now set up…
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WordPress 4.7 brings video headers, PDF thumbnails
The WordPress 4.7 update just dropped, and it comes with a variety of great changes. Like most WordPress releases, 4.7 is named after a famous jazz musician. This time around, the WordPress folks celebrate vocalist Sarah Vaughan. Take a listen while you soak in the new features. Justify and underline removed from editor If you’re…
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Getting the most out of Bootstrap, Part 2: Efficiency!
Part 1 of this 2-part series covered compiling CSS extension languages like Sass or LESS. If you haven’t read part 1 and aren’t comfortable with that concept, you’ll want to start there. Rather, if you’re already a pro about compiling your Sass or LESS and want to know how you can start using CSS extension…
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