CREATING USABLE, MAINTAINABLE, AND UPGRADABLE WORDPRESS SITES

You’ll find thousands of tutorials, snippets, and other advice online advising you to “just add this to your functions.php file.”

It’s a bit more complicated than that…
I’LL COVER:
Why that’s rarely the best strategy for anyone (yes, even a non-technical user)
Why developers and designers should never do this on client sites
What best practices are regarding adding custom functionality to your site
Tools for users of all levels to avoid functions.php bloat
I’LL ALSO COVER:
Why “app themes” are probably a bad way to start a business/website
Which code belongs in plugins vs. themes
How using a theme framework/starter theme can save you hassles and headaches

Transcript

1. WordCamp Minneapolis 2015
2. Creating usable, maintainable, and upgradable WordPress sites
3. Keeping functions.php lean and mean
4. My concerns about "separation of concerns" in WordPress development
5. Common WordPress Coding #FAILs You Should Avoid
6. “Don’t be someone else’s rescue project”
7. You’re doing_it_wrong();
11. Hacking Core Files •But I found a bug! •Are you sure? •Check Trac!
15. Hacking plugin files •Fork it (preferably on GitHub) •Hack the version number or disable auto updates •Document your hack!
16. Child Themes
17. Child Themes •Whenever possible! •Starter (_s) vs. Parent Theme (Genesis) vs. Frameworks (?) •Can’t? Consider the quality of parent theme… •Use a theme with hooks (and never touch the theme)
18. Avoiding Bloat
19. Avoiding Bloat •“Just add this snippet to your active functions.php …” •functions.php file is for common theme functions •It’s not for site functions. •Should be relatively sparse - include files if you must •Code is Poetry — not the great American novel
20. ThemeForest?
21. ThemeSwamp?
24. Enqueue all the Things? •Only enqueue it when you need it •You can enqueue scripts and styles in shortcodes •has_shortcode() (WP 3.9+)
25. Image Insanity •TimThumb ➤ WP-Thumb
26. Image Insanity
27. Image Insanity
28. Too many plugins (or not enough?) •“Too many plugins slow down your site!” •Quality vs. Quantity •Modules (one plugin or many) •Should always have one custom “functionality” plugin
30. Caching •More than just a plugin •Use transients to cache slow/large queries •Debug Bar/Query Monitor/Slow Queries
31. Caching
34. Giving clients too much control •Editor or “Super Editor” role •Admin Restriction plugin •Adminimize •Sell them a maintenance service, or refer them
35. Cowboy Coding
36. Cowboy Coding •define( 'DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true ); •Git + Bitbucket •ServerPress (or MAMP, VVV, etc). •WP Migrate DB Pro
41. Avoiding Fragility •Prefix or encapsulate code in an object •Escape or sanitize all output •Turn off plugins and make sure nothing explodes
43. Shortcode soup = #FAIL [wrapper] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column][column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column][column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column][column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column][column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column] [column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column][column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column][column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column][column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [column][item image=”…” url=”…”}[/column][column][item image=”..” url=”…”][/column] [/wrapper]
44. Visual Page Builders
46. Questions?
47. Nick Ciske VP Web Engineering cimbura.com ! nick@cimbura.com ! @nciske