I love the fact that a lot of the meta boxes on the WordPress Edit screens are hidden by default. Did you know that it's really easy to specify which boxes should be hidden? This is great if you're building sites for clients with lots of plugins that add meta boxes, but you want … [Read more...] about WordPress Hidden Gem: screen option defaults filter
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Redirect imported content to WordPress URLs
Are you importing posts from another CMS? Do you want to avoid an .htaccess file with a million redirects? Of course you do! Step 1: store your old pages' paths in a custom field during your import. Step 2: adapt this little function to your site. When a user lands on a 404 … [Read more...] about Redirect imported content to WordPress URLs
Better 404 error messages for private posts and pages
When a non-logged-in reader visits a private WordPress post or page, she gets a 404 "not found" error message, as if the post didn't exist at all. That's great if you don't want the world to know that the post exists, but what if you're doing something less clandestine, like … [Read more...] about Better 404 error messages for private posts and pages
A better color scheme chooser for Genesis
Most Genesis themes come with several color schemes. However, most of the time, these feature one prominent color. The built-in color scheme chooser is therefore a simple dropdown list of color names: Red, Green, and so on. When I started talking to the Berkeley College of … [Read more...] about A better color scheme chooser for Genesis
Where has Stephanie been for the last year?
To sum up in one word: depression. There are lots and lots of other symptoms and side effects wrapped up in that. Chronic fatigue. Insomnia. (Often in combination; what fun!) Medication changes, with all the shenanigans that entails. Apathy. Lack of focus, also known as "brain … [Read more...] about Where has Stephanie been for the last year?
Pro tip: a “women in…” industry panel should include, y’know, women.
Denver ComicCon's Women in Comics panel on Saturday featured... no women. Let's have the allmalepanels Hasselhoff of approval, folks: When asked about this, the convention's PR rep responded with a prime example of how not to respond to questions about your problematic … [Read more...] about Pro tip: a “women in…” industry panel should include, y’know, women.
How publishers could get more of my money (and make me happy to give it)
I'm getting spoiled by self-published authors and the services that cater to them. Big publishers are increasingly disappointing in comparison. One of the most baffling aspects of big publishing is that publishers generally don't know who their readers are. Other than people … [Read more...] about How publishers could get more of my money (and make me happy to give it)
Why “click here” is a terrible link, and what to write instead
An astonishing percentage of what I do with my clients' web copy involves eradicating the phrase "click here" from their links. For more information, click here. You see it everywhere. Everyone's doing it, so it must be a best practice, right? Wrong. It's the worst possible … [Read more...] about Why “click here” is a terrible link, and what to write instead
New book! Content Strategy for WordPress is now available
At long last, Content Strategy for WordPress is available everywhere! This is a relatively short book—less than half as long as WordPress for Web Developers was—and it’s aimed at a more general audience. Paradoxically, I’ve been working on it twice as long as on either of the … [Read more...] about New book! Content Strategy for WordPress is now available
Who is “Leary” on Outlander?
Since last week's episode of Outlander, I'm suddenly getting a ton of traffic from people wondering who "Leary" is. This is Laoghaire, which is pronounced "Leary." (More or less.) Apparently a ton of people didn't catch her name--if you haven't read the books, I don't … [Read more...] about Who is “Leary” on Outlander?
