Pagination Is Evil And You Shouldn’t Do It

by Thord Daniel Hedengren February 16^th, 2012 8 Responses

So I was browsing the web looking for something that would piss me off enough to write a snarky column that would make you, dear reader, equally pissed off. At me, most likely, as that is usually how it goes. Or rather, how it used to go, the last few columns have been so cute and cozy that I feel a bit nauseous. I know my fellow overlords (note: not actually my fellows) breathe a bit easier when I’m not pissing off the WordPress community, or at least I like to think that’s why I haven’t been kicked out just yet, but still, this is getting a bit boring right?

Opinion

The Most Obvious Way You Can Make Money With WordPress

by Thord Daniel Hedengren February 9^th, 2012 6 Responses

I hate myself a tiny little bit for that title. The only thing that would make it even worse would be if this was a list post, and the title reflected it. Most likely this means that my next column will feature a truly messed up title, possibly with profanities and something dangerously close to libel. If nothing else I can always poke fun at the folks behind this here site. After all, what are they gonna do, sue me for something they publish?

Ah, the power, the glorious power…

Opinion

WordPress.com Should Rebrand As WP.com

by Thord Daniel Hedengren February 2^nd, 2012 4 Responses

The idea was to dedicate this week’s column to single malt whisky and make some far fetched connection to WordPress as an excuse, but something that’s been bothering me came up again. But first, here’s a disclaimer so that no one will read this wrong.

I’m perfectly fine with Automattic making money on WordPress.com. I think it is an awesome service and that it benefits WordPress as a platform overall. Keep up the great work, is all I’m saying. Yay for WordPress.com!

There.

Now for the part that’s bothering me: The fact that WordPress.com is called WordPress.com.

Opinion, Plugins

The Best Caching Plugins for WordPress – Recommended By Our Readers

by Timothy Bowers January 30^th, 2012 28 Responses

A couple of weeks back, a WPMU reader sent us a question: Which is the best caching plugin to use on my WordPress site?

The Q & A article that we published got a pretty interesting conversation started, which we felt warranted a follow up post, and hopefully some more quality discussion on caching solutions for WordPress.

By the way, if you haven’t fully wrapped your head around the concept of caching and why it’s important to your WordPress site, a little background reading might be in order. We’ve got a great article here on the basics of caching.

On with the show

Opinion, Themes

Less Is More, Dear Theme Developers

by Thord Daniel Hedengren January 27^th, 2012 9 Responses

I’ll keep this column short and sweet because I’ve just delivered the manuscript to the third edition of Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog to my publisher. That’s right, another one for you guys to spend your hard earned money on (or download from The Pirate Bay, I guess) so that I can continue to feed my single malt addiction interest.

So here’s the punchline, served up like a Talisker Distiller’s Edition from 1994: Theme developers need to chill with all the bloody options!

Opinion

Thanks for taking the stand against SOPA, WordPress

by Thord Daniel Hedengren January 18^th, 2012 2 Responses

The past few weeks have been interesting for non-Americans. Some of us have been following the SOPA controversy closely, while others just don’t give a damn. That’s not a good idea, if such a monstrosity would be passed in the States then it would surely strike back at us in the rest of the world as well, Europe in particular.

I don’t want that. Don’t fuck with my internetz please!

Opinion

Can WordPress Bloggers Benefit From The Pomodoro Technique?

by Timothy Bowers January 6^th, 2012 5 Responses

Let’s do a quick poll: how many of us made a new years resolution that we were going to be more organised, efficient and effective with our WordPress work in 2012?

I did just that, and I suspect that many of you folk are in the same boat. So what’s the plan of attack?

I know a few writers and web developers who swear by the Pomodoro Technique for staying focused and productive. I’ve decided to give it a whirl this year, and see what (if any) improvement it brings to my work habits.

Opinion

What Should You Name That Theme?

by Thord Daniel Hedengren December 15^th, 2011 4 Responses

Friends, I’ve been thinking a lot on what we call WordPress themes the past few days. The name of the theme is important, much like the name of the book matters. “The One Who Walked and Walked and Walked (and Walked) with the Ring” is a far worse alternative to “The Lord of the Rings” after all.

Opinion

Hello Dolly? Really?

by Tom Ewer December 8^th, 2011 21 Responses

<rant>

The very first time I loaded up WordPress, I started poking around and came across the plugins page. I was presented with two bizarre-sounding plugins:

I don’t know if you can remember how you felt when you first started using WordPress, but I do – generally quite overwhelmed. Whilst I am technologically savvy and knowledgeable about website design in general, this was a whole new world. I nearly went straight back to trusty old Windows Notepad, with its comforting lack of options.

Opinion, Plugins

Should Your Plugin Even Be On WordPress.org?

by Thord Daniel Hedengren December 6^th, 2011 5 Responses

I’m one of those guys who love open source. Really love it, you know, in that slightly scary way. You should see my bedroom, there are stuff on the walls that could possibly be illegal in some parts of the world, all tied to open source. Actually, you should probably stay clear of my bedroom. Unless you’re making open source software, then we should talk. Have a drink. Maybe hug a bit. A kiss? Why, I’m making eggs and bacon baby!