Steve Jamesson

Avoid conditionals in templates with template_include

Steve Jamesson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:07:26 +0000

In WordPress, when creating custom templates, it’s common to end up duplicating code. I’m a huge proponent of the DRY principle, so it really bothers me when I have to duplicate code.

Regarding templates, there’s a filter that’s quite often underused: template_include.

Before coming across this filter I’ve often used a bunch of logic around of get_template_parts–cleverly, sure–but not as efficient and clean as just using the template_include filter.

Check out these links for more info:

Snook’s SMACSS

Steve Jamesson — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:32:18 +0000

Snook’s Scalable and Modular Architecture for CSS

Adaptive Images

Steve Jamesson — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:46:01 +0000

Check out Adapative-Images.com for a great way to serve appropriately sized, responsive, cached images to mobile devices. Rad!

CSS-based ajax loader spin

Steve Jamesson — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:55:16 +0000

Check out spin.js, a CSS-based spinner image for ajax loading. No more image.

If you’re smart, you won’t use Internet Explorer

Steve Jamesson — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:00:12 +0000

Recent study suggests that IE users are dumber than the rest of us: CNN Article

Chosen, a jQuery plugin to clean up select/dropdown lists

Steve Jamesson — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:15:31 +0000

Check out Chosen, Harvest’s new jQuery plugin that makes dropdown lists and select boxes much cleaner and more predictable.

Easy access to common Google CDN scripts

Steve Jamesson — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:49:47 +0000

ScriptSrc.net offers easy access to the most current scripts hosted by Google CDN. Thanks guys!

WordPress Plugin: Clear Widget

Steve Jamesson — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:37:14 +0000

A very simple WordPress plugin that outputs a clearing

. You may configure the CSS class and height and disable inline style output. Useful when you want to ensure that a widget clears its predecessor where the predecessor’s contents are dynamic.

Available on WordPress.org »

Compatibility

Current Plugin Version: 0.1
Written & tested for WP 3.2.1

Description

Simply activate the plugin and visit Appearance > Widgets to use. You may choose to disable the inline style output (if your CSS already has a clear rule). You may also specify height and the CSS class of the clear block. If not specified, the defaults are used:

Height: 0
Class: ‘clear’

Screenshots

Download

Download from wordpress.org »

Yoast SEO now allows import from All in One SEO and others

Steve Jamesson — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:52:34 +0000

I’ve been using All in One SEO for years, and Yoast’s SEO plugin is making some headway. I’d like to start using it, but haven’t taken the plunge since there was no way to easily migrate that data.

Sure, I could’ve analyzed both plugins and done some database work or manually migrated the data. But that wasn’t very inviting.

But Yoast has pushed an update to his plugin, allowing for easy migration of this data. Sweet, thanks Yoast! See Yoast’s post.

MODX Web Development – Second Edition

Steve Jamesson — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:50:28 +0000

Packt Publishing has released a new edition of MODX Web Development – Second Edition. Though I rarely use MODX these days, I do still consider it a valuable and quality CMS. Clients have found it pretty intuitive, especially for basic edits and updates.

If you’re interested in getting started with or just learning about MODX, I do recommend this book. It covers MODX Evolution, not Revolution. Personally, I still prefer Evolution over Revolution; it just seems to jive better to me, since I haven’t spent too much time with Revolution.