A few years ago, when my WordPress-based website firm was ramping up business I found myself recreating the same template files over and over. Starting with the same base and customizing as needed for the specific client need. After a short while, I discovered Foundation by Zurb, a mobile-first HTML framework that is easily modified […]
Creating and Using My Own Baseline Theme? Not Anymore Continue Reading »
Every WordPress developer has their go-to list of favorite plugins they install on each site they develop. Each has a (and should!) have a singular purpose to solve a specific problem or handle functionality specific to the client’s business need. No plugin should be installed “just because other sites are using it and I want
WordPress Plugins I Install on Every Business Website I Create Continue Reading »
So you should know that these days, website performance and website speed (time to load) is important and helps with search engine placement, not to mention user satisfaction. Honestly, you really only have a few seconds of someone’s attention before they get frustrated and click the back button. I’ve been obsessed with website speed lately,
An Exhaustive Journey to Website Performance and Speed Continue Reading »
So you just launched your new website. Great! Now what? You may think you’re done. You’d be wrong. There are four things you should regularly focus on (or have someone do it for you) for your website in order to keep it happy and healthy — making sure it accurately and effectively represents you and
The 4 Things to Focus on for Your Website Continue Reading »
If I am redesigning my site, setting up a new site for a client, or inheriting a site from a new client for ongoing management, there are a select few WordPress Plugins that are my go-to for performance, security and functionality. No matter the size of website, if you have multiple pages and multiple menus,
The WordPress PlugIns I Recommend Continue Reading »
If your website is powered by WordPress (and honestly, why wouldn’t it be?), then there are some important security considerations you have to take in order to make sure your website is hack-proof. The first is hosting. You know then cliche, “you get what you pay for”. Well, that especially applies to website hosting companies.
Avoid These WordPress Website Mistakes Continue Reading »
I grow tired of the premise that the budget for a business website of any size should be less than $3,000. There are too many fellow developers out there that may be good at what they do but have no business sense. I can say this because I used to be like that a few
You Can Save Money By Doing Yourself, But I Wouldn’t Recommend It Continue Reading »
The WordPress content management tool is licensed under the GPL, which means it’s open source, which means it is free to download, install, and use so long as you follow the guidelines of the GPL (not going to get into that here!). Directly related is the enormous collection of WordPress plugins that provide untold amounts
Are commercial plugins worth it? Why? Continue Reading »
All of us at Refresh Detroit were lucky enough to have Molly speak at our April event, and even luckier to party with her afterwards at Detroit Beer Company. It was great having in-depth discussions about CSS vendor prefixes, the Open Web, and specificity (if anyone could actually pronounce it correctly after beers). Note to
Technology Is No Place For Wimps Continue Reading »
Do you know what Web Standards are? Chances are if you’re in the website development industry you do. Or should. But if you’re the typical client of a website development firm, you either have no idea what they are, or do and don’t care. I have been in the IT industry for a long time,
Web Standards as a Tool, not a Goal Continue Reading »