Web Design, Programming, and Business
After you sign up for a Mailgun account, you will need to add a subdomain to your domain name and configure your MX records for that subdomain. You can then create a new SMTP user account with password. With those account credentials, you can send emails through Mailgun’s SMTP server using server “smtp.mailgun.org” and ports 25, 587, or 465. What is SMTP and what is the purpose? As we use Gmail...
You’ve built the perfect WordPress site but you’re noticing that it takes a while to load. Even worse, Google has noticed and you’re losing search engine traffic because of it. Here’s a few tricks I’ve learned to get top scores on Google PageSpeed Insights, Google’s tool to measure site performance. With all the images and JavaScript required to make a website these days, it can cause your...
WordPress 3.7 ushered in automatic updates. We all sighed with relief and the satiating knowledge that our WordPress sites were forevermore safe and secure. Beer tabs cracked, colleagues slapped each other on the back, and a new world of internet security was ushered in. If only this daydream was true! The WordPress automatic updates do promote better security, but they’re only incremental...
That little fox you see above…just think of him as the sneaky, malicious hackers that are trying to get into your website to wreak havoc. You’ve heard us say it here, and you will probably hear us say it again at some future date beyond today: keeping your WordPress installation and plugins up to date is a critical part of owning and maintaining your website. WordPress accounts for 23...
Who doesn’t love bacon? Ok, lots of people but I certainly love it. I’ve been using the bacon filler text for years thanks to Bacon Ipsum. The old standby for wireframes and design mockups is to use “Lorem Ipsum” but I find that Bacon Ipsum is much tastier. You can copy their filler text into your designs but they now have a few additional options that you may not know...
If you work with websites then you’re well aware of the necessity of keeping your sites up to date and secure. 2014 has been a record year for malicious hacks when it comes to the wide world of the web. It seems every other day we’re reading about another major business or retailer whose site has been compromised. Whether you’re maintaining a massive site for a world wide...
WooCommerce is a great E-commerce solution when it comes to building a store with WordPress, although WooCommerce can be a sledgehammer when all you need is something quick and lightweight. If you’re looking to solely offer digital products for purchase you might consider the Easy Digital Downloads plugin. Easy Digital Downloads comes with built-in features to quickly set up a digital...
Sliders, otherwise known as a carousel, or image slider, are ubiquitous throughout the web. If you’ve spent any time designing or developing websites than you’ve more than likely implemented a website slider or two. The debate over the use of sliders in websites has been raging for some time. Spend a few minutes Googling and you will easily find innumerable arguments for and against...
It’s easy to forget about the “small” details when we’re neck deep in code, styling, and image creation (You know, all the meaty, fun-to-do aspects of your WordPress projects). It’s the “small” details that can really add up to make a major impact on your WordPress site. What is this small stuff? Theme Performance Optimization! Theme performance optimization sounds more...
As site owners and administrators, we understand the importance of creating quality content that has been SEO optimized. We have important information to share and we want that information to make it to the top of search results! Here’s the situation: you’ve spent some quality time researching your keywords and you’ve polished your content to maximize search results. Great! So...
Web Design, Programming, and Business
Professionally building websites since 2002, I've worked at Microsoft, multiple agencies, and a few web design businesses of my own, including White Whale Web, a Boise-based web development agency. Previously, I was an owner of Thrive Web Designs from 2015 to 2022. I've taught classes, run design groups and even ran a benefit auction for 4 years in my free time. I love sharing and giving back to the web/creative community.