SPONSOR
DONATE
WP Vulnerability, the API / project for WordPress Vulnerabilities - The WP Builds Weekly WordPress podcast #320

320 – Javier Casares on WP Vulnerability, the API / project for WordPress vulnerabilities

Today, it's all about WordPress security and what you can do with the WP Vulnerability API / project. In the podcast you're going to meet the wonderful Javier, and I thought that I'd let him take over the show notes, as he wrote such wonderful notes prior to our chat. So… over to Javier… Hello, I'm Javier, and I'm around the Internet since 1994. In 1997, I created my first website, and in 2005, I created my first WordPress (with WordPress 1.5). Today we are talking about WPVulnerability.com, a project focused on democratizing WordPress security information. This project is a 100% open and free API, for access by any WordPress user, with the sole purpose of improving the security of a site, thanks to this information. Although is an API, with some colleagues, we created the WPVulnerability plugin, that checks your site looking for vulnerabilities and showing them in the Site Health section. Find out more by checking out the podcast.
Do we even need WordPress? - Thinking the unthinkable (TTUT). Episode 4 - WP Builds

319 – Thinking the unthinkable (TTUT). Episode 4: Do we even need WordPress?

This seems a little odd, 'Do we even need WordPress', given that we're a WordPress podcast. But, there's actually quite a lot to be said here. Both David and I have been using WordPress for years (David, quite a bit longer), and perhaps it's time to think about whether WordPress is always the right choice for our website building projects. If the site is a simple brochure site that's really never going to get updates, is WordPress really the right option? After all, you'll be needing to maintain the website, patch for security, update themes and plugins, when all that you really needed were a few lines of HTML, CSS as perhaps some JavaScript. David's been exploring taking his sites more in the 'static' direction lately, and whilst you can do this with WordPress and some plugins, David's finding the joys of writing his own HTML and getting back into what the w3c have to say. It's a fun chat and something that you might not have looked at closely, so go and have a listen and leave us a comment.
Rob Howard on what they're doing at MasterWP - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #318

318 – Rob Howard on what they’re doing at MasterWP

Deal Alert: Get 10% off MasterWP Workshops using the coupon code 'wpbuilds10' - it's valid until 15th April 2023. On the podcast today, we have Rob Howard. No, not the film director, but the one from MasterWP. If you've not heard of MasterWP before, then you're missing out as they're on a mission to create a heap of WordPress related content. They've got workshops, tutorials, a fast-growing blog and a podcast! The podcast today is in (more or less) two halves. First up, we chat about the community that Rob and his team are trying to build up in the WordPress space. Then we talk about the MasterWP workshops, and how they're creating workshops and courses on a very regular basis. It's an interesting chat with Rob, and I hope you enjoy it!
Page Builders are the scourge of the internet! - WP Builds Podcast #315

317 – Thinking the unthinkable (TTUT). Episode 3: Page Builders are the scourge of the internet!

So, there's no denying that WordPress Page Builders have taken the community by storm over the last decade. Whether you use them or not, they're popular, and dare I say it, used on more WordPress sites than site not using a Page Builder? But, as the title of this episode says, are they the scourge of the internet? We chat about this topic from a whole variety of different angles. Do they typically add bloat to the HTML that we output? Do they offer clients a poor, and inconsistent, experience? Are they difficult to scale up for larger projects? Do they keep up with the technologies that modern browsers are introducing? Do they devalue our profession? There's a lot there, right? And there's a lot more in the podcast to get your teeth into. Check it out.
Kevin Geary talks about Automatic CSS - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #316

316 – Kevin Geary talks about Automatic CSS

Some of us love working with CSS. It's fun, pretty easy to learn, and gets the job done. Others… not so much. It's boring, hard to master, and you end up doing things incorrectly all the time! Over the years, there's been many attempts to make CSS easier to write and work with… literally dozens. Today on the show we have Kevin Geary, the founder of Automatic CSS (ACSS), which is a utility framework for WordPress page builders. Its aim is to make modern CSS available for all to use, and to implement this inside of the tools that you're already using - Page Builders, and to grow the number of page builders which they support. Currently, they cover Oxygen and Bricks, but hope to grow to cover Gutenberg, Zion Builder and Cwicly. The idea is that they do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, so that much of the regular work that you might have to create right at the start of a project is taken care of. We get into what the project can do and how it can save you time. What can it control and how 'heavy' it is, or isn't?
WP Builds Podcast 315 - Thinking the unthinkable (TTUT). Episode 2: A.I. will kill us!

315 – Thinking the unthinkable (TTUT). Episode 2: A.I. will kill us!

We asked ChatGPT the question "could artificial intelligence (A.I.) kill the web design industry?". This is what we got back... "It is unlikely that artificial intelligence (A.I.) will completely kill the web design industry. While A.I. and automation tools may be able to handle certain aspects of web design, it is unlikely that they will be able to fully replace the creativity and problem-solving skills of human web designers. Web design involves more than just technical skills; it also requires an understanding of user experience, branding, and visual design principles. These are areas where A.I. may not be able to fully replace human designers." Did you read all of the words like 'unlikely', fully replace' in that sentence? We're doomed! Seriously though, there are going to be some pretty radical shifts in how we build websites in the years to come and some of that shifting will be to do with A.I. and the abilities it brings to bear. Find out what we think in the podcast this week.
Imajinn adding images to your website with AI - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #314

314 – Imajinn adding images to your website with AI

So this is all about AI, so buckle up as it's all the hotness! It's not the usual AI hotness though, because this podcast is not about ChatGPT and how it'll likely break the world. No, this is about how you can use AI to create works of art for your WordPress website, or for any reason, in fact. I interviewed Josh Dailey and Aaron Edwards, who have a service called Imajinn. It's an AI for creating images and there's a WordPress plugin which allows you to do all the magic in the WordPress admin, which is nice. We spend some time at the start getting to know Josh and Aaron and their background in the WordPress space, which, as you'll hear, is really rather extensive. We then move onto the fascinating subject of how AI art is actually created. I've got to say that I'm pretty blown away with how it all works. It's basically guessing pixel-by-pixel what should come next. It all starts with a prompt, and then the AI tries to work out what the next layer of pixels should be, and it keeps spreading out like this until it decides that it's done enough. Think ripples on a pond. Hey presto, instant (almost) artwork! Is this scary or just the best thing ever? Listen to the podcast and leave a comment to tell us your thoughts.
Thinking the unthinkable (TUTT). Episode 1: Certified - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #313

313 – Thinking the unthinkable (TTUT). Episode 1: Certified

Welcome to the very first episode in our sparkling new series that we are calling "Thinking the Unthinkable", or TUTT for short, which I quite like! Here we challenge ourselves to answer (or at least rationalise) provocative statements or critical opinions of WordPress and our glorious website building profession. We are gently easing ourselves in with today’s topic, which is… "Website builders should be certified" (like - what proper professionals are)! By "certified" we mean officially recognised as possessing certain qualifications or meeting certain standards. Not legally declared insane and committed to a psychiatric institution. What might this look like? What should be included? Do we even need anything like this? Is there anything in WordPress trying to tackle this? Listen to the podcast and tell us what you think.
Zach Swinehart on how to get more done, aka being more productive - Part 2 - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #312

312 – Zach Swinehart on how to get more done, aka being more productive – Part 2

On the podcast today we have Zach Swinehart in the second of an, unexpectedly, two-part episode. We talked for so long that I decided it was best as two episodes instead of a really long single episode. You really need to listen to episode 310 of the podcast before this one, so go do that now if you have not already! We start off today where we left off last time, with my addiction to email and whether I could conquer that, then moving on to talk about Zach's framework for Deep Work which is step by step guide to helping you to get your concentration back in a world that's constantly trying to steal your attention. Zach was kind enough to write his own show notes for this episode and so rather than reinvent the wheel, you'll find them by heading to the podcast page.
Summing up the WP Builds 'WordPress Business Bootcamp'' series - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #311

311 – Summing up the WP Builds ‘WordPress Business Bootcamp” series

Welcome to the last episode (sigh) in our Business Bootcamp series. Over the last year, we have been attempting to question everything we know about building WordPress sites and running a web design businesses. We looked at the entire process, from meeting our first client to helping them to support their site. We’ve tried to contrast approaches by looking at the traditional project (waterfall) where we are hired to build the finished (website) "product", and an agile approach, where we will try to use online SEO and UX data gathered, to iteratively improve the site as an ongoing collaboration with the client. Here we have set ourselves a few questions in an attempt to sum up what we have learned over this series and, more generally, our time in the website building industry. It's been a fun ride!
Zach Swinehart on how to get more done, aka being more productive - Part 1 - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #310

310 – Zach Swinehart on how to get more done, aka being more productive – Part 1

On the podcast today we have Zach Swinehart in the first of an (unexpectedly) two-part episode. We talked for so long that I decided it was best as two episodes instead of a really long single episode. "Productivity hacks" feel a bit like snake oil to me at this point. We've all heard a million of them and they never seem to work. Today's episode should affect your productivity. It's not a "weird productivity tip that your doctor does not want you to know about". Instead, it's a fundamental approach that we can take to our work as designers and developers to prioritise high-quality focus on the right stuff. Zach is going to go deep on the concept of "strategic deep work" and how you can leverage it to really get meaningful results in your freelancing business. Whether you're a soloist freelancer or you're trying to scale your agency, you'll get something out of this episode.
Traditional v agile - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #309

309 – Traditional v Agile

Welcome to the penultimate episode in our Business Bootcamp series. Usually, this is where I write... "where we relearn everything we know about building WordPress sites and running a web design business from start to finish". But if you are joining us now, you probably need to go back a year to season one! We are on Season 5, which is the last in this Bootcamp series and is about what happens after the website build. This is episode 5. Today we are talking about Future Proofing (our tech based business and maybe our clients’ sites). We're supposed to be talking about Traditional (Waterfall) v Agile, but as you'll hear we get slightly derailed and go off piste for quite a bit of the podcast, which is fun! We cover: Reduce or embrace dependencies? Should we offer long term support? What kind of efforts do we put into making sure that we're keeping our knowledge and skills up to date? Check it out...
Up your WooCommerce game with Barn2 plugins - WP Builds Weekly WordPress podcast #308

308 – Up your WooCommerce game with Barn2 plugins

So we have Katie Keith on the podcast today to talk about what they're doing over at Barn2 plugins. First off, we tackle the history of the company, and importantly, why they have such a peculiar name! We then get into their journey into the WooCommerce space and how that's enabled them to grow into the small, but mighty team that they are today. We then list out some of their more popular plugins and Katie explains what each one does and when you might need to deploy it. Lastly, we get into acquisitions. The WordPress space has been literally full of them over the last couple of years and WooCommerce plugins have been fairly popular 'buys' for some of the bigger players. Katie talks about this and how they wish to stay the course and keep the business going nuder their own steam.
Upselling services - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #307

307 – Upselling services

So you're in the business of selling WordPress websites? If you are in that business, then I can guarantee you that there's more money to be made than just getting the site done and then moving on. Today it's all about the upsells that we might offer. We go through a list of things that we've tried in the past, some of which were profitable and easy to do, others of which were hard and lost us money. It's a lottery to be honest! Things that one person excels at, others might be loathed to do. Website hosting, email hosting, design, custom development, social media, content creation, SEO, optimisation... I could go on. In fact, I (we) do in the episode today. Have a listen and then head over to the post and leave us a comment.
Application & database hosting at Kinsta - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast

306 – Application & database hosting at Kinsta

So in the last episode of the WP Builds podcast we were talking about how WordPress hosting has changed. Today it feels like more of the same. Kinsta has been offering managed WordPress hosting for years, and has built up a good business on top of the world's most popular CMS. Well, time and tide wait for no one, and Marcel Bootsman plus Maciek Palmowski are on the podcast today to explain about how they've got a new offering, which is not specifically about WordPress at all. So what have they got then? Application & database hosting is what they've got. Did you not see the title of the podcast?!?! What does that mean? It means that you can now host pretty much anything on the Kinsta platform; you're no longer restricted to WordPress. If you can imagine it, you can now host it with them. What does this mean for the future of the company and their current WordPress customers? Find out in the podcast.
How hosting has changed - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #305

305 – How hosting has changed

Welcome to another in the Business Bootcamp series where we relearn everything we know about building WP sites and running a web design business from start to finish. Today we're talking about the way that hosting has changed over the years. In much the same way that you look at a website from 1999 and wonder how that was ever allowed to exist, the same is true for the technology stack that is hosting our WordPress websites. Perhaps, back in the day, you ran servers of your own in your office or house. You then likely moved to something like shared hosting and a VPS. Now we've got managed WordPress hosting companies and cloud services which allow to spin up servers in an instant with just the resources we need. Add to that the interest in headless WordPress, and well, we've got a show on our hands and plenty to talk about.
Steve Burge on running PublishPress and buying other plugins - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #304

304 – Steve Burge on running PublishPress and buying other plugins

I love a good story, and that's what we've got for you today. It's Steve Burge from PublishPress. Steve's had a long history working with open source software, and, as you'll hear, he's not going anywhere. The conversation kicks off with a bit of background about Steve. We talk about his journey with a whole variety of FOSS tools such as Joomla, Drupal, Magento and WordPress. I know this journey well, as perhaps do many of you. There was a time when there really was a no clear 'winner' in the open source CMS market. Many of the platforms were experiencing growth and there was no hint that any one solution would grow to dominate in terms of market share. Given that the landscape had so many popular choices, Steve decided he was going to create a business around serving them all, and so OS Training began. We learn about how Steve tried to grow the business, and ultimately why he moved on to pastures new. We then get into the things that Steve's involved with now, namely PublishPress and MetaSlider, which is a new acquisition. All in all then, this is a lovely conversation with a very thoughtful developer. I hope you enjoy the podcast.
Monitoring websites for clients - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #303

303 – Monitoring websites for clients

Welcome to another in the Business Bootcamp series where we relearn everything we know about building WP sites and running a web design business from start to finish. Today we are talking about 'Monitoring websites for clients'. Relationships with clients after a traditional project rarely end with the site going live. Those who take an agile approach will not have clients continuously responding to user behaviour changes. What should we be monitoring for clients? There's more to this than you might think! And we get into a lot of the tools that we've tried before to make all of this happen. There's a full list in the show notes.
Eric Karkovack on the merits of canonical plugins in WordPress - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #302

302 – Eric Karkovack on the merits of canonical plugins in WordPress

On the podcast today we have Eric Karkovack. He's been in the WordPress space for ages and contributes in a whole variety of ways. I've been wanting to get him on the show for ages, but our calendars kept colliding, until today! We talk about two, not related, subjects. The first is WebP images, and the second is canonical plugins. You might not have heard of WebP images, but they're all the rage! They are / were a project which came out of Google, and their intention was to create a new image format which would create images of high quality, but of a smaller file size. They've not yet made it into WordPress Core. Why is that? We also talk about 'Canonical Plugins' which is a proposal (see the links below in the show notes on the website) to increase the footprint of what WordPress can do, without increasing the footprint of what WordPress can do. That makes sense, right?!?! These canonical plugins would offer some pretty essential features, they would be tested thoroughly with WordPress Core versions, would receive frequent updates and therefore would have kudos; they're more or less guaranteed to work out of the box. Eric and I get into this all as well...
Maintenance - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #301

301 – Maintenance

We all do maintenance for our WordPress website clients, right? But what do you cover and what does a client expect? That's the basis of the podcast today... There are many things that you 'could' cover, but many things that perhaps don't want to. Perhaps you know that you're not a security expert, or that configuring your server is a little out of scope. So how do you decide what's in and what's out? Also, we're in an era of 'no-code'. Clients are constantly being bombarded by messages saying that you can have a website which you can build yourself with no experience. How does this play into the equation of what a client will expect from you? Solutions like Wix and Squarespace make this promise a reality and it's no doubt a conversation that you're going to need to combat at some point. Join us on the podcast today to see what we think about this and what we've done in the past...
WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #300

300 – Rethink what WooCommerce Subscriptions can do with the Subscription Force plugin

It's no secret that the world is adopting the model of subscription pricing. If you're my age, then you remember a time when almost nothing was based upon subscriptions. The technology simply made it impractical; there were no credit cards, the internet did not exist, and you just didn't see examples around you. Fast forward (a few decades!), and now they're everywhere. The banking / payments systems have all been built to make this trivial to set up and deploy to the entire world over the internet. WooCommerce has a plugin called WooCommerce Subscriptions which will allow you to get started, but it's limited in what it can do. Enter Subscription Force, a new WordPress plugin which will put your subscriptions on a different level. You can do so much with this, truly. Today we interview Marius Vetrici and Andrei Haret, who are behind Subscription Force to hear what it's all about and how it works.
WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #299

299 – When the client turns web designer (although we hardly talk about that)

With all these no code options, do you find your clients are becoming experts and no longer needing you? We try (and fail) to talk about this today and end up going on about JAMStack instead! It's a serious point though. Page Builders and Gutenberg have opened up the website creation process to a whole new audience, and it brings into question what we do as WordPress web developers / builders that make us worthwhile. What can you say to the client to make you seem like value for money in a time when 'affordability' is more important than ever, and when many of the tasks that used to be 'out of scope' for non-technical users, is not possible in an easy-to-use interface? Go listen...
Make your website voice enabled, with Convoworks - WP Builds Podcast #298

298 – Make your website voice enabled, with Convoworks

So voice enabled home are now a thing. It's pretty likely that if you don't have a voice enabled device now, you will at some point in the near future. You speak, and they respond. It's pretty cool. But you might have noticed that there are limits to what they can do, and there are ways you learn to speak to these devices to get the best out of them. It's a bit like how you use Google. You don't type in ordinary language; you use Google specific language. What if it were possible to have the capabilities that voice enabled devices bring to the internet to a WordPress website? That would be cool, right? It would be, but the downside is that it's really rather hard to make all of this work, and that's where Convoworks steps in. They've got a GUI to make the job of doing all of this as easy as possible. Tihomir Dmitrović is on the podcast today to explain how it works, when you might use it and how it can benefit your website. Check it out.
Dealing with changing staff and new management - WP Builds Podcast #297

297 – Dealing with changing staff and new management

What happens when your client suddenly has new staff members that you need to interact with? It might be a really smooth transition with nothing to worry about, but it might not. Old relationships may need to be rebuilt, and common understandings and goals about the website might need to be reworked. It's even possible that your communications were not written down and you suddenly need to think about the entire project once more with new staff. What if you just don't get along? What can you do then to ensure that you don't lose the client? What can you do to keep things working for you both? We have some ideas for you on the podcast today. Go listen...
Gutenberg, FSE, Block Themes (Variants), Blocks, Rich Tabor on the whole lot - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #296

296 – Gutenberg, FSE, Block Themes (Variants), Blocks, Rich Tabor on the whole lot

So if you've kept up with the latest developments in WordPress then you'll have heard the words / phrases 'Gutenberg', 'FSE', 'Block Themes', 'Blocks' and a lot more. You'll also likely have heard of our guest on the podcast today, Rich Tabor. He's been in the WordPress space for many years working in the theme space, but now he's shifted over to all the 'new things', and is making waves. He's got some monumental projects on the go (see the links on the WP Builds post for this episode), and is on the podcast today to talk about where WordPress is at right now and what he's hoping for in the future. It's a lovely interview with a very thoughtful guest, and if you're trying out the 'new WordPress things', or are just looking for a reason why you should, then this episode is for you!
Website documentation and support - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #295

295 – Website documentation and support

Welcome to another in the Business Bootcamp series where we relearn everything we know about building WordPress sites, and running a web design business from start to finish. We are on Season 4 which is a short season looking at training clients. Today we are talking about website documentation and support. When we hand over a website, are we obliged to support it into the future, or can we just hand it over and be done with it? If we are going to support it, is there some standard of documentation we need to provide? Paper based, videos, in-person. I suspect that we've all got different ways of handling this, so check out the podcast to see what we do. BONUS, it's a short episode and you'll be done with it in no time!
How might we fix the WordPress notifications problem? - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #294

294 – How might we fix the WordPress notifications problem?

If you've used WordPress for any length of time and use plugins, it's highly likely that you've seen notifications in the backend which you did not expect. Perhaps they were ads, or upsells for things which are already installed. WordPress notifications serve a purpose. They are there for a very good reason, to notify you of things that you ought to be aware of. You just published a post. Something needs updating. That kind of thing. But not all the notifications that we see are the kind that you might call 'essential' or 'useful'. This goes back to the fact that the WordPress notifications system was not really designed to be used in the variety of ways that ingenious developers have been able to use them. It's a bit like cookies. They we created to maintain state on a website, and then developers figured out a whole raft of other uses for them, some of them somewhat undesirable. The system was created and then it was warped and reused in alternative ways. So it is with WordPress notifications. Brian Coords is on the podcast today to talk through his thoughts on the WordPress notifications systems and how it might be improved so stop its true purpose being misused.
Understanding the client’s training needs - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #293

293 – Understanding the client’s training needs

Welcome to another in the Business Bootcamp series where we relearn everything we know about building WordPress sites, and running a web design business from start to finish. We are taking contrasting approaches to getting our new businesses running and our first client’s site built. Today we're talking about what you, or don't do when handing over the site in terms of training. Do you prepare reams and reams of documents which carefully outline the ways to achieve all-the-things, and hand it to them in a big binder? Do you make videos for the client so that they can see what they need to do? Perhaps you react after the fact and wait until the client comes to you with specific queries, which you answer one at a time? Or maybe, just maybe, you don't do much at all and hope that the client figures it all out for themselves and leaves you alone to get on with the next website? Whatever it is, we'd love for you to listen to the podcast and then leave us a comment about how your process differs or aligns with ours.
Why WPCodeBox should be in your WordPress plugin lineup - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast

292 – Why WPCodeBox should be in your WordPress plugin lineup

On the podcast today we have WPCodeBox plugin developer Ovidiu Maghetiu, and he's here to explain how it works and what it can do, and it can do... a lot! WPCodeBox is turning out to be one of those plugins that you know that you're going to use for years to come. What I really like about this plugin is that it's a conduit for your imagination. Many plugins offer you a pathway for achieving a particular task. You use it to achieve one or two things. WPCodeBox is designed to be an empty container which you fill up with your (or other peoples) ideas. It's all about snippets at its heart. You can add snippets for PHP, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, SaaS to your website and in many cases reduce the plugin footprint as a result. Check out the podcast to find out more...
The Launch - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #291

291 – The launch

So the moment has arrived. You've busted a jut and got the website finished. It's 100% ready to roll. Now what? Well, you've got to launch it and let the world see the great work that you've done! So what's involved in that? What do you typically need to do to make that happen? This is the subject that we explore on the podcast today and it's one where David and Nathan have different approaches. David is going agile and is likely to ship it as soon as the first page is ready, whereas Nathan is waiting until the entire site is completed. What steps do you need to follow on our launch checklist, and what things can go wrong?
Using no code solutions as your superpower - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast

290 – Using no code solutions as your superpower

On the podcast today we have Raitis Sevelis from Visual Composer, and he's here today to talk about the how you should use your WordPress page builder with pride and explain to your clients the many benefits that it brings to your workflow. There was a time when page builders first came around that they were somewhat spurned in the community. Not by all, and not for long. They were doing things in a new way, and sometimes new hurts. Gone were many of the technical barriers to creating sites. No more need to be wrangling template files and inserting shortcodes here there and everywhere. Page builders allowed a whole new audience to come to WordPress and build site for themselves as well as for their clients. Raitis thinks that sometimes we hide our page builder skills a little; assume that clients will think that less of us for using them. He has the opinion that we ought to be talking about how we use them more with our clients, and explaining how their use us making websites faster, cheaper and more easy for non-technical users to maintain and amend.
Legal Stuff - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #289

289 – Legal stuff

Welcome to another in the Business Bootcamp series where we relearn everything we know about building WordPress sites and running a web design business from start to finish. And today we are discussing 'Legal stuff'. So this is about what we know (which is coming from our perspective, not that of a lawyer) about what responsibilities we have as the builders of WordPress websites for clients. Some of the decisions made when building a site potentially have legal consequences. GDPR, accessibility and those connected to rights and copyright. Lots of advice can be found in the WordPress Community, but like elsewhere, much could be profit motivated. So, having a sensible conversation about expectations and responsibilities seems the obvious thing to do?
The importance of making your website accessible - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #288

288 – The importance of making your website accessible

So on the podcast today we have Amber Hinds and she's here to use her expertise to explain how and why WordPress websites need to be accessible. It's a really important topic at the moment. There seems to be a groundswell of understanding that the web really does need to be made available to all, and that means thinking about all the people who might be visiting your site. So that's people who are using screen readers, people consuming videos who are hard of hearing, and so much more. We talk about what accessibility is and what comes under its purview. Is it something that you need to do under law or is it something that you can leave until later? There's a lot more to this than meets to eye, and it's well worth a listen if you're new to all this, or if you've already started your accessibility journey.
When to use 3rd party addons - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #287

287 – When to use 3rd party addons

There's a WordPress plugin solution for almost every possible scenario. Booking - done. Commerce - done. Learning management - done. Done, done and done. In fact in many cases, there's many different plugins available with slightly differing features! We're spoilt for choice frankly. By are there times when it's better for you or your client to think outside of WordPress plugins and consider a SaaS solution? That's the topic of the conversation to and we dig into situations where we're preferred non-WordPress options because it's just a better fit for the specific project / client. We chat about what we're using and when we think it's best to just confess that WordPress is not always what we want to use and that there are many superb solutions out there. We hope that you enjoy the podcast.
Living the life that working in tech can allow - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #286

286 – Living the life that working in tech can allow

This episode is like no other we've ever put out, because it's not really about WordPress, more about a lifestyle that working with WordPress might allow you to have. Alex is on the podcast today to talk about the decisions that he's made to be a digital nomad. Now, when I think about the phrase digital nomad, it conjures up images of people who are constantly on the move. Moving from place to place, never settling anywhere. This is not quite how Alex has things set up. Alex, his wife, his two kids, his two cats and his dog all life in a camper. In the UK we call them camper vans, and I've heard them called RVs as well I think. Anyway, think of a small house on wheels. When Alex and I started talking about what we might talk about on the podcast, this topic was suggested and I jumped on it. So there's not really any plugins or themes mentioned, it's just about the way that Alex and his family live, and I love this kind of thing.
Performance testing during the build - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #285

285 – Performance testing during the build

Welcome to another in the Business Bootcamp series where we relearn everything we know about building WP sites and running a web design business from start to finish.  We are on the third episode of Season 3 where we are looking at The Technical Build. And today we are discussing 'Performance testing during the build'. Here we are primarily thinking about front and back end technical performance, but we will also touch on things related to the design technical issues too. So what things do we do to test performance and what tools have we come across to help with this vital job. Find out by listening to the podcast.
Strattic and Elementor talk about the recent acquisition - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #284

284 – Strattic and Elementor talk about the recent acquisition

So I'm going to keep this brief, as this podcast was a little bit of a scoop, which we don't often get! Last week it was announced that Elementor (the page builder) had bought Strattic (the headless hosting company). I thought that this was an interesting purchase and I wanted to know more. Very quickly I was able to get hold of the co-founder of Strattic, Miriam Schwab, and Amitai Gat, the product organisation lead at Elementor. This episode is all about this recent news. How did it come about? What's in it for both parties? What happens next? It would be good to point out that the day after this episode was recorded, the news of Elementor laying off some employees broke, but as this had not yet happened, this is not covered. Go check out the podcast...
The web designer’s tech stack - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #283

283 – The web designer’s tech stack

The web designer’s tech stack. We last talked about the website building platform we might use for this project. Here we are widening this and look at the basic essential hardware and software we might need to start our business. So it's all the 'stuff' that you have around you, both physical objects like a computer and a phone, as well as the software that you might be using. When you get into it, it's pretty amazing just how much stuff there is that you 'need'. Way more than I thought. It's also interesting what you don't need; either because it's not essential, or because it got replaced over time with something else. It's a fun episode, and if any of the things that we discuss resonate with you, please leave a comment on the site...
Put dynamic content on your website with the If-So plugin - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #282

282 – Put dynamic content on your website with the If-So plugin

DEAL ALERT - there's a deal mentioned in the podcast - do NOT miss out on this one, as it's truly fabulous, not only in what you get, but in the way that you get it! It's running until 23rd June 2022. So this plugin (If-So) is such a powerhouse, I don't even know where to start. It's a WordPress plugin designed to allow you to create content on your site which will display based upon a whole heap of conditions. Wait... what does that even mean? I'm glad that you asked. Let's say that it's Christmas, and you want to show something additional during the run up to the holidays, you can do that with a date condition. What about an offer only available to Android users? That's a device condition. A part of the site only visible to people who came from a specific website? That's a referral condition. You set a condition and then you specify what ought to happen. Simple in principle, enormously powerful in reality. Josef Carmeli is on the podcast today to talk about what the plugin can do, how it can transform your website and how it's perhaps the coolest thing that you've not yet tried.
Choosing our website building tools - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #281

281 – Choosing our website building tools

So, we've made it to series three of the WordPress Business Bootcamp and this is perhaps a little more where the rubber meets the road. Now we're going to be thinking about the tools that we use to build a website and keep it going for the client. We're split the 'tools' topic up into two episodes. This weeks it's all about WordPress and next week it's all the other things that you need which are not related to WordPress. What WordPress tools do we need then, and does the way that we build our sites need to have anything to do with our clients, or is it just for our (the website builder) convenience. Listen to this episode to see what we've ended up with as our basic stack, and if you think that we've missed anything, be sure to let us know in the comments.
Need some design inspiration? Try Extendify's pattern collection - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #280

280 – Need some design inspiration? Try Extendify’s pattern collection

So you've tried Gutenberg, and you might like to or you might not! But one thing that you cannot really argue about is that it's got some room for improvement. During the last few release cycles there's been more and more talk about block patterns and how they're going to make WordPress website building more straightforward. Block patterns are a collection of blocks that have been built and saved away for future use. So think about a typical use case, you have a hero section of your website that you might use over and over again. You build it one time, adding in a variety of blocks, and once you're happy, you save it and then later you can add it into any other part of your website with the click of a button. But here's the problem. The block editor is still a little but, how shall we say it... fun to use. It's got some quirks and you might not find it as easy as you'd wish to get pixel perfect patterns. Step in Extendify. They have a suite of pre-made block patterns which you can use. It's really all about making life simple. They're all built on top of WordPress Core blocks so there's no lock in and you can use them to learn how to build your own block patterns.
Design Aesthetics - WP Builds Podcast #279

279 – Design Aesthetics

Another episode of the WordPress Business Bootcamp where we try to go right back to the start and unpick the process of building sites for clients. Today we're on to the tricky subject of 'Design Aesthetics'! Aesthetics affect a brand's credibility and perception. The look and feel is probably the thing that first hit us first and is most important to our clients. But the problem is that aesthetics are subjective, there is no agreed way to deliver such things and we have to find some way to avoid design by committee (the client seeking outside parties) or the loudest voice winning without reference to the overall goals. So how we might do this is the subject of the podcast today. Remember that there's a dozen other episodes in this series prior to this, but we'd love to get your thoughts on this one... tell us where you get your inspiration and how you handle this with your clients.
Builderius, a new and innovative way to create your WordPress website - WP Builds Podcast #278

278 – Builderius, a new and innovative way to create your WordPress website

So there's loads of WordPress tools out there that will help you create your WordPress websites. Chances are that you've tried out a few and have some favourite which you use most of the time. New tools are coming out all of the time and this episode is about one of those new tools... Builderius. I can already here you starting to sigh. You're thinking that there's no need for another tool, there's already too many and they all do pretty much the same thing. Well Volodymyr Denchyk is here to try to explain why Builderius is different. And, well, he's got a point. This is not a Page Builder like you might have used before. It's more... what's the word... technical. It needs more from you, the website builder, and it return it promises that it'll give you almost unlimited possibilities back. It's it point, click, drag and save? No. Does that mean that it's not worth looking at? Also, no. I think that it's got a place, especially if you want to make everything exactly as you want it. So, a technical episode, but well worth a listen. I just love it when new things like this come along.
User Experience and User Interface - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #277

277 – User Experience and User Interface

So today we're talking about UI and UX, user interface and user experience, and it's a really huge topic. We start off by what these crucial concepts are and how they differ and then we get into the weeds of how they can be broken down into more manageable components, so that both our clients and ourselves can understand them better. What makes for 'good' UI and UX? How can we test for all of this? Does the client need to be sold all this, or is it just a part of our job? How do we convince them that any of this is even relevant for their, as of now, unvisited website? As always we try to keep it simple and break it down into more manageable parts. Check out the episode and please leave comments to let us know how we're doing...
Creating online courses fast with Wishlist Member's new Courses add-on - WP Builds Podcast #276

276 – Creating online courses fast with Wishlist Member’s new Courses add-on

So online courses are all the rage. We know that. Especially since Covid struck, people have been looking for ways to create extra revenue from the knowledge that they have, and well, courses are a good way to do that. Wishlist Member has been around for years, in fact I think that it's right up there with a few others as one of the oldest membership site solutions for WordPress. We talk about the history of the plugin; how it got started, why they decided to take a punt on a small but growing CMS, and how it's been going for the last decade. We then get into the courses add-on which allows you to create courses and link them to memberships. Check out the podcast...
Creating a brand - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #275

275 – Creating a brand

Welcome to another in the Business Bootcamp series where we relearn everything we know about building WordPress sites and running a web design business from start to finish. We are on Season 2  where we are looking at The Design Process. Today we are discussing  "Creating a brand". With so much to take in, we needed to split the subject up into seven, easy to understand, sections. So take a listen to the podcast and hit up the comments if you think that we missed anything.
How you can make your website have a smaller carbon footprint - WP Builds Weekly WordPress podcast #274

274 – How you can make your website have a smaller carbon footprint

When I drive my car, I'm highly aware of the impact that my driving is having. I can hear the engine rumble, I can smell the gases that are coming from the exhaust. I know for a fact that this is not good for the environment. I'm burning energy and it's causing pollution. When I'm browsing the internet, this is the environmental impact that I'm feeling... nothing. Literally zero. I almost never connect the fact that my browsing and the websites that I create have an environmental impact. My computers are shiny, my phone screen has rounded edges and looks really nice. How could they possibly do any damage to the environment, and even if they did, my part is so small that it does not matter... right? Perhaps not. The statistics tell another story, and it's not something that we can be complacent about. Today I'm chatting with Marco Berrocal from Green Geeks, which is a WordPress website host which has a focus upon hosting with the impact on the environment at the forefront of their offering. We talk about what we can do to reduce our internet carbon footprint and how we can build websites which cause less pollution.
How do we get our website copy? - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #273

273 – How do we get our website copy?

On the podcast today we continue our WordPress Business Bootcamp series. Now we're trying to figure out "How do we get our website copy?". It's a thorny issue and I'm pretty certain that this problem has held up one or other of your website builds in the past. Who should create the content that goes on the site? Should it be you, a professional copywriter, an SEO expert or perhaps we leave that to the client and just place Lorem placeholders in until they're ready? The problem though is that the text is really crucial for the success of a website, and therefore it's crucial to get it right. Not only will Google like it, but the way that your site looks, the structure of it all hangs on how the words fit in the overall design that you've decided upon. So listen to the podcast as we discuss this topic and leave some feedback...
Sell digital products with Lemon Squeezy - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #272

272 – Sell digital products with Lemon Squeezy

On the podcast today we have JR Farr and Gilbert Pellegrom from a new platform called Lemon Squeezy. Lemon Squeezy is a SaaS based platform with a WordPress integration. Which enables you to sell digital products online? So things like PDFs, eBooks, software licensing... anything you can think of really. If it's possible to package it up and sell it directly on your website, Lemon Squeezy is here to help with that. It makes running a digital products business easier by taking away some of the boring tasks. Check out the podcast...
How do we structure our clients' websites? - WP Builds Podcast #271

271 – How do we structure our clients’ websites?

Welcome to another in the Business Bootcamp series where we relearn everything we know about building WordPress sites and running a web design business from start to finish. We're on series 2, episode 2. "How do we structure our clients' websites?" We're trying to figure out which parts of a website does our client really need from the outset. There's hundreds of things that we can do, but as the budget is tight, what are the things that we're going to suggest that the client implement to get the most from this fledgling site? Do they need something specific in the header? What about lead magnets or landing pages? Which pages are essential at the start and how are we going to measure the success of what we're building over time? There's a lot in here, and it may be that you've in a habit of doing things in a certain way, and this conversation might make you stop and have a rethink about the structure of your clients' websites. Go listen...
WP Builds Twitter

Filter Deals

Filter Deals

Category

Category
  • Plugin (4)
  • WordPress (4)
  • eCommerce (2)
  • Lifetime Deal (2)
  • Other (2)
  • Security (2)
  • Design (1)
  • Hosting (1)
  • Training (1)

% discounted

% discounted
Did we miss a deal?
WP Builds Twitter

Filter Deals

Filter Deals

Category

Category
  • WordPress (39)
  • Plugin (33)
  • Admin (30)
  • Content (18)
  • Design (11)
  • Blocks (6)
  • Maintenance (6)
  • Security (5)
  • Hosting (4)
  • Theme (3)
  • WooCommerce (3)
  • SaaS app (2)
  • Lifetime Deal (1)
  • Not WordPress (1)
  • Training (1)

% discounted

% discounted
Did we miss a deal?

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR

NEWSLETTER

WP Builds WordPress Podcast

THANKS.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL TO CONFIRM YOUR SUBSCRIPTION.

WP Builds WordPress Podcast