Simple Google Maps Shortcode plugin has new home with WebFactory

In October, 2012, I released a plugin called Simple Google Maps Shortcode. It was a very simple plugin that simply registered a shortcode that could be used to display a Google map of any address on a post or page. The plugin was simple, efficient, and did just the one thing very well. Overtime it grew to more than 10,000 active installs and is still actively used on thousands of sites. Today I’m happy to announce that the plugin has a new home and has been acquired by WebFactory.

Localizing and Translating WordPress Plugins

In order to be kind to our friends that do not speak the language we have written our plugin in, it is always a good idea to fully localize your WordPress plugin. This means make it “ready for translation”. If you are one of those that is blessed with the fluency of more than one…

A few of my tips for becoming a better developer

As developers, we should always strive to be become better at our craft, no matter whether you started yesterday or ten years ago. With the rapid growth and expansion of programming languages, APIs, tools, and other items typically available to a developer’s arsenal, there is always an opportunity to learn something new and grow as…

Please Consider Not Using Curly Brackets {} in Template Files

The vast majority of developers will cringe a bit when they hear the recommendation against using curly brackets, {}, but I believe very strongly that when writing template files, in both themes and plugins, you should strictly avoid using brackets. The reason being that template files should be written for clarity, both for developers and…

Plugin Development 101 – Intro to Actions

In this part of Plugin Development 101 we take a look at another of the most important tools plugin developers use every day: actions. Just like filters, the presence of actions throughout WordPress are one of the elements that make plugin development possible, so having a good understanding of what they are and how they…

Plugin Development 101 – General Best Practices

Having an understanding of best practices that should be followed when writing a WordPress plugin is nearly as important as understanding how to write the plugin itself. The advantages of following general best practices are huge, and there is not a single valid reason why best practices should not be followed. This part of Plugin…

User Submitted Gallery Images – Part 2

In this part of the User Submitted Image Galleries series we will look at setting up our custom image sizes and also the image submission form. In the previous part we registered out custom post types and taxonomies, and setup the basic structure of the plugin. This entry is part 2 of 9 in the…

Storing Session Data in WordPress without $_SESSION

The termΒ SessionΒ in web development refers to a general method of storing semi-permanent data, such as user logins, user interactions, ecommerce shopping carts, and many other examples. PHP has a system called $_SESSION, which is exceptionally simple to use, but has same major draw backs, including security issues, andΒ intermittentΒ  support across server environments. A few months…

Create Custom Payment Gateway for Easy Digital Downloads

Payment gateways are “methods” of accepting payments for purchases through Easy Digital Downloads. By default, the plugin comes with two payment gateways: PayPal Standard and Manual Payment. Due to the extensible nature of the plugin, add-on payment gateways can be created, of which there are quite a few available. We can have a gateway to…