Writing a Simple Google Maps Short Code

In this advanced tutorial we’re going to walk through the process of creating a simple short code to display Google Maps. The concept is simple, but we’ll be using advanced techniques and tools for displaying our maps. All maps will be cached using transients and all requests to Google’s API services will be done with…

Deliver Automatic Updates for Your WordPress Products

If you are selling WordPress themes or plugins, one of the number one things you should absolutely consider implementing into your products is automatic upgrades. If avoidable, there is no reason a user should be forced to manually log into your site and download a new version, then log into their own site and upload…

User Follow System – Part 1

In part one of the Creating a User Follow System tutorial series, we are going to take a quick look at how our final product may be implemented into a real live site, and the basic functionality it will contain. This entry is part 1 of 7 in the Creating a User Follow System Plugin…

Introduction to the WP_Error Class

WordPress has a class called WP_Error that provides a really simple way for developers to track errors while processing data. The class mystified me for a long time, but once I figured it out, it is extremely simple to use, and saves a ton of time when attempting to record errors while processing data of…

How I Built the Extendable Purchase Receipt Templates in EDD

Easy Digital Downloads has a templating system for emailed purchase receipts that allow users / developers to create their own templates that are used for the purchase receipts. In this video overview, I want to walk you through how this system works. Building extensible modules within your plugins is something you should always strive for,…

The add_query_arg() Helper Function

WordPress includes a lot of helper functions that can make your life as a developer much easier. One function in particular that I really love is add_query_arg(), which provides an extremely simply way to append query variables to any URL. Query vars, in case you’re not familiar with them, allow you to perform any number…

Creating WP List Tables by Hand

The WP List Table is what we call the table of data that is displayed when you click on any post type in WordPress. For example, click on Posts and this will display a table listing all of the posts (or perhaps the latest 20) that you have created in WordPress. In this tutorial, we…

Introduction to the WP Filesystem

I’ve spent a lot of time lately dealing with a little known, under-documented but extremely useful class in WordPress called WP_Filesystem. WP_Filesystem is used throughout WordPress to handle core/plugin/themes updates and various tasks that require writing files to your webserver. The WP_Filesystem class is a base class that has many extensions depending on what ‘method’…

Build an À la Carte Premium Tutorial Shop

There are a lot of premium membership tutorial sites out there, this one included, and they usually require that memberships purchase a subscription to the site in order to access the premium content. In this tutorial, I’m going to walk you through the process pf creating an À la Carte tutorial site that lets users…

Stripe Integration Part 6 – Payment Receipts

The Stripe API includes a system called “webhooks”, which are used for notifying your site of events happening in your Stripe account, such as received payments, account creation, customer cancellation, etc. One of the first features you will find webhooks are useful for is sending payment receipts, both for one time payments and recurring subscription…

Introduction to the gettext Filter in WordPress

The gettext filter gives us a really easy way to change text anywhere in our WordPress install, including plugins and themes, without ever changing any of the original code. It is a great way to easily customize labels, headings, button text, and any other text we wish to change.