The WordPress plugin ecosystem is vast. You can pretty much find a plugin to do anything. I’ve been asked “Which plugins do you recommend?” or “Can I use this?” or “How many do you recommend I use?”. I think most of these questions are asked under the assumption that there is an ideal number of plugins that you should…

Be default, WP Engine disables WordPress queries with a random order. You can enable it, but that will disable their caching system, so it’s not a good idea. Here is a run through on how to properly use randomization with a WP Engine caching system with some explanations of what’s happening. PHP random functions still work with…

If you manage lots of WordPress websites, dealing with sFTP logins can be a pain. Most sFTP clients don’t allow backup/restore passwords between computers. At some point I got tired of manually entering credentials and created the following Alfred workflow to automatically import from the following format. Alfred workflow allows for complex desktop automation Alfred is a productivity app…

I’ve mentioned before that I use Transmit for sFTP. One of the really nice features of Transmit is the ability to sync two folders together. This comes in handy when migrating WordPress websites with a large upload directory. Prep migration by uploading wp-content folder After you have a backup of your WordPress website, start by loading the…

WP Engine does not have a one click button to restore a production snapshot backup to staging. I foresee that being something they add in the future. For now, here are some manual steps to take to do just that. First, download the snapshot you’d like to restore to staging Restore snapshot database to staging Generate a…

Many people are afraid to run their own WordPress plugin and theme updates. That’s simply because they don’t take WordPress maintenance seriously. You don’t need to be an expert in WordPress to feel safe running updates. You do, however, need a plan and a commitment. It’s true, sometimes things break when updates are installed WordPress…

Most managed WordPress host providers included a one click button to generate a staging copy of your site. Staging sites are awesome. While I don’t recommend using a staging site as part of your regular workflow, I do recommend using it to solve problems. Sometimes things break WordPress is open source. Theme and plugin authors have freedom to create and…

With the new Google Chrome release beginning to display non-secured warnings, now is a great time to begin rolling out HTTPS everywhere on all your client’s websites. The following is a bash script I wrote to help with the switchover process. I used the script to assist with making the SSL switchover with over 500+ WordPress websites. The script…

WordPress Multisite is powerful configuration of WordPress which allows you to run multiple websites, sharing a single WordPress installation. I think most developers tend to use WordPress Multisite for use cases which really should be separate installations. I know I have. If your considering using Multisite on a WordPress project, ask yourself the following.…

Have you ever attempted to migrate a WordPress website, and the only database backup available looked like this? Separate files for each table can be a pain to import manually. Thankfully it’s an easy problem to solve. Combine SQL Files from the Command Line Open up Terminal (on the Mac) and change directories to…