Jun

What to look for in a WordPress Plug-in

I’ve been surprised at the number of plug-ins that are really terrible. Stuff that may be a good idea wind up bloated, ineffective and incredibly frustrating for the user to manage – in effect, defeating the point of the plug-in. Here are some tips for what to look for … and what to avoid.

1. You want plug-ins that give you sophisticated management tools for things that need it
For instance, ad managers. You just can’t effectively manage advertisements running on your blog manually – it’s way too inefficient and annoying. A plug-in is GREAT for things like this, and these are the sorts of plug-ins you want.

2. You want plug-ins for functions you’re going to use a lot
And, you want to be able to remove or disable them if you won’t be using them frequently. Avoid bulky plug-ins and themes that give you a lot of junk and bloat when you only want one or two of the features.

3. Look for well-tested, supported and updated plug-ins
Not fly by night hacks from people who will never update them again. Remember, WordPress gets updated fairly regularly. You want solid plug-ins that will grow with your site, not hold it back.

4. Avoid plug-ins for functionality that can be easily added into the template itself
e.g. automated picture management by category type. If it’s more easily and simply done through PHP, get over your fear of code. A quick google search will help you find what you’re looking for pretty fast, and some great tutorials to guide you through. When in doubt, WordPress has a huge support community and most bloggers who offer PHP solutions are happy to help you – just TRY to figure it out yourself first.

5. Avoid plug-ins that bloat your install
Adding lots of junk you don’t need and won’t use is a waste. Find individual plug-ins that do what you need.

6. Avoid Russian Nesting Dolls
If a template you want requires x, y and z plug-ins, or worse, an additional content management system for WordPress, you’ve just opened up a big can of worms, and are in for a world of pain.

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About Me

I'm a professional web designer in Philadelphia, PA. I live with my totally excellent manfriend in a beautiful apartment. I love to cook, discuss web design, and analyze marketing, amongst other things. Want to know more?

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Book Progress: ?

36%	27,959 magic words Chapter VII: Worlds Colliding

Book Progress

You're writing a book? For real?
Yes. It's a crazy undertaking, but no one else is going to write it, which certainly puts a somewhat flattering amount of pressure on me to commit the words to page.

What is the percentage based off of?
A completely arbitrary number: 76,944, which is also the number of words in J.K. Rowling's first book.

Why does the wordcount/percentage fluxuate?
I do a LOT of rewriting. Recently, I began writing the book from scratch, with strong notes, taking a lot of the work I'd already done verbatim, or using it as an outline to flesh out from. Consequently, the word count is not entirely accurate as a full account of everything written, but a literal inventory of the number of words in current chapters of the current incarnation of the book.

That's insane. How the hell do you manage to do that much work?
I literally think about this project all the time. I have to consciously stop thinking about it and literally deprive myself of paper and computers for designated periods of time (like my friend's wedding, as a perfect for instance) in order to shut off, but the rest of the time it's nearly impossible. When I'm too burnt out to think about the books anymore, I zone out by looking at real estate and IKEA furniture. No, I am totally not joking. Did you know that Minneapolis is enjoying a fusion of industrial chic mixed with upscale country living as an interior decorating trend? It's bizarre.

Do you have a deadline set?
Yes and no. I try to get a certain amount of writing done per week, but requiring a set word count or a hard date would be unfair at this point, simply because it's not about that. For me, it's about the process, enjoying writing the story as it comes. That being said, my goal is to have the book complete in its first draft form by the end of the year.

Will you try to get it published?
Probably. Right now, it's enough simply to be writing a book, but if I do complete it which looks pretty likely at this point, it would be silly not to try and get it published.

What's the book about?
Adventure, magic, time travel, love, friendship, loneliness, piracy, witches, and which dragons have the worst breath, regionally.

Why do you keep blogging about your book?
Mostly because it's what's on my mind right now. It's hard not to talk about it, or writing, or other stories I've been interested in, be they great television shows or books I've read. There are so many wonderfully talented writers (both of screen and page) that I admire and think about when creating my own characters and stories.

What will you do if you don't get published?
Keep trying, probably, but I'm not that concerned about it at this point.

What will you do if you do get published and make it really, really big?
Hey, anything's possible. While a part of me has always been wary of celebrity, I'm sure that if I make it really, really big I'll figure something out. My bucket list of things to do if I win the lottery, or make a fortune somehow is pretty much the same as the one if I didn't. I want a nice place to live, I want to redecorate our bedroom, and I'd like to get a dog. It would be nice to have some extra cash to pay off loans a little faster, and maybe travel a bit.

Curious to know more about my writing? Read my interview on whohub.