Set Up Visual Studio Code and xDebug as the Ultimate Editor for WordPress Development
Visual Studio Code is a free, open source code editor that is lightweight like Sublime Text, but offers many of the same features as bigger IDEs like PhpStorm or WebStorm.…
Writing Functional Tests for WP-CLI Packages
Functional tests are crucial for WP-CLI packages as they simulate real-world scenarios, test integration with WordPress, and how they behave in a command line environment. In this article, I’ll show…
Using JavaScript FileReader to Upload Large Files in Chunks and Avoid Server Limits
If you’ve spent any amount of time messing with PHP config files to get a file to upload, you know that uploading large files can be a real pain. You…
Handling AJAX Requests in WordPress: WP REST API vs admin-ajax.php vs Must-Use Plugin
The WordPress REST API was merged into WordPress core in version 4.7. Before that, developers relied on the default AJAX implementation, otherwise known as admin-ajax after the /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php file that…
How To Set Up Amazon SES for WordPress Emails
Running a site that sends a lot of emails, like an ecommerce or membership site, needs a reliable service to keep up with that volume. Using an existing email provider…
WordPress, Spam Filtering, and You: From SPF to DKIM to Blocklists
There is no one key to making sure WordPress site emails are sent reliably and stay out of the recipient’s spam folder. A common recommendation is to use a dedicated…
Exploring Email Tracking With Amazon SES and CloudWatch
Every WordPress site has to send emails, but there’s no built-in tracking for them. This makes it impossible to know if your emails are being opened and clicked or just…
How to Switch Your WordPress Site from HTTP to HTTPS
Just about every WordPress website should be served over HTTPS instead of HTTP, for reasons of both security and SEO. HTTP content isn’t encrypted, leaving your site vulnerable, and Google…
The State of HTML Email in WordPress in 2022
One question that I’ve been asked a few times while working on WP Offload SES is how it handles HTML email. By default, WordPress sends out all emails as plain…
Amazon SES vs SendGrid vs Mailgun vs Sendinblue: Pricing, Features, and WordPress Plugin Quality
It’s no secret that we love Amazon SES – we released a plugin that specifically helps you set it up on your WordPress site. But it’s also worth looking at…