Can't Speak Geek

Translating the Geek Speak in simpler terms

Michele Butcher-Jones

Choosing a Great WordPress Theme

Sometimes the hardest thing can be picking a good theme for a website. One can go through many, many themes before picking the one that says home. There are millions of themes to pick from so where do you start?

1. Does the theme fill your need visually? Does the theme have all of the visual elements you want in a theme or can it be easily modified to what you want? Some themes can look really cool on the demo but not be the theme you need.

2. Was the theme written by a creditable developer? There are many great theme companies out there that every product purchased is known to be a great product. Studio Press, WebSavy, iThemes, Carrie Dils are some of the great theme houses.

With that in mind, the free themes that are found at the WordPress theme repository can be a good start for a site that iOS just starting out.

3. Does the theme or theme company have good support? If I look at s theme be it free or premium, I will not use it if the authors are not supporting it.

4. What comes with the theme? I know that there are many “all in one” themes that come built with a butch of plugins and shiney features that make the theme appear very cool. Most of the time, any given site will not use half of they shiney plugins and widgets that come with it. Plus, if you purchase a theme with 17 plugins attached, that means there are 18 vulnerabilities into the website even if you are not using all of the plugins. It is better to pick out a theme for that site to use for the appearance and let the plugins you choose handle the functionality.

5. What do the users say? While I do not hold 100% stock in the user ratings, one should still pay attention to them. If 239 people in the past 2 months has given them a 1 star because the theme does not work in 4.1, it is a safe bet that this is not the theme for you.

Bottom line is do your research before you pick a theme. Just because it has all of the bells and whistles does not mean you need them. A great person once said “Today’s features are tomorrow’s vulnerabilities”. The more shiny toys you have the more chances you have for vulnerabilities.

WordCamp San Diego

Recently, I got to speak at WordCamp San Diego. It was one of the best WordCamps I have ever attended. Great venue, awesome talks, and the best people. If you were not able to attend, you missed a heck of a WordCamp.

My talk was all about what to do when you get hacked. Most people do not worry about security until it is too late. Don’t be that person. Learn the tools before you have to clean your site or pay someone to clean your site for you.

Here are my slides from WordCamp San Diego

Intro To Security: Beginners Edition WordCamp St. Louis

Today I got the pleasure of giving the beginner’s security talk at WordCamp St. Louis. If you were not able to make it, you missed a great first day WordCamp. St Louis never disappoints.  Tomorrow they are having a Contributor’s Day with a Kids Camp that will surely live up to the hype. If you are into going to WordCamps put St Louis on your list

I also got to sit in on the security and maintenance panel. I always enjoy speaking on security, especially to new users. Thank you to everyone who was in the panel and asked questions. There is so much that new users either take for granted or do not know what to do when it comes to basic security best practices. There are certain things that every users, designer, developer, and anyone looking to use WordPress should know.

If you were not able to sit in on my talk, here is my slides from Intro To Security: Beginner’s Edition.

WordCamps: Best WordPress training for the money

imagesAlmost every weekend of the year, one can find at least one WordCamp happening in the world. Sometimes there are two-three happening on a same weekend. WordCamps are 1-3 day trainings on the ever popular CMS, WordPress. They typically range from $20-$60 depending on how many days that WordCamp lasts. Typically at least 200 people from users to experienced developers will be in attendance at each and every WordCamp. There are many people, including the great people at Cant Speak Geek, who go to as many WordCamps a year as they can squeeze in their schedule and budget.

With the ticket purchase, it comes with a few perks. Along with entrance into the WordCamp there is typically a shirt (or an other cool swag item), After Party entrance (free food and drinks), networking, typically lunch and sometimes breakfast, and a great experience. The ticket cost is so low due to the help of sponsors. Sponsors also set up tables at the WordCamps and pass out cool swag. At some WordCamps, one can come home with 2-6 free tee shirts depending on how many sponsors are there.

Typically discussions range from content creation, time management. theme and plugin development, security, and much more. There are an average of 15-30 different seasons per WordCamp. With that many choices, you are bound to find a few sessions that will peak your interest. If you want to get an idea of the different discussions, check out WordPress.TV. All WordCamp sessions are recorded, and then many are put on WordPress.TV to view for free. They will give you a feel of what a session feels like.

The WordCamp Schedule is updated frequently to show when and where the next WordCamps are. Watch the upcoming list for SIWPM3ones in your area. If there are not hotel option ideas given on the WordCamp website, Hotwire and Travelocity can give cheaper lodging options. Also check with the local Meetup to see when WordCamp could be coming locally or if anyone would want to travel to other WordCamps. Don’t have a Meetup in your area? Start one today. The WordPress community and the next speakers, developers, and contributors can be anyone, even you.

An Introduction to Jetpack: WordCamp Chicago 2014

jetpack_logoI had the joy of speaking on the popular plugin Jetpack this past year at WordCamp Chicago. Jetpack is one of my favorite plugins behind iThemes Security. I use it on all of my sites. I know it gets flack about being a large plugin and it slows down sites but I have not seen a noticable difference in my websites when I test it being off. Earlier I did write a review on the plugin and dug into its features. You can find more of the review by clicking here. Jetpack is a great multifunction plugin. Plus if you are near Chicago in June or care to travel the WordCamp is a great experience.

 

Here are my slides from WordCamp Chicago 2014

And for your viewing pleasure: Here is the WordPress.tv recording of my Intro to Jetpack talk at WordCamp Chicago 2014