WordCamp Vancouver 2012

I went to the annual WordCamp gathering of WordPress aficionados a couple of weeks ago where a variety of talented and smart people delivered several very good sessions. I thought I’d pass along my notes from the ones I attended.

Calm & Simple Code With Purpose
Jeremy Felt

“Read code” —try to become the other person reading your code. Also have others read it!
core.trac.wordpress.org: discussion of the evolution of Wp core
Use the is() methods (is_home(), is_single() etc.) to restrict things to appropriate pages
increase speed with set_transient() and get_transient()

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Building an Open Course/Community with WordPress, Syndication, and Duct Tape
Alan Levine

Teaches a Digital Storytelling course at ds106.us
FeedWordPress plugin: to subscribe to other blogs
Gravity Forms plugin
WPViews plugin (couldn’t find this—maybe WP-PostViews?)
Parallelus Salutation theme
“We’re not preparing students for the messy hashtag world that’s out there”

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Build a Membership Website with WordPress
Rayhan Abdulmughnee

s2member plugin (free)—must create a member signup page, which becomes the membership options page); must create a member login/welcome page
Up to 5 levels of membership in basic version
Can customize the registration page
Supports member profile editing on welcome page, using shortcode
Content can be restricted—must be a member to view. Can restrict by page, category or tag
Can also hide or restrict content blocks anywhere using shortcode
Can limit logins, and limit IP addresses per member (so logins can’t be passed along)
Has PayPal integration
Can configure automatic end-of-membership-term behaviour

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Mistakes I Made Using jQuery, and How to Avoid Them
Andy Peatling (works for Automattic)

JavaScript Enlightenment (was a free e-book, maybe not any more? Site is down)
Use the version of jQ that is bundled with WordPress!
Don’t assume you can use $()
Namespace your events: click.myplugin instead of click
Cache selectors in a variable to get a speed increase: run selector once rather than over and over
Use chaining
Be aware of the jQ stack: use .end()
Use context in your selectors: $('.widget', '#sidebar') – or even faster, $('#sidebar').find('.widget')
Use .on() to get better speed, also make sure you’re delegating events
You can use custom events with .trigger()
Use HTML5 data-attributes for buttons that use AJAX
Use $.deferred() when state gets more complex – read documentation

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Demystifying SEO
Erica Hargreave

Words you choose as tags must also appear in post content and title—also put same keywords from title into meta description
Use Sociable plugin, CommentLuv plugin
Create cross links between content in your site
Use keyword targeting tools like Google Keyword to choose best keywords
Scribe plugin tells stats etc. for search terms
Use multi-word tags
Do regular maintenance: use Broken Link Checker plugin, Exploit Scanner plugin

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How to Make Your WordPress Site Mobile Friendly
Dave Zille

Make it fast to load!

Prioritize content and features for mobile
Optimize images

High contrast, avoid need for pinch/zoom, ensure one-direction scrolling
Make it simple to navigate
Support vertical AND horizontal orientation
Three options:

use a 3rd-party mobile service (mobify, bMobilized)
use a responsive theme
have a separate mobile theme: plugin detects device, switches theme (WordPress Mobile Pack, WP Mobile Detector)

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