John Russell Blog

  • Getting Started with Service Workers

    Getting started with Service Workers was both an exciting and extremely frustrating experience. It started when I was working on an old html5/canvas game that I had made as a proof of concept that used the AppCache API. I knew AppCache was on its way out and that Service Workers, along with the new Cache…

  • WordPress Plugin Conflicts and Compatibility

    One of the reasons WordPress is so successful, and used so widely, is because it can do almost anything you need, particularly through the use of Plugins. Plugins add new features to a website by extending the core functionality of WordPress. However, not all plugins are created equally, and it’s impossible for even the best…

  • Developing for Gutenberg vs Beaver Builder

    I want to start by saying that I didn’t want to do a Gutenberg vs Beaver Builder comparison, since in their current state I don’t see them as direct competitors. However developing for both tools is different enough I decided to write a comparison between developing for Gutenberg vs Beaver Builder, and why my preference…

  • WordPress Gutenberg Review

    I think it’s important to know the history of my experience with WordPress in order to understand the basis for opinions, so this is where I will begin my WordPress Gutenberg review. I had my first real introduction to WordPress in 2012 when I made a site for a client that needed an easy to…

  • Using a PHP Framework or Library in WordPress Plugins and Themes

    Using a PHP Framework or Library in WordPress Plugins and Themes

    Anyone who has spent a fair amount of time creating WordPress Plugins or Themes has likely also come across the need to package a PHP framework or library inside a plugin or theme. On the surface this is a fairly routine thing to do – simply copy the file into your plugin or theme, or…

  • Search WordPress Users by Name

    If you run a WordPress site with a large list of users and have ever needed to search for a specific user (from the Users > All Users admin page) there’s a good chance no users were found. The problem is that the default query only searches by nicename (username) and email address. However, if you need to…

  • WordPress Menu Anchor

    I recently had the need to add a series of anchor links to a WordPress menu that linked to specific sections of a page. I found this to be tedious, since the page URL needed to be hard coded into the custom link menu item and if the page URL was ever updated each anchor needed…

  • WordPress Check if a Menu is Empty

    While working with WordPress there are times that it can be very useful to check if a menu is empty before outputting markup. One example is for displaying dynamic, custom, menus in a sidebar where you may not want to output any markup if the menu is empty. This is actually the default functionality of…

  • WordPress Custom Sectional Menu

    WordPress Menus With the release of WordPress 3.0 menus were introduced as a visually editable element within the dashboard, dramatically improving WordPress’ CMS capabilities. However, many large websites require menu systems that are a bit more flexible and dynamic that what the built-in menu system provides. For instance, have you ever needed to create a primary…