February 2017 Q & A Workshop Notes

At our February 2017 Q & A Workshop, several of our experienced WordPress users, developers, and designers helped answer questions from other members about their sites, configuration, and setup.

Before we started the workshop, I shared three recent news updates about WordPress.

Three things to know about WordPress

1. If you haven’t updated to version 4.7.2 already, do it ASAP. Over 1 million sites WordPress sites have been defaced
2. Starting in March 2017, the ads on the commenting plugin Disqus will no longer be free to disable.
3. Have you seen it? Gutenberg, the first prototype of the new WordPress editor, has been released. Check it out and give your feedback.

Takeaways from Q & A Workshop

Discussion of custom post types & forms to publish a post.

• Gravity forms is a powerful forms plugin. Can be used to “submit & publish” a post to a website. Note: would require a username/password field. Best for sites where your users get a basic membership/role.
• https://wp-types.com/ Tool Set as a way to create, re-edit, delete blog posts that a user publishes. More edit features after publish than Gravity forms?

Consider a plugin audit on your site. Review your plugins to determine:

1. Are you still using the plugin? If no, uninstall it. Any plugin you’re not using on your site can be a liability.
2. Does the plugin offer functionality that’s available in WordPress core? Consider uninstalling the plugin and using built-in functionality.
3. Is the plugin updated to the latest version?
4. Has the plugin been updated in the past two years? Plugins that haven’t been updated in two years can be a security risk. Consider another plugin that is being maintained. Or consider whether you want to adopt the plugin and take on the development

Thanks to Laura Eagin for contributing to the notes.