A WordPress plugin file structure that doesn’t suck
Inheriting a plugin with 15 classes crammed into one 3,000-line file is a nightmare to change. How PSR-4 and an autoloader give you a WordPress plugin file structure you can actually navigate.
Tag: APIs
How WordPress inheritance ended my copy-paste widget mess
A client’s site had the same widget code copy-pasted twelve times. Here is how I use an abstract base class so one edit updates every widget instead of twelve.
Fixing a WooCommerce filter by solving the right problem
A client’s WooCommerce product filter kept timing out. The fix was not a faster query but a custom taxonomy, and the real story is about designing instead of copy-pasting.
How autoload in the WordPress Options API can slow your site
A plugin stuffed 2MB of logs into one autoloaded option and dragged every page down. Here is how the Options API autoload flag works and how to split the data properly.
Cleaning up messy WordPress hooks with PHP interfaces
Hooks buried in class constructors made a WooCommerce plugin impossible to follow. Here is how a small PHP interface and a hook manager give every class a clear, testable contract.
Why a simple WordPress plugin edit broke everything
A client asked for one small change to a meme shortcode plugin, but its 2,000-line class made every edit risky. Splitting it by responsibility fixed that.
WordPress security is more than running a scan
A client’s site kept redirecting to a pharma store no matter how many times they cleaned it. The malware was only the symptom; an outdated plugin left a backdoor open.
Why WordPress hooks do not belong in a class constructor
A client’s plugin had a 200-line constructor stuffed with add_action and add_filter calls, so the class could not be tested or reused. Keep hooks out of the constructor.
How PHP encapsulation fixed a broken coupon system
A WooCommerce store’s coupons applied at random because functions kept overwriting shared globals. Wrapping the logic in a class with private data and public methods fixed it.
How WordPress abstract classes keep your plugin code DRY
A walk through using a WordPress abstract class as a shared blueprint for plugin admin pages, so adding a new option means editing one child class instead of six copy-pasted files.