Why your fast WordPress site still crashes under load
A client’s WooCommerce shop crashed every time they ran a sale. The caching plugin wasn’t the problem; the aging server stack was. Moving to Nginx, current PHP, and Redis object caching fixed it.
Tag: APIs
Using an interface to save WordPress custom post types
A client needed three custom post types fed by three APIs. Instead of writing near-identical save functions, I defined one PHP interface as a contract and a single function to save any CPT that implements it.
Automating WordPress updates with Bedrock and Dependabot
A client running Bedrock sites updated by hand and worried about missed patches. I set up Dependabot and CircleCI so Composer updates get opened, tested, and deployed automatically.
How a bad custom WP_Query can wreck your site
A WooCommerce shop was timing out because a pre_get_posts hook ran a tax query on every request site-wide. Scoping it to the main shop query with is_main_query, is_admin, and is_shop cut page loads from 20 seconds to under 2.
Stop writing WooCommerce queries that crash your site
I got a Slack message from one of our project managers. A client’s WooCommerce shop, a big one with thousands of products, was crawling. Product…
WordPress unit testing is a safety net for complex code
I got a call from a client running a decent-sized WooCommerce store. They needed a “quick change” to a custom coupon function. Seemed simple enough….
A better way to build complicated WordPress queries
I got a call from a client with a big WooCommerce store. Their “You Might Also Like” section on product pages was a disaster. It…
Stop writing messy WP_Query arrays. Do this instead.
Got a call from a client running a huge WooCommerce store. They wanted a “related products” feature that was… ambitious. It needed to show products…
Stop hooking your WordPress classes in the constructor
I got a call from a client in a panic. Their custom inventory sync plugin was failing silently on the live site. No errors, no…
Stop scattering WP_Query: use a repository pattern instead
I got a call from a client with a major headache. They run a big events portal, built on a custom plugin we inherited. Over…