WordPress entry points and how to lock the unused ones
A client’s site was slow and under constant brute-force attacks on xmlrpc.php. The fix wasn’t blocking IPs but understanding WordPress entry points and closing the unused ones.
Tag: APIs
When the WordPress static keyword helps and when it hurts
A client’s analytics plugin was one giant static class. Why overusing the WordPress static keyword breaks down, and how refactoring to a stateful object fixed it.
How sprintf fixes messy PHP string formatting
A WooCommerce thank-you message kept breaking because of a fragile concatenated string. Here’s how sprintf cleans up PHP string formatting and handles missing data.
How the strategy pattern fixed a messy shipping module
A WooCommerce shipping module was one 800-line if/else function. Refactoring it with the strategy pattern turned adding a new carrier from a 40-hour job into an hour of work.
Building a lean WordPress API client, no extra libraries
Syncing users between two WordPress sites, I built a small REST API client on WordPress’s own WP_Http class instead of pulling in Guzzle. It uses dependency injection and returns WP_Error on failure.
Using the mediator pattern to untangle WordPress plugin code
A tangled inventory plugin had hooks and direct class calls everywhere. Treating the WordPress Plugin API as the mediator, with hooks in a dedicated subscriber class, keeps the core logic clean and testable.
When two WordPress plugins fight over the same hook
A shipping plugin overrode our VIP free shipping. The fix was not forcing our filter to run last but using hook priority and writing a filter that cooperates with the other plugin instead of overwriting it.
Catching silent database errors with the proxy pattern
A WooCommerce site was failing silently with database errors that never hit the logs. A wpdb proxy in a db.php drop-in caught the failed queries and fired a custom hook, which exposed a coupon plugin causing deadlocks.
Dependency inversion: a practical guide for WordPress devs
I got a call from a client with a membership plugin that was becoming a total nightmare. It was originally built to use Stripe for…
The WordPress loading process: a senior dev’s guide
I got a call about a membership site that was, for lack of a better term, freaking out. Logged-in users were seeing the public, logged-out…