Getting started with .htaccess for WordPress

This weekend I gave a talk on using .htaccess files with WordPress at WordCamp Toronto: Developers 2012…

An introduction on how to configure your .htaccess file to do more than what WordPress provides by default. The talk will cover basics like setting up a preferred URL, and redirecting old page URLs for better SEO. How to optimize your site’s files using gzip will also be covered, as well as preventing image hot linking, and more. A sample .htaccess file will be provided to all attendees. A useful introduction to a very important file for any shared hosting environment.

These are the slides.

And if you’d like a copy of the starter .htaccess file I discussed, you can download it here. You’ll need to rename it to .htaccess to use it. Please note that the file is released under the GPL licence without any warranty whatsoever. Use it at your own risk. 🙂

Multilingual billing… what are your options?

I work and build websites in Quebec where I’m required to provide invoices in French as the default. This is perfect for my French-speaking clients.  But many of my English-speaking clients prefer English invoices. This means that I need a multilingual billing system.

Many billing systems claim to be multilingual, when they are really unilingual in a language other than English. Unfortunately that type of system won’t work if you need to invoice some clients in one language and some in another. Continue reading “Multilingual billing… what are your options?”

Bilingual eCommerce… what are your options?

This week I was contacted by a potential client. They wanted a WordPress based eCommerce site. But there was a catch. They wanted it to be bilingual.

It’s tough to find a content management system that does bilingual well. It’s even more difficult when you add eCommerce to the mix.

In Quebec (where I build websites), if you are a commercial enterprise targeting Quebec businesses or consumers online, you are required by law to provide a complete French-language version of your website. But most people also want to take advantage of the larger English speaking markets in Canada and the US, and that means they need a multilingual website. Continue reading “Bilingual eCommerce… what are your options?”

The future is mobile: Part II

This is the second part of a two-part series on designing for mobile.

Today, I’m going to cover SEO, server-side tweaks, and conditional tags. I’ll also look at how to deal with javascript and multimedia. I’ll be posting a short follow-up on accessibility soon. Check back for more.
Continue reading “The future is mobile: Part II”

The future is mobile – Part I

Last weekend I gave a presentation at WordCamp Montreal 2011 on developing for the mobile Web. The talk covered some easy online tools, and WordPress-specific themes and plugins that require no coding. Then I offered my own solution.

Designing for mobile can be tough because you are designing for so many different devices, screen sizes, screen resolutions, operating devices, and functionality sets. Your design needs to be really flexible in order to work on the majority of mobile devices.

And it needs to be attractive. Most of the mobile web is not especially functional, and what is functional is a bit plain vanilla. It’s quite easy at this point to build a standout site, if you put in the effort. Continue reading “The future is mobile – Part I”