The Torque Social Hour is a weekly livestream about WordPress news, events, and other news. This week’s special guests, Erin Olson and Ben Fischer, came on to talk about Growth Suite. We talk focus on how Growth Suite was designed to help ease the pains of client management and what other features are on their way. We also talk about WordCamp US 2021’s call for nominations. Join us each Wednesday from 3-4pm PST for the next episode of the Torque Social Hour.

Running a WordPress website requires a lot of time and energy. Between creating and publishing content, processing emails, and handling customer requests, it’s easy to feel a bit overwhelmed. Fortunately, there are tasks that you can automate to reclaim some of your time. You can use a plugin like Uncanny Automator to set some processes to run on their own, enabling you to turn your attention elsewhere. In this post, we’ll cover some of the benefits of automation, and introduce you to the Uncanny Automator plugin. Then we’ll have a look at three essential tasks you can automate on your […]

The share of people working remotely and from their home office have skyrocketed during the COVID pandemic. This definitely had some positive impact on work culture and is something that the majority of people want to continue. At the same time, something that’s also on the rise is home office burnout. How can that be? Well, despite what companies feared, remote workers actually work more at home. On average an extra three hours per day. In addition, besides the usual work stressors (not to mention, feelings of insecurity while experiencing a global pandemic), working from home and the pandemic-imposed isolation […]

As the global pandemic spread, countries worldwide had to go into lockdown to keep the virus from spreading. Many companies were left with no other option than to shift to online work. Working remotely has its benefits — employees spend less time commuting and are more productive. But there are also major security challenges. Employees who don’t take the necessary precautions can compromise sensitive information and leave their company vulnerable to cyber attacks. This article will cover essential cybersecurity practices for remote teams to follow that can safeguard your company against cyberattacks.  1. Establish a Cybersecurity Policy IT teams generally […]

There are certain times when you just don’t want every aspect of your website hanging out in the breeze. That is, you don’t want every templated aspect of a page, post, header, or footer shown in every instance it appears. And while it might seem as though you have to rewrite the template or theme code for each time you want this omission to occur, that’s not actually true.  In fact, you can hide elements on your website quickly using just CSS. And it’s actually pretty easy. Today, we’re discussing eight different ways to do so. Each of these options […]

The Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface (REST API) is one of the most popular APIs you can use, but it isn’t without its risks. If you don’t understand how to protect your site and its data, you may leave yourself open to attacks and data leaks. Fortunately, you can use a few tips to protect your data when you use the REST API. Tools like the Disable WP REST API plugin and the REST API Toolbox plugin can be indispensable. In this guide, we discuss how to use the REST API safely. We explain the potential dangers of using […]

Page experience has become an increasingly important aspect of how Google ranks websites in the SERPs. Page experience constitutes several factors but there are a set of core web vitals that must be accounted for or else your site’s rank will suffer.  Understanding core web vitals will help you improve your site’s rank and its overall user experience. Today, we’ll be define what they are and propose ways to improve them on your website.  Defining Core Web Vitals  Everything we’ll be discussing here today relates directly to page speed and user interaction. That is, Google highly values page speed and […]

It’s no secret that mobile traffic is a force to be reckoned with. Over the past several years, the number of mobile Internet users has surpassed that of people surfing on desktop machines. By now, more than half of Internet consumption happens via phones, tablets, and other mobile devices. This has also made using mobile testing tools for web development mandatory. Mobile capabilities of websites have become a ranking factor in Google. Consequently, as a WordPress developer or owner of a WordPress website, you will not get around optimizing your site for mobile devices. And that usually involves a lot […]

Even though WordPress is loaded with features straight out of the box, it’s still often essential to source additional tools, plugins, and resources for the development of a fully functional website. Thankfully, tons of third-party tools exist for adding features to WordPress and streamlining workflow. Today, we’ll be showcasing 52 WordPress development tools that help with this endeavor. We’ll cover the full spectrum of what you need to develop a WordPress site, see it through launch, promote it, and maintain productivity. Let’s get to it! WordPress Development Tools You Need to Know About  What follows is a categorized list of […]

With every WordPress update, the platform introduces new features and editing tools. These changes can feel overwhelming, especially if you have just familiarized yourself with the latest version. As the new WordPress 5.8 update approaches, you may be wondering what to expect from the upcoming editing overhaul. WordPress 5.8 will introduce Full Site Editing (FSE) features, new blocks, and different block placement options. Thankfully, these new elements look set to improve the usability of the current WordPress editor, and will enable greater control over your website’s appearance and functionality. This guide will take a detailed look at the four main […]