Articles

Code Snippets
April 17, 2020

Extract a Portion of a Large Database Backup

The following function reads a large Updraft backup file and extracts a portion to another file. In this way, you can pull out the MYSQL insert statements for the table you want. And in the process, create a smaller file you can actually open.  You can set Updraft to create smaller backups. But if you get stuck with one of these monster files, this is how you can parse out what you need. In this case, I put the file in the same directory as the code and new file. You may have to change the path to the...

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Payment Gateways
August 27, 2019

Authorize.net Network Change

Authorize.net is rolling out yet another change to their  API. According to a recent Partner Notification they will be changing from Akamai SureRoute to Cloudflare as their content delivery network (CDN) for their network portals. As usual the roll out will begin with developer ‘sandbox’ accounts so that we may test the new CDN and ensure any code we manage is compatible. There will be plenty of time during this phase to make any changes needed and test thoroughly. Should any of our Authorize.net plugins require modification, changes will be made long before production sites are affected. The latest...

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Woocommerce
May 1, 2019

Add SKU to Woocommerce Search

Recently a client requested that the sku be added to the woocommerce product search on his site. He wanted his customers to easily find a product by typing in the sku in the product search bar. I found most of the code in the codex here but it didn't work out of the box....

April 27, 2018

Updating Gravity Forms to 2.3

Gravity Forms has released a major update with version 2.3. It addressed some organizational issues that probably needed addressing. But it also is breaking sites that have custom code that access Gravity Forms database tables directly. This post addresses how to fix some of the Gravity Forms update issues that may arise....

July 11, 2017

How Long Will It Take To Build A Plugin?

The answer to the question 'How long does it take to build a plugin' has as much to do with my current schedule as it does the size and complexity of the job. For smaller jobs, I can usually work it in under two weeks. But for larger projects, I generally I ask for a 30 day lead time....

April 20, 2017

How do you choose a good password?

To choose a good password is more important now than ever. So how do you choose a good password that is also easy to remember? A surprising fact is that the length matters. A lot. So my suggestion is simple. To choose a good password, create an easy to remember string of words. Here are some examples along with their password score. Password Score wherethesidewalkends 4 / 4 bewarethejabberwock 4 / 4 fromheretoeternity 4 / 4 joemaryalicejohnmichael 4 / 4 As you can see, symbols, numbers and capital letters are not required for a good password. However, I would...

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March 26, 2017

Authorize Capture or Just Authorize?

What is the difference between authorize and authorize capture? During the checkout process, your website sends customer information and instructions on what to do with it to your payment gateway in the form of a ‘request’.  The two most common requests are Authorize and Authorize Capture. Your gateway then acts on your request by communicating with your customer’s bank on your behalf.  They try to determine if the card is valid and the requested funds are available. If all goes well, they request that the bank funds be held (so they are not available to anyone else) until the transaction can...

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January 4, 2017

Recommended plugins for WordPress

What WordPress plugins should I have? I get asked this question a lot so thought I would write a post about my most recommended plugins. I try to keep sites lean. There is nothing worse than opening a WordPress dashboard and seeing a list of pink boxes screaming for an update. Even a seasoned developer hates this because there is no guarantee that an update to a seemingly innocuous plugin, won’t break a site. Plus, it doesn’t make sense to load a bunch of files to just do something I can code in 10 lines. And that happens alot....

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April 22, 2016

Avoid attacks!

If you have a payment gateway, odds are good your site will become the target of an attack. Here are some things you can do to diminish the odds as well as the damage. Authorize.net users can utilize the (now free) Fraud Detection Suite tools and set filters. The Daily Velocity Filter can be set to a reasonable number based on your business activity. For example, if you’re only doing 10 sales a day, set the number to 20. Woocommerce users can install this plugin: WP Recaptcha Integration: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-recaptcha-integration/ It works with the latest Google No Captcha checkbox UI on the woocommerce checkout page....

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