Add a Full-Width Google Map to the Footer in Genesis

snazzy map for the footer

To add a Snazzy full-width Google map to the footer of the Genesis Digital Pro theme we’ll need to: 1) Prepare the Google map to fit in new section. 2) Add a new section above the footer widgets. and 3) Adjust the CSS to sit the map nicely against the footer. Ready to map it up?

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Remove Projects Custom Post Type from Divi

divi theme dumpster

Want to remove projects custom post type from Divi, the premiere theme from Elegant Themes? Sometimes a robust theme like Divi needs to be stripped down a bit. Yes, the Divi WordPress theme from Elegant Themes has a lot of functionality built in. Yes, that’s an understatement. And no, you don’t have to have it…

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WordPress Relaunch Checklist before Migrating Staging to Live

Checklist

You’ve been slaving away building the perfect new version of your client’s website. You’re building it on a staging site of course or better yet on your local machine. If it’s on WPEngine’s staging version, all you have to do to is go back to the live site, select the staging menu and select “Deploy site…

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Adding Automatic Shopify Structured Data for Products

shopify-structured-data-JSON

Adding structured data in the schema.org format for products is a best practice for search engine optimization in your Shopify store.  And JSON-LD is now considered the recommended and preferred method for adding the structured data. Google provides a handy Structured Data Testing Tool to see how your microdata looks. And more good news is…

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Add an Automatically Updated Copyright Date to your Website

auto-update-copyright-dates

Out-of-date copyright dates are all over the internet.  In a way it’s good. It lets you know that the site probably hasn’t been touched by the webmaster since the year shown in the footer. But for your own site you always want that copyright date to be current. Right? So skip the Rose bowl and…

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7 Free Web Page Speed Tests

web-page-speed-testing

You feel the need. The need for speed. But how fast is your web page? You can look at your load time and a waterfall of your file requests with Chrome developer tools, in Safari or Firefox but that read out is limited to your own connection speed and sometimes your hosts file or cache…

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Adjust Photoshop Scratch Disk Preferences on Launch

Photoshop-CC-ICON-2017

Sometimes with really really large files in Photoshop you need to add or adjust scratch disk space. On a Mac hold down the Option + Command  keys and start Photoshop normally. You should see a dialog box pop-up with the option to select your primary and secondary scratch disks. Select your scratch disk memory preferences…

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Domain Name Tools to Find the Right Website Name

domain soup

Before you pick a website name there’s a few things to think about. Like how short could it be? Can you get away with an acronym? Some quick general rules for picking domain names: .com is preferred.  Search engines and users will thank you for getting a .com domain. .net is “okay” but better suited…

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Easy Way to Edit the Hosts File on a Mac

mac terminal icon

The hosts file allows you to override the IP address for a website provided by DNS servers. It’s easier to edit than it might seem and doesn’t require you to edit in terminal, which can be daunting. It’s particularly useful to test 3rd party SSL certificates at WP Engine before changing the actual DNS. Yes…

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Correctly Exporting the Database from a WordPress Site

correct wordpress database export

There are a lot of options when it comes to exporting a WordPress database for a website to import on a new hosting provider.  Here are the three methods to export I’ve used the most with the best success: #1 Export directly from phpMyAdmin I find this method to be less messy than using a plugin…

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Create a List of Files & Folder Contents Into a Text File

mac terminal icon

Save Folder Contents List into a Text File Easiest way to Create a List of Files & Folder Contents Into a Text File on a Mac is by first opening the folder in Terminal. Assuming you’ve setup this service it’s a lot easier than opening Terminal and then navigating to it. Once that is done simply type…

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Accessing a SiteGround Staging Site by IP

siteground hosting logo

You’ve come over to SiteGround from WPEngine and now you want to access a staging site before your DNS has propagated. No dice. This is easy in WPEngine since they set a subdomain on wpengine.com for every site but on SiteGround you need to have access to the DNS. If your site’s nameservers aren’t pointed…

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Open Multi Page Pdfs in Illustrator

adobe illustrator icon

This script worked wonders for me in Adobe Illustrator CS to open multi page pdfs in Illustrator with each page of the pdf ending up on it’s own artboard. I’ve also tested it and it works well on Illustrator CC to import multiple pages from a pdf into Illustrator as well. Here’s how to use…

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Sync WordPress Users from LIVE to Staging

wordpress website launch

Note from Editor: This article was written in 2016 about what is now in 2021, WPEngine’s legacy staging. The general process can still work with different site environments but databases need to be exported and imported rather than just copied. Side note: this process can also be used to update Gravity Forms forms and entries…

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Get the Last Word in Google Sheets Cell or Excel Cell

the-last-word-in-google-sheets

Here’s what you need to retrieve the last word (or the first) in Google Sheets cells or using Excel if that’s your preference. Get the Last Word in Google Sheets =TRIM( RIGHT( SUBSTITUTE( A1 ; ” ” ; REPT( ” ” ; 100 ) ) ; 100 ) ) but if you might have any trailing…

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Save 20% off your first payment with WP Engine

wp engine hosting logo

Save 20% off your first payment with WP Engine. Use code SPEEDUP. Expires 5/31/2016.   Mr Dif edit: Save 20% off your first payment with WP Engine. Use coupon code SUMMERSAVINGS. Expires 8/31/2016. That hosting coupon is toast. This banner is still good for 20% off hosting at WPEngine: Updated on 6/12/2018 About WP Engine:…

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