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Month: December 2014

Recovering from Impostor Syndrome: A Look Back on 2014Paper Mask

Recovering from Impostor Syndrome: A Look Back on 2014

Published December 17, 2014 by RachieVee

I debated on whether or not I should write this post. Since this blog is still in it’s infancy, I still haven’t quite narrowed down what I want this to be. Whether I should keep this as a resource of tutorials or if it’s fine to pepper a bit of my personal life into it. At what point is my personal life appropriate for this blog and at what point is it completely off topic?

I obviously settled on writing this, not just for myself, but to share my experience thus far as a web developer and someone who really ( maybe unhealthily ) loves WordPress. 🙂

This post is about being a developer who doesn’t know everything. This post is about learning to be human. This post is about exploring what it is I love so that I can continue coding versus doing it because it’s my job.

Let me introduce myself again for those who don’t know me ( which is likely most of you haha ). Hi. My name is Rachel. I run this blog and I have what Chris Lema calls Impostor Syndrome…

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How to Update WordPress Without all Hell Breaking LooseShipwreck with WordPress Logo

How to Update WordPress Without all Hell Breaking Loose

Published December 10, 2014 by RachieVee

I recently got into an interesting debate with one of my LinkedIn connections about whether or not we should keep WordPress sites up to date.  Good points were made, disagreements were expressed, and in the end, I think we left it as:

“It’s up to the developer to decide what updates are right for the client’s site and understand the risks associated should they choose not to update.

So long as the developer is not only aware of those risks, but can take responsibility for the consequences should there ever be any, and they make the client aware of the risks as well – then to each their own.”

Although we didn’t totally agree in the end, having this discussion with John ( Let’s pretend his name is John ) really got my thinking gears turning. John had one very good point. What about sites that haven’t been updated for several years and are still somehow functioning? Updating a site like that would surely unleash all manner of hell!

Release the Kraken Gif

So I thought, hey, I should write about that, how to update WordPress without chaos ensuing! And it gives me an excuse to use a witty title – hurray!

Anyway, in cases like John’s, or just in general, what steps should be taken to ensure that as little hell as possible happens? How do you know how much or how little preparation you should be making? And if heaven forbid, bad things happen after your update, how do these steps help to either resolve the problem or revert the site?

And as an added bonus, if all hell breaks loose after a WordPress update, how can we troubleshoot and survive the catastrophe?! Gear up and let’s get started!

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Choosing the Right Colors for Web Accessibilitychoosing the right colors for web accessibility

Choosing the Right Colors for Web Accessibility

Published December 1, 2014 by RachieVee

[series] View all posts in the Making your WordPress Theme Accessible Series so far… [/series]

 

Before I get started, I’d like to give a disclaimer that on paper, I am not defined as a “designer” anywhere. I got off that train after a 2-year-no-longer-existing college that’s still drowning me in debt made me seek a better education at the college I eventually got my BA from. I’d also like to confess that I took advanced color theory because credits allowed me to skip the two introductory courses – and that was the biggest mistake I’d ever made. Color is hard and Pratt didn’t play around. Therefore, color, is not my forte.

However, I’m getting better at it! Let’s improve together, shall we?

So, in this fourth installment of my accessibility series, I’d like to review choosing colors for your WordPress site. First, we’ll talk about why choosing the right colors for web accessibility is important. Then there will be a brief overview on color theory with some links pointing you toward those “designers” on paper that could provide deeper insights than I can. Finally, we’ll jump into our WordPress stylesheets and change some key selectors that should make a difference right away in improving our theme’s accessibility. Let’s get started!

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