Nothing But The Meat of WordPress Plugins

John's Intro:

It's Episode 603 and we have plugins for  Merging WP Users and Resetting Databases… and WordPress News. It's all coming up on WordPress Plugins A-Z!

– ‘good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you happen to be hiding out there on the globe today! Coming to you LIVE from …'

Amber's Rant:

Welcome to Episode 603 – Nothing But The Meat of WordPress Plugins – We've got a couple of great in-depth plugins to cover for you, some recent news in both the WordPress World and the Tech World in general, and some awesome WordPress Tips!

Wound up having the kids bday on the one single rainy day we have had in the past month – but it was a perfect day! Just goes to show that even the worser weather can wind up being the best times to do things like have a bday party!

Some reminders before we start the show today….

Reminders:

• Remember that the show starts at 12:30 PM Pacific Time, with a pre-stream starting around 12:15 PM Pacific Time. Pre-stream is where we twiddle with the dials and knobs and really just warm up our voices, so join in for some entertainment value!
• Our show notes for each episode can be found at wppluginsatoz.com – the newest show notes will be up within 24 hours and on our front page!
• Don't forget that this is a value for value show, and that you are a big part of it's creation! You are our producers, and we need you to help us produce! Get out there and hit some like buttons, share an episode or two, and let people know that you help to produce the longest running WordPress Plugins podcast!

That's it for reminders, don't forget to stick around until the end of the show for some possibly life altering advice!

...When you see this in the notes, it means we didn't read this on the show. The only way to find this information out is to read our Show Notes!

…You can send any questions/suggestions or notes saying ‘hi' over to me at amber@wppro.ca, or hit up our site wpppluginsatoz.com/contact – Be creative with the title so that the spammer eater doesn't eat your note though!

Let's start the show with this weeks Featured Artist:

Artist: 

Jsaliba

This one always gets me hungry for good burgers! What does it make you think of?

Going through the Art Vaults is awesome, but we would love some new art! You can send it into us at https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/. You can also check out the art vaults yourself there too!

…We can NEVER have too much art!

Breaking News in the WordPress World at large!! 

…If I missed something, shoot me a link at amber@wppro.ca – it may show up on the next show!

News this week:

WordPress Vulnerability Report – June 7, 2023 (https://ithemes.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-june-7-2023/) – There is a long list of patched plugins, and an even longer list of plugins with vulnerabilities this week. The ones I most easily recognize are: Contstant Contact Forms, WordPress Social Login, LWS Hide Login, Google Fonts for WordPress, WP-Cache.com, Blog-in-Blog, and WordApp.

No real news from the world of WordPress today – longest I've ever seen a lack of news like this. Instead, I've got my random piece for ya!

What happens when you set your techies free to build the perfect work space? (https://thenextweb.com/news/what-happens-techies-build-the-perfect-workspace) – Well, what you get is a serious mish mash that includes everything from sleeping pods to laundry capability to yoga rooms. This company's goal was to essentially create a home away from home – and they kinda did! It looks more like a resort than a work space, though it seems that the working capability of everyone is pretty high up there which is really interesting! Worth looking through the article to see the cool craziness of the setup.

The Extras – check out our Facebook, or Twitter page for even more!

2024 and how the coming CPU war is likely to play out (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/2024-and-how-the-coming-cpu-war-is-likely-to-play-out-178325.html)

AMD could rescue the Windows Thin and Light lap top market from Apple (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/amd-could-rescue-the-windows-thin-and-light-laptop-market-from-apple-178319.html)

AI ‘hallucinations' can become an enterprise nightmare (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/ai-hallucinations-can-become-an-enterprise-security-nightmare-178385.html)

The end of Reddit? Here's why most of the site is down – and what happens next (https://www.techradar.com/news/the-end-of-reddit-heres-why-most-of-the-site-is-down-and-what-happens-next)

Adobe makes Express and Firefly for enterprise happen (https://www.techradar.com/news/adobe-makes-express-and-firefly-for-enterprise-happen)

Google fixes serious email authentication bug – make sure you're not affected (https://www.techradar.com/news/google-fixes-email-authentication-bug-that-could-have-let-hackers-pose-as-real-firms)

DeepMind made its AI name in games. Now it's playing with the foundations of computing (https://thenextweb.com/news/deepmind-applies-games-ai-to-fundamental-algorithms)

The case for letting workers live in the WFH la-la-land (https://thenextweb.com/news/the-case-for-letting-workers-live-in-the-wfh-la-la-land)

Why the future won't look like a sci-fi movie (https://thenextweb.com/news/why-the-future-wont-look-like-a-sci-fi-movie)

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Dragon Rating Time!

John's Plugin

WP User Merge

https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-user-merger/

The Lowdown:

If you run an online store or membership site there may come a time when you need to merge an account, this plugin helps with that issue.

What this plugin does for you is allow you to combine multiple accounts and then go though and choose what parts of each account to keep and then merge them together. And if you make a mistake you can undo it and try again.

After activation there will be a settings page under Users menu. User Merger lets you merge the information of two users. There are two dropdowns on the settings page. Select the two users you want to merge. See screenshot 1.

Then press “Merge Users” button. A warning notification will appear for confirmation. Confirm action by pressing the Yes button.
After pressing proceed there will be a successful message which means users has been merged successfully.

If you select the same users, the merge action will not be performed. A warning message will appear that same users cannot be selected for merge action.
For detailed selection, there is a toggle button that will allow you to choose what information the user should include after the merge action. This is a premium feature.

Rating 5 Dragons.

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WordPress Tips

This is a newer segment we have brought forward, and would love some feedback from our Producers out there. What would be most helpful and useful for you here?

Making Sites

If you are thinking about using one of the array of plugins that claim to make things like resetting your site back to default easier, make sure you learn how to do it manually before trying out the plugin. The reason for this is because if the plugin somehow goes wrong, you won't know what to do to fix it if you haven't already learned how to do this on your own manually. You won't know what went wrong, or how to complete the job the plugin is unable to do.

Beginners Tips

Double and triple check that you are on the correct URL before commencing changes. I have made the mistake once before where I thought I was in the right site – but I was in the live site rather than the dev site. Luckily it was my own sandbox I was playing around and learning – so it wasn't bad. However, if that had been an important site, that could have been catastrophic. ALWAYS check your URL before clicking that mouse.

SAVE!! Make sure that when you finish anything that was even SLIGHTLY tedious/hard/tricky, even if it was a single button on a page you are working on, save it. You don't know when the power might cut, or the cat might jump up on your keyboard and change something – who knows what buttons they are pressing but I have seen some interesting things happen beneath cat paws – make sure you save!! If you are worried about the space each saves takes up, go back in and delete the saves later down the road. But while you are working, SAVE!!

…Some random entertainment in the World of WordPress!

…Matt's Famous Quotes
https://www.idrlabs.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg.php

…The hall of shame via Automattic:
transparency.automattic.com/tag/hall-of-shame/

————————————————-

Amber's Plugin

Reset Database

https://wordpress.org/plugins/reset/

The Lowdown:

I saw this and thought it might make resetting the sites like sandboxes a little easier and faster.  The way this plugin works is by removing all media files and putting everything back to default settings. All customizations and materials are removed. Your theme will be set back to default, all active plugins will be deactivated, and all internal data such as custom posts and pages will be deleted.

Once this is installed and activated, you will find it in the left hand menu towards the bottom. One of the cool features of this is that you cannot just click a button and have it go – you need for first type in ‘reset' to the text area the dashboard gives you, then you will be able to reset.

Unfortunately, when I went to use this plugin, it had a critical error, locked me out of my sandbox by deleting all logins. I had to create a new administrator email, and it appears that my elementor hello theme was still in charge of the site, though the information of posts and pages had indeed been deleted.

I'm not sure if that is normal for these kinds of plugins to delete all user information removing even the administrator – I really didn't like that and found it very irritating to deal with.

I will be trying out a few of these, perhaps because this is a newer plugin it had an issue, or perhaps the error that popped up was due to some other plugin on my site causing the whole thing to go all wonky. I am not sure, because I was kicked out of the site and required to login before I was able to get any further, but couldn't get in because my user account had been deleted.

Either way, at this time, I was not overly impressed – what they claimed was supposed to be a short period of time before the site would be set back to basics turned into a few hours of time spent trying to figure out what went wrong and having to recreate login and other things.

I rated this with the idea that the critical error may have been due to one of my own plugins already installed, though I get the feeling that the deletion of the logins was part of the plugin's job – which there is no warning about in the plugin information page I could see.

Rating: 3 Dragon

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Onto Our Producer Know How and Donations Segment!

Earn yourself a Producership Credit!

We have 3 levels of Producers that help to keep the show's larders stocked to bursting – Free-Lance Producers, Back-Room Producers, and War-Room Producers. There are special perks for Back-Room and War-Room Producers that you can learn about on our site wppluginsatoz.com. Click on Time, Treasure, or Talent Donations in our main menu to learn all the nitty gritty details on how you can add your 2 cents!

Free-Lance Producers:

… Free-Lance Producers always show up when least expected, and often times when most needed! No donation required to become a Free-Lance Producer – you just are one if you're here!

… If you have listened to even 10 minutes of this show, or shown up a single time to one of our live shows on YouTube, you are one of our many Free-Lance Producers! Although you guys are always popping in and out at unexpected times, we appreciate your support and periodic help with one thing or another – thank you!

Back Room Producers:

… Back Room Producers always seem to be about the place helping with our contests, artwork, site organization, notes, questions, suggestions, and even more! While they tend to hang out a lot in the back lounge and consume massive amounts of coffee and doughnuts, it's well earned through both hard work and their donations – never above $50 dollars and absolutely equal to their Time and Talent donations!

… Back Room Producers, if you ever notice something that needs some work feel free to reach out to us and let us know – you can offer to take it up yourself, or just let us know and we will add it to our list. We always appreciate your help in organizing and changing of the coffee – thank you!

War Room Producers:

… War Room Producers receive a few extra perks with their donations of $50 or more – an official A to Z Handle of their choice, a spotlight in that weeks show for a short speech, and an official Executive Producership Credit! These credits are real and can be used in the real world to your advantage! Only draw back is that they sometimes gotta make fresh coffee when the Back Room Producers emptied the pot…

**If you prefer to stay anonymous, please let us know at the beginning of your note to us regarding your donation! We are more than happy to keep you anonymous from the world – nobody is ever forced out of the tender embrace of the shadows on this show!**

… Official A to Z Handle means you will receive a specialized login to our site. We are working to update our site where we will have a Members Only section, and you will have access to a variety of things through your personalized handle for our site! To receive your Official A to Z Handle, think up an original name, and send it in to us along with the show number and the show name.

… Your spotlight can be an elevator pitch for your business, a note, or you can just skip it – just be sure to let us know your choice and we will adhere appropriately.

… The Producership Credit we offer is REAL! When you send your donation in to us of $50 or more, please be sure to note down the number and title of the show your donation appeared on, and we will back up your right to claim Producership!

… You don't ACTUALLY have to make the Back Room Producers coffee, but you might want to make yourself a fresh one. 😉 Especially if you are planning on pointing out things going wrong on the site… we got a long list and will likely try and convince you to help us out a little!

… War Room Producers, same as for the Back Room Producers, reach out to us if you notice something that needs work! Whether you are wanting to take up the job yourself or just inform us and leave it, we will add it to our ever-growing list!

Join in and be part of your own production and support the show at the same time!

There are loads of ways to use us as your tool to get on out there like getting an interview, leaving a review for a plugin or donating your own plugin review, or your own plugin license! I recommend you give it a go and see how it helps – you can check out our show notes in this section to see all the ways to be part of your own production!

…Reach out to John and get yourself Interviewed – use us as your tool to get out there!

… Looking for a way to get your name and work out there? Use us as a stepping stone! Hit us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/interview

…Send in your Plugin Reviews, or suggestions for a Plugin reviews!

… Have a plugin you love? Or one you really think people should avoid? Reach out to us and get your words and opinion out into the world by hitting us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/submit-plugin-review/

…Send in your own Plugin License and add it to the contest – this is a great way to get your name and your work out there!

… Is your plugin worth its salt in Dragons? If so, send it on into us and add it to the contests! You can do this by hitting us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/plugincontest/

…Send in questions and/or comments – we always love hearing from our Producers!

… Have a thought to share? Send it in! You can stay anonymous or belt your name out in all caps! Stitcher Radio, Google Play, or the iTunes Store. Doing this will also help you in producing the show for your own benefit too!

…You can support the show by Subscribing to our Newsletter, Donating, or reviewing us on Stitcher Radio, Google Play, or the iTunes Store. Doing this will also help you in producing the show for your own benefit too!

…You can check us out on Facebook, or our YouTube Channel! Be sure to hit the ‘like' button and share share share!

… YouTube Channel and joining us live every Monday at 12:15 PM PDT is a FANTASTIC show of support – and since you're already on the net's, might as well check out the Facebook page and hit that ‘like' button and share it out!

… Just showing up to our YouTube Channel and joining us live every Monday at 12:15 PM PDT is a FANTASTIC show of support – and since you're already on the net's, might as well check out the Facebook page and hit that ‘like' button and share it out!

… Don't forget – if you leave a review of us on any platform, that will help the show get noticed too; and if you happen to add your name to the show via questions or that awesome spotlight offered with a War Room Producership, that will get YOUR name out there too!

Questions, Notes, and Feedback from our Producers out there:

You can send in your 2 cents and have it read out here on the show!

… No such thing as a stupid question people! I was new not too long ago, and I know how overwhelming it can be stepping into this world at this stage – I know for a fact that questions you have are the same questions others out there have!

Reach out through email to amber@wppro.ca, or through the site at wppluginsatoz.com/contact/!

Miscellaneous Announcements from us and Producers:

Have an announcement like a meetup, or to announce you'll be on stage at a WordCamp? Let us know and we will add it here and help get your news out to the world!

If you are interested in finding a WordPress Meetup somewhere around the world you can go check out the places here: https://www.meetup.com/pro/wordpress/
Next WordPress Victoria Meetup will be on July 1st – this meetup aims to happen every month on the first so go and check out the link here in our show notes to see which one you might be interested in joining! https://www.meetup.com/yyjwordpress/

There only 1 WordCamp happening in July, and it's in the Philippines on July 8! To find out more you can check out the link here in our show notes https://central.wordcamp.org/

Keep checking back every week to find out what else is going on!

And remember, the show notes found at wppluginsatoz.com has a whole lot of extra information to grab up that we don't read on air so be sure to check them out!

How to reach us:

We have a real brick and mortar address where you can send in art and/or notes – you can find the address in our show notes!

WP Plugins A to Z
C/O John Overall 
20-754 E Fairview Rd. 
Victoria, BC  V9A 5T9  
Canada

We also have virtual addresses too!

John:

• My website: http://www.johnoverall.com/  
• WordPress Emergency Support: http://wppro.ca/wpemergency
• email: john@wppro.ca

Amber:

• email: amber@wppro.ca

Today's Plugins we covered were:

John’s Plugin:

WP User Merger

• great for online store or membership sites
• helps if to merge accounts
• allows you to keep bits of multiple accounts, than merge them into one

Rating: 5 Dragons

Amber's Plugin: 

Reset Database

• Speed: Resetting the WordPress database is a remarkably quick one-click procedure.
• Safe: You can’t unintentionally click reset. It contains a confirmation-style text.
• Confirmation Role: There must be typing confirmation. The alert notice appears if you enter incorrect information rather than choosing the reset text option.

Rating: 3 Dragons

Q & A Time with Amber – Catch this info on our YouTube Channel

If you have questions you would like to have asked on the show, send them in to me at Amber@WPPro.ca – let's see if we can stump my dad!

• How much about website security do you need to understand in order to run your own site?
• What area of website security would you recommend starting with to get enough of a handle on it?

Questions asked after closing credits:

• What are you looking for to see if a security plugin is a good one?
• What tells you when a security plugin is not a good one – how can you tell it's not working?