Playing with the Best WordPress Plugins

John's Intro:

It's Episode 602 and we have plugins for  Redirection of QRs, The Works Security Scanning… 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 602 – Playing with the Best 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!

We have an exciting announcement today: we have redone our website WPPluginsAtoZ.com and will be launching it very soon! So keep an eye out to see the changes coming up!

Hoping everyone is doing well out there and not getting burnt to a crisp!

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: 

Greg's Graphics (Greg Holdsworth)  — https://gregsgraphics.com

This one makes me think of the song Sweet Home Alabama! One of my favourite songs. Love the way the logo was put on there!

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 – May 31, 2023 (https://ithemes.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-may-31-2023/) – There is a decent list of patched vulnerabilities, and a long list of plugins without plugin vulnerabilities to check out. Th ones I most easily recognize are:

Custom Post Type Generator, Easy Admin Menu, Easy Captcha, This Day In History, WP Tiles. Be sure to check out the whole list, you can find the link in our show notes.

There are some WordPress Theme Vulnerabilities to be aware of:

HarshOne
Viral
Viral News

There is only one piece of news from WordPress this week, and it's from last week. Nothing new in the WordPress world currently:
WordPress Turns 20 (https://wptavern.com/wordpress-turns-20) – On May 27 WordPress turned 20 and there were parties all over the world! Geneva, Los Angeles, Instanbul, Bangkok, Langhore, Jakerta, Mumbai – in over 150 different locations! You can check the report through the link here in our show notes.

10 most common passwords to avoid for 2023 (https://www.techradar.com/news/internet/avoid-these-10-common-passwords-if-you-don-t-want-to-be-hacked-1316113) – The top 3 to avoid are the same as always: Password, 12345, and 123456789. There are some others here, but really, these same passwords keep coming up as passwords to avoid, I would recommend that everyone try to be a little more inventive with passwords, and if you can't remember them, there are a lot of password programs out there, utilize them.

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

This new malware campaign can hijack your gmail or outlook email account (https://www.techradar.com/news/this-new-malware-campaign-can-hijack-your-gmail-or-outlook-email-account)

DOJ, five eyes nations unite to dismantle russian cyber-espionage attack (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/doj-five-eyes-nations-unite-to-dismantle-russian-cyber-espionage-network-178292.html)

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

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)

ChatGPT's arrival on iPhone sparks reprise of privacy concerns (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/chatgpts-arrival-on-iphone-sparks-reprise-of-privacy-concerns-178333.html)

The importance of Microsoft's 5-point blueprint for public governance AI (https://www.technewsworld.com/story/the-importance-of-microsofts-5-point-blueprint-for-public-governance-of-ai-178345.html)

What happens when you set your techies free to build the perfect workspace? (https://thenextweb.com/news/what-happens-techies-build-the-perfect-workspace)

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Dragon Rating Time!

John's Plugin

QR Redirector

https://wordpress.org/plugins/qr-redirector/

The Lowdown:

QR codes have had a resurgence in the last couple of years and I was ignoring them but the time has come to once again use on in a flyer I was printing up. The number of plugins has increased dramatically and the quality seems to have gone down. It also seems that there are large amount of plugins that have been abandoned and no longer working well.

The biggest issue I have discovered is that many plugin only make a QR code for your page and not something you can download and apply to a flyer or some other advertisement.

This one is a great in that it not only allow you to create a code you can download but you can create many different ones and apply any URL you want to it.

You simply set it up and create your code. The one aspect I did discover is that you have to use Gutenberg editor which in itself is not too bad.

On the whole it is a great plugin.

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

One of the first things you should set yourself up is a sandbox site. Your aim is to test absolutely everything on this site, break it, build it, play around! Once in a while you will have to erase everything on this site and bring it back to empty because by testing all these things on this site, you will find yourself locked out, or the site so broken that very few plugins will work. That is to be expected – like the scrap piece of paper you test your colours on when you are an artist, every once in a while the paper needs to be refreshed. It's the same with the sandbox site.

The sandbox site is really good for figuring out how to make not just pages and plugins work, but for figuring out how to make sub domains, change PHP, how to fix broken anything – and because it's a sandbox site, there is absolutely no stress if you need to reset it back to manufacturer settings so to speak. Before you start getting to the point of fixing sites, I recommend having a sandbox to test absolutely everything out.

Beginners Tips

If you are wanting to get into working on sites, whether you want to be in WordPress or DreamWorks – you will need to learn the very basics of code. HTML, CSS, JQUERY.  Now I myself am still a bit rusty on JQUERY, though learning HTML and CSS has helped me to figure out what's going on with so many sites at this point, how to solve problems and how to make things work I would otherwise have had no clue how to solve.

Another good tip, get yourself a browser like or similar to Firefox developer, and play around with ‘inspect'. Right click, go down the options to the bottom, choose ‘inspect', and look at all that info that pops up. Uncheck a few boxes, see what happens to the site you are on. You aren't doing anything permanent to the site, but you can change the way it looks. You are playing with the CSS here, and you get to see what happens. Go through the options available, see what different things do – again, no permanent changes. Hit refresh and you will have it reset for you.

Playing around with things is how we learn, so don't be afraid to break things, change things – short of setting your computer on fire, there is not much you can do that's bad for you and your learning curve.

…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/

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Amber's Plugin

Fullworks Security Scanner

https://wordpress.org/plugins/fullworks-scanner/

The Lowdown:

I am always keeping my eye out for new and upcoming security plugins, and this one caught my eye. It's not a full on security plugin, but is instead a scanner plugin that tells you quite a bit about what's going on with your site.

Once installed and activated, you will find the settings on the left hand menu under ‘Fullworks Scanner'.

In the settings you can set the time to do the scan – it is automatically set to 10 02 *** which translates to 10 after 2 am, scan every night. I changed this time to test it out, though you can leave this blank to stop it from doing any security scans at all until you want it to, if so desired.

Below settings, you will find reports. Here you can look to find out the following information:

WordPress Core version
Installed themes – whether they are abandoned or need an update
Plugins – whether they are abandoned or need an update
and a detailed report of any vulnerabilities found

The plugin will also helpfully send you an email to notify you that there is something to check if the scan finds anything that is a potential security risk to your website.

You are able to accept any warnings or errors noted on the reports page; a good example is having a theme that is no longer supported but you are happy with it and don't want to change it – so you can accept the warning and ignore the security risk. You can accept the warning with any plugin or theme that you know is not actually a full on security risk.

Major bonus, this security report will also show you an extract of the change log, where available, for plugins with available updates. This makes it a little easier to be able to read the changelog right there rather than having to click through the various options before getting to the changelog of any plugin needing updating.

Knowing if there is an issue with your plugins, themes, and/or core is exceedingly helpful when trying to figure out an issue – like being locked out of your site for some unknown reason.

One feature I would like to see in this is the option to complete a full scan on demand.  Currently this is a brand new plugin fresh outta the box, so perhaps that is a feature they will add sometime down the line. As it is currently, I find it very helpful!

Rating: 4 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:

QR Redirector By Nikki Blight

• Create QR Code
• Download WR Code
• Apply QR Code to URL

Rating: 5 Dragons

Amber's Plugin: 

Fullworks Security Scanner By Fullworks

• Scan site for vulnerabilities
• Check for updates in plugins/themes/core
• Check for abandoned plugins/themes

Rating: 4 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 would you recommend someone get started in this business? Specifically where would you start them, what would you have them do and why?

• What theme would you recommend to a person who wants to create a Woocommerce site?

Questions asked after closing credits:

• How do you switch themes in your site?
  • Can you use two themes at once?
• What if your site is older, and has a lot of content – will you be able to switch themes and keep the site from breaking?