The Missing Link for WordPress Plugins

It's Episode 546 and we have plugins for Removing Shortcodes, Custom Cursor, Easy Walls, Alternate Maps, Geo Maps, Library of Bugs, … and ClassicPress Options. It's all coming up on WordPress Plugins A-Z!

Shortcode Remover, Custom Cursor For WP, Simple Wall, Map Plugin alternative to Google Maps using MapQuest, with Directions, Interactive Geo Maps, Bug Library……. and ClassicPress options on Episode 546.

John's Intro:

This is a value for value show and I look forward to everyone providing some value back.

Before I get started, you will want to hang around to the end of the show for our Q & A segment with Amber…. and to those listening on the podcast, you may want to check out the YouTube version which has some great discussions before the show starts…

Producer Credits:

Executive producer:

Nobody this week. Maybe next week!

Show Art:

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

All the show notes can be found at: WPPluginsAtoZ.com

Check out all the art work at https://wppluginsatoz.com/show-art-submitted/
To Submit Artwork go here https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/

Amber's Rant:

This is #5 of 52 episodes for 2022! I wonder how many people actually believe in Groundhog day anymore? Well, according to the BC groundhog, we are looking at 6 more weeks of winter – Looking into it, I don't think the groundhog is ever really wrong in Canada since we often get the 6 more weeks of winter. 😀

Either way, be sure to have your back up power and what not all easy to grab since the winter storms aren't over – even if your groundhog says winter is over, there are always some pretty rough storms while transitioning into summer.

And enjoy these last few months of cold with the family! Once summer comes, I have a feeling everyone is going to be fleeing to the outdoors!

Rinse and repeat as often as needed.

We have some news from the world of WordPress for you today as well as some great plugins.

News this week:

WordPress Vulnerability Report – February 2, 2022 – Not too many this week! The ones to look out for are: Embed Swagger, Crazy Bone, and WP Responsive Menu. These are deemed as ‘no fix, uninstall and delete'.

WordPress 5.9 – new features and changes explained – This is an article talking about what the major changes in the most recent update are and how the effect you, as well as how you can utilize them.

New proposal aims for 3 major WordPress releases in 2022 – Planning for 6.0 and beyond is already underway, and we are looking at possible three major releases in 2022; the next two are being planned for late May (6.0), and mid-October (6.1). According to Haden Chomphosy with WordPress, these dates will allow 5.9 to ‘breathe a little'. So far, I am appreciating the date changes this year!

Google abandons FLoC in favour of New Topics API, a replacement for third-party cookies – Great news! Though now I am wanting to look into New Topics API, and see if it is actually any different from the FLoC Google was trying to do…

Essential addons for Elementor patches critical security vulnerability – If you are one of the many that uses Essential Addons, be sure to update asap as this patch was set loose on January 27th. The issue was: ‘allowing any user regardless of their authentication or authorization status, to perform a local file inclusion attack. this attack can be used to include local files on the filsystem of the website, such as /etc/passwd. This can also be used to perform RCE by including a file with malicious PHP code that normally cannot be executed.'
Be sure to update!

Block Protocol Project aims to create universal block system, may collaborate with Gutenberg – Block Protocol is a new project aiming to build block systems for embedding interactive blocks in any web application. This should be an interesting one to watch develop over time!

The extras – for even more extra news, check out our Facebook, or Twitter page!

This is the extra news stuff that someone out there might find interesting. To read more, you can head on over to the show notes or newsletter and check it out! If you find something to add for next show, send me a link at amber@wppro.ca

Looking ahead to WordPress 6.0: The early roadmap – If you are interested in seeing what is coming down the pike, then this article will take you through what WordPress 6.0 is aiming to bring to your site! So far, Easier Editing, Customization, Collaboration, Multilingual, Theme Global Styles Variations, Navigation as a dedicated UI, Template Creation and Theme Switching, and a few other things! Check this link out if you are interested in learning the details!

Inventor of the World Wide Web says his creation has been abused for too long – I completely agree with Sir Time Berners-Lee! His solution is a commitment to building what he calls Solid Pods, decentralized data stores that off users granular control over who is given access to their private data. Check the article out for more information on this!

What kinds of files violate Google Drive's content policies? – Great question, best answer is a bit long – suffice it to say that anything they consider harassment, hateful, sexual exploitation and/or abuse, spam, violence…. There is quite the list here. Great article to check out to make sure that you are up to date on what you can and cannot have.

Your graphics card fingerprint can be used to track your activities across the web – mildly disturbing… now, the reason behind this is so that they can make sure you will only upload what your graphics card can handle; however, we all know what happens when a new tracking capability comes online – your information gets grabbed up like hot cakes on Winter Solstice and used. Read on to find out more!

SolarMarker malware uses novel techniques to persist on hacked systems – SolarMarker information stealer and backdoor have been found leveraging stealthy Windows Registry tricks to establish long-term persistence on compromised systems. The major issue here is that once the backdoor has been created, it is ever evolving, right alongside the cybersecurity tactics. Read on to find out more!

C-Suites need to stop taking unnecessary risks – This article is about the Corporate Culture, the foolish risk taking that has led to crashes (like the financial crisis in 2008), and whether or not the Corporate Culture has a lack of risk appreciation. The article also talks about who is accountable for cyber risk. Worth a read!

New malware used by SolarWinds attackers went undetected for years – This article goes into how SolarWinds has continued to expand its malware arsenal with new tools and techniques, how long they have been deployed for, and how they have managed to avoid getting caught. Very interesting read, check out the link!

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

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

Support the show

This Show will not work without you, the producers, as it is a Value for Value model, meaning if you're getting any value out of it then give some value back and help the show out.

Start by subscribing to the newsletter for additional information and get out there round them up and rope them all in, belly up to the bar and enjoy. Spread the word about WP Plugins A to Z and catch it live every Thursday at noon PST on our YouTube Channel.

Show Producers

We'd like to acknowledge all the producers who have supported the show in the various ways over the last week.

This weeks show Art Work comes from:

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

To Submit Artwork go here https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/

Check out all the art work at https://wppluginsatoz.com/show-art-submitted/

This week's Executive Producer/'s are:

Nobody this week. Maybe next week!

A big thank you to all the Producers who came in under $50 and to those who have set up weekly subscriptions they will remain anonymous and I thank you very much.

All these small subscriptions really help the show out.

A big thank you to those who have hired me because of the Podcast, thank you that is as good as donating to the show.

You can Support the Show by:

Donating money to help the show Donations of $50 and over are credited with an Executive Producer Credit in the Show Notes, and their note is read out on the show.

Submitting art work at the WP Plugins Art generator,
To Submit Artwork go here https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/

Submit articles news and information

Submit plugin suggestions for reviews

You can also create a monthly donation at Patreon

Or something I may not have thought of.

If you would like to send something to WP Plugins A to Z you can send to the following address:

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

Off we go into the meat and potatoes, Into the depths of plugin depravity…..

ClassicPress Options

ClassicPress is growing really well, but we just don't have the time to add reviews on ClassicPress myself. We are always open to reviews sent in by listeners, though unless there is a review sent into us on ClassicPress, we am not going to do more than mention that ClassicPress is a thing. Here are some resources, we hope some listeners out there find this information useful!

One thing we are looking forward to in the ClassicPress World is the expansion of the number of ClassicPress specific plugins and their own repository. There are a few plugins specifically for ClassicPress and all plugins for WordPress 4.9.9 work well on it. We do believe it has a future, we just don't have the time to help them in getting it out there right now.

ClassicPress News:

No new updates this week.

Find out more about ClassicPress 1.4.0 rc2 https://forums.classicpress.net/t/classicpress-1-4-0-rc2-release-notes/3785?fbclid=IwAR3wGK5IW8ssJ-XC4k7IiZMBtSjUTVN2pexk6ATCRvuMN-Fn-McOy-XJJv8

For some up to date news on ClassicPress check out the ClassicPress Blog.

ClassicPress Resources:

“Must Have” Plugins List
https://forums.classicpress.net/t/must-have-plugins-list/1163

You can check out the ClassicPress repository here https://directory.classicpress.net/plugins They now have 84 plugins (and counting!) available.

WordPress Plugins

Are you looking for some great newly released plugins? Check out this link:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/browse/new/

——————————–

John's Plugin

Shortcode Remover

https://wordpress.org/plugins/shortcode-remover/

The Lowdown:

This is a simple straightforward plugin to remove all those pesky short codes on your web site. Simply install and activate.

Rating 4 Dragons

——————————–

Amber's Plugin

Map Plugin alternative to Google Maps using MapQuest, with directions

https://wordpress.org/plugins/get-directions/

The Lowdown:

This is a plugin that seems to work very well for replacing the Google Maps. There has been an issue with Google Maps charging to use their maps on sites for a bit now, and if people are unsure where to go to get a free map, MapQuest has this option, where it is free up to 15,000 map transactions per month. That's generally pretty sufficient for most businesses!

This plugin works in tandem with MapQuest, using an API Key to bring up the map you need for your business. With this you will get the following features:

• Show or hide route direction ability
• Set initial zoom level
• Decide on full map controls or minimal
• Set the map height
• Developer friendly template layouts for shortcode / widget allowing overriding

Worth checking out!

Rating 4 Dragons

——————————–

John's Plugin

Custom Cursor For WP

https://wordpress.org/plugins/custom-cursor-for-wp/

The Lowdown:

A simple plugin to customize the curser on your website for your visitors to be able to see it a bit better or just to annoy them with something different.

Rating 4 Dragons

——————————–

Amber's Plugin

Interactive Geo Maps

https://wordpress.org/plugins/interactive-geo-maps/

The Lowdown:

This map plugin links with Google API, and is designed to create interactive maps – this was specifically designed for travelers to show where they have been, though I can see many uses for this plugin for businesses and personal sites alike! The settings in the free version are awesome.

This is the free version with the features of:

• Create as many maps as you want
• Responsive and cross-device
• Color countries
• Add round coloured markers
• Set hover color change
• Set click actions, like open a new window
• Choose from different map projections (Mercator, Miller, NaturalEarth1, among others)
• Select which regions to display in a map
• Exclude specific regions from a map
• Display HTML tooltips on hover
• Zoom controls and Pan

The Pro Version offers a lot more if you are in need of more options. Interactive Geo maps!

Rating 4 Dragons

——————————–

John's Plugin

Simple Wall

https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-wall/

The Lowdown:

This is a simple way to embed your public Facebook wall to your website with just the url for the page. Easy and straightforward install get the page address and the embed with a shortcode. But only good as a gutenberg block.

Rating 4 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

Bug Library

https://wordpress.org/plugins/bug-library/

The Lowdown:

This is a really cool, totally free, plugin for those who have sites where others can add/report bugs and fixes. With a shortcode, you can place the Bug Library on any page, and users will be able to display a bug list, and visitors will be able to submit new bugs/enhancements.

There is a Captcha and approval mechanism that will help to keep the spam away – and you have control over how many submissions are allowed, what role of user can add to the bug list and see the bug list – I think this is one of those plugins to tuck into the back of your mind for future ventures if you are a developer.

Bug Library, worth checking out!

Rating 5 Dragons

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Random links for plugins

WordPress plugins crafted from love and experience
https://codeat.co/

Listener Feedback / Audio Clips

Feel free to send in your thoughts to us – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly – we'll take them all!

Listener Questions

Is there a quick and easy way to test out several plugins with the same purpose?

If I want to compare them to each other at the same time, should I make different sandbox sites using each one?
Any other suggestions?

Looking for a Short Cut

 

Remember: If you have any you would like to have asked, please feel free to send them in! Remember, there's no such thing as a stupid question!

Enter The Contest to Win!!

Contests Powered by Simple Giveaways who kindly provides us with the premium version for our contests.

A BIG Thank You to Steve Goodtime & Brant Matthews who have created our Awesome jingle for the contests!

A BIG Thank You to Charlie for coming to the aid of the show and getting our contests all organized!

We also want to give a BIG Thank You to all the Developers for supporting our show with their plugin donations! Please be sure to check them out!

Short note about participating in the contests folks – we go to great efforts to get these licenses. We would LOVE to see a bit more participation from you, The Producers.

We have a new contest for you!! Our contest is for:

The Events Calendar Pro Single Domain License, valued at $99

This events calendar, developed by https://stellarwp.com, is the same events calendar we have been using on our sites for many years. This plugin makes your events easy with calendars, ticketing, and powerful WordPress tools to manage your events from start to finish. With more than 28 million downloads and 800,000 active installations, powering over one billion events, this plugin has been put to the test!

You can try it out by going to their demo page and giving it a whirl.

You can enter the contest from February 3, 2022 until March 2, 2022 with the winner being announced on the show onMarch 3rd!

Visit http://WPPluginsAtoZ.com/contests for more info.

Let your friends know about the giveaway!

Enter to win and remember to share this contest with friends to earn extra entries to the contest.

For all developers who would like to support the show: You can donate a premium license to be used in a future contests. Please go to: WPPluginsAtoZ.com/PluginContest

The plugins we covered were:

John’s Plugins: Shortcode Remover – 4, Custom Cursor For WP – 4, Simple Wall – 4

Amber's Plugins: Map Plugin alternative to Google Maps using MatQuest, with directions – 4, Interactive Geo Maps – 4, Bug Library – 5

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

Reminders / Commercial / Promotions:

Next Week:

No meetup planned at the moment but you can keep tabs on this at https://wppluginsatoz.com/meetup

Would you like to be on an interview show? Simply connect at https://wppluginsatoz.com/interview

If you have suggestions on plugins you would like to have reviewed, please submit them on the website at https://wppluginsatoz.com/submit-plugin-review/

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 and we will answer to the best of our ability!

• While working with different builders, like Elementor, Divi, Beaver builder, etc – I have noticed that some run much slower than others. What causes that?
• When choosing a builder to go with, what do you look for when making the decision?
• On an older site, if you keep it updated and well maintained, sometimes the site still starts to run much slower. What are the main culprits to look for when this happens?

Closing out this Episode

Just some reminders:

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How to Contact Us:

John can be contacted at:

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

Amber can be contacted at:

• email: amber@wppro.ca