Fall Sale! Code FALL2024 takes 25% OFF our Pro Plugins & Books »
Web Dev + WordPress + Security
58 posts related to: All the X’s

HTML Abbreviations Cheat Sheet

Here is my custom list of abbreviations for commonly used terms, as written via HTML’s <abbr></abbr> tag. I’m posting this to make it available to anyone who finds it useful. Very handy when writing tutorials related to WordPress, web design and development. A quick copy/paste is much quicker than typing it all out. Without further ado, here is my “cheat sheet” of HTML abbreviations. Continue reading »

Self-Hosted, Domain-Based Email Addresses FTW

I use domain-based emails for 99% of my email activity. The other 1% is comprised of assorted 3rd-party email services and temporary slash disposable addresses (like for testing purposes and one-off sign-ups, etc.). I can tell you whole-heartedly based on 20+ years working online that self-hosted email is THE WAY to go. Continue reading »

All the Hyphens & Dashes

Double Oblique Hyphen

Typography is inspiring :) I recently posted about all the different HTML “X” characters. Then a tweet from Helge Klein inspired me to write a follow-up post showing all the different ways to write a dash or hyphen – character in HTML. Like most online content creators, I knew about &ndash; and &mdash;. But I didn’t realize there were so many other hyphen and dash characters. Continue reading »

All the little .txt files you can put in the root directory of your website

The ones I know of: ads.txt humans.txt robots.txt security.txt This site makes use of robots.txt and humans.txt. I don’t need ads.txt because 3rd-party ads aren’t currently running on the site, and security.txt seems not necessary as the site’s contact form is easy enough for anyone to find. Continue reading »

How to Fix _blank Target Vulnerability

[ _blank Target Vulnerability ]

In this article, I am reposting part of my recent tutorial, WordPress and the Blank Target Vulnerability. That post is aimed at WordPress specifically, however most of the article applies to HTML in general. So the tutorial below explains how to fix all “blank target” links, regardless of whether or not WordPress is involved. Continue reading »

WordPress and the Blank Target Vulnerability

[ WP Visual/RTE Insert Link Dialog ]

For those who haven’t yet noticed, WordPress now adds rel="noopener" attributes for any external links added via the link Quicktag in the Visual/RTE. So if you enable the option, “Open link in a new tab”, WordPress automatically will add the rel noopener attribute to the link. This is to protect against CORS and other exploits that take advantage of blank-target links. It’s a smart move that may escape many in the WordPress community. So in an effort to help foster […] Continue reading »

Clearfix Hack Evolution: From Dumpster Fire to One Line of Code

[ Clearfix Hack Evolution ]

Is the clearfix method of clearing floats still useful? It’s been years now and I think the answer is “yes”. For example, I use clearfix to clear floats in the site’s current design. It’s the “cleanest” way to clear floated elements without setting widths, hiding overflow, or floating (nearly) everything. I know what some of you are thinking: “Cleanest..? Clearfix is a hack. A total nightmare event.” Years ago that may have been the case, but not so much anymore.. Continue reading »

Wireless Camera Notes

[ Momentum Camera ]

Momentum Cam Over the years, I’ve gone through quite a few wireless wi-fi security cameras. Not because I am a gadget/new-tech junkie, but because all of the cameras I have tried so far work for awhile and then stop working, or never work properly in the first place. So in an effort to not repeat myself while maybe helping others who are looking for information, here is a post that I am dedicating to wi-fi camera notes. This includes things […] Continue reading »

Email Troubleshooting Guide

[ Email Troubleshooting Guide ]

Email is sort of like the “glue” that holds the Internet together. But it’s the worst possible glue ever. It’s underlying technology is convoluted, complicated, insecure, tedious, sloppy, and archaic. In a nutshell: email sucks but it’s pretty much essential for working online. So what do you do if email is not working, like when you send an email but it never arrives? It can be very frustrating and difficult to figure out what went wrong. To help get you […] Continue reading »

Encoding & Decoding PHP Code

[ Decoding PHP ]

There are many ways to encode and decode PHP code. From the perspective of site security, there are three PHP functions — str_rot13(), base64_encode(), and gzinflate — that are frequently used to obfuscate malicious strings of PHP code. For those involved in the securing of websites, understanding how these functions are used to encode and decode encrypted chunks of PHP data is critical to accurate monitoring and expedient attack recovery. Continue reading »

Online Tools for DNS, CHMOD, Data URLs

I’ve always liked the idea of having an “Asides” category for links, notes, and other miscellaneous debris. So here is the first aside post, classified in the newly established asides tag (woo-hoo!). Here are three awesome tools to optimize your workflow. Continue reading »

HTML5 Table Template

[ HTML5 Table Template ]

A good designer knows that tables should not be used for layout, but rather for displaying columns and rows of data. HTML enables the creation of well-structured, well-formatted tables, but they’re used infrequently enough to make remembering all of the different elements and attributes rather time-consuming and tedious. So to make things easier, here is a clean HTML5 template to speed-up development for your next project.. Continue reading »

Understanding CSS3 and CSS2.1 Border Properties

Even before CSS3 introduced a cornucopia of new border properties, CSS2.1 provided plenty of great functionality, enabling designers to style and enhance borders in many different ways. But now with the many new border properties available with CSS3, much more is possible, including everything from background border images, asymmetrical border radii, border transformations, custom fitting, and much more. While not every browser fully supports all of the awesome new styles, we can practice progressive enhancement to create beautiful, well-styled borders […] Continue reading »

The New Clearfix Method

Say goodbye to the age-old clearfix hack and hello to the new and improved clearfix method.. The clearfix hack, or “easy-clearing” hack, is a useful method of clearing floats. I have written previously about the original clearfix method and even suggested a few improvements. The original clearfix hack works great, but the browsers that it targets are either obsolete or well on their way. Specifically, Internet Explorer 5 for Mac is now history, so there is no reason to bother […] Continue reading »

Pimp Your 404: Presentation and Functionality

[ Screenshot: Default Apache 404 Error Page ]

I have been wanting to write about 404 error pages for quite awhile now. They have always been very important to me, with customized error pages playing a integral part of every well-rounded web-design strategy. Rather than try to re-invent the wheel with this, I think I will just go through and discuss some thoughts about 404 error pages, share some useful code snippets, and highlight some suggested resources along the way. In a sense, this post is nothing more […] Continue reading »

Eight Ways to Block and Redirect with Apache’s mod_rewrite

[ #1 ]

With the imminent release of the next series of (4G) blacklist articles here at Perishable Press, now is the perfect time to examine eight of the most commonly employed blacklisting methods achieved with Apache’s incredible rewrite module, mod_rewrite. In addition to facilitating site security, the techniques presented in this article will improve your understanding of the different rewrite methods available with Apache mod_rewrite. Note: I changed the title of this post from “Eight Ways to Blacklist..” to “Eight Ways to […] Continue reading »

Welcome
Perishable Press is operated by Jeff Starr, a professional web developer and book author with two decades of experience. Here you will find posts about web development, WordPress, security, and more »
Digging Into WordPress: Take your WordPress skills to the next level.
Thoughts
Went out walking today and soaked up some sunshine. It felt good.
I have an original box/packaging for 2010 iMac if anyone wants it free let me know.
Always ask AI to cite its sources.
All free plugins updated and ready for WP 6.6 dropping next week. Pro plugin updates in the works also complete :)
99% of video thumbnail/previews are pure cringe. Goofy faces = Clickbait.
RIP ICQ
Crazy that we’re almost halfway thru 2024.
Newsletter
Get news, updates, deals & tips via email.
Email kept private. Easy unsubscribe anytime.