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Web Dev + WordPress + Security
138 posts

Perishable Press Redesign

For many months, visitors to Perishable Press encountered the highly customized Jupiter! theme. Utilizing sIFR, Prototype, Lightbox, and several other bandwidth-heavy scripts, the Jupiter! theme weighs in at well over 400KB/page when saved as an offline copy. The Jupiter! theme also employs every plugin used here at Perishable Press, resulting in even slower performance for broadband users, and utterly painful experiences for those on modem/dial-up. Continue reading »

Back up that Database with phpMyAdmin

Backing up your database as often as possible is essential. For WordPress, as well as for other applications, plugins and other scripts that help automate the task are easily obtainable. However, for several reasons, it is a good idea to understand the process of manually creating a backup copy of your database. This quick tutorial should help cement the process into a solid reference. We are assuming that you have an SQL database and have access via phpMyAdmin. Continue reading »

New Online Vector Drawing Tool

Quality web-based vector drawing in effect. Check out LiTha-Paint at litha-paint.com. LiTha-Paint is a promising new online vector drawing tool. The software is currently in alpha, yet is already full-featured and easy to use. LiTha-Paint steps beyond the paltry selection of Flash/VML/SVG online drawing tools, providing versatility and universality via HTML and JavaScript. Perhaps all this Web 2.0 business is worthwhile after all.. Continue reading »

Website Attack Recovery

Recently, every website on our primary server was simultaneously attacked. The offending party indiscriminately replaced the contents of every index file, regardless of its extension or location, with a few vulgar lines of code, which indicated intention, identity, and influence. Apparently, the attack occurred via Germany, through a server at the University of Hamburg (uni-hamburg.de). This relatively minor attack resulted in several hours of valuable online education. In this article, it is our intention to share experience with website attack […] Continue reading »

Dead Letter Art Website Update

A new Dead Letter Art website is in the works and coming soon. The new site enhances previous content with dynamic features and improved organization. The new site has also been updated to include more archived content, including ancient issues and special projects. Additionally, some keen Ajax functionality kicks the “fun” up a notch. Anticipated release date: September 1, 2006. Check out the old, sickly green website here. Continue reading »

Native Sun Botanicals Website

The Native Sun Botanicals (NSB) website is now online. Native Sun Botanicals specified a precise “look and feel” for their site, which is currently a “brochure” site that conveys some basic product information. As a botanical manufacturer slash supplier, NSB strives to present a clean, refreshing image that is sophisticated yet simple. The site is designed to be standards-based, accessible, and optimized for search engines. Continue reading »

Get Back

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine is a trip into the online past, offering glimpses of ancient website relics. Reaching back through the virtual dark ages of 1996, the Wayback Machine chronicles over 55 billion pages. Although many of the pages appear incomplete due to missing images, the Wayback Machine provides an invaluable resource, enabling users to experience and learn from the arcane internet of yesterday. Continue reading »

DLa Website Back Online

DLa Tree by ThaneC The Dead Letter Art website is temporarily back online. This is the once infamous, vomit-green version of the website we’re talking about here. One of the first serious attempts at website design, the green DLa site offers slice-based rollover action, table-based markup, and seriously grotesque aesthetics. However hideous the site, its content showcases some of the finest highlights from the Dead Letter Art experience. Continue reading »

Website Cluster Graphs

Ever imagine your website represented as a cluster graph? Well prepare your DOM and check out Sala’s Websites as Graphs project. Just visit the free online tool and enter the URL of any web page. After a few moments, the site will generate a colorful graph such as the one displayed on the left of this post. Each generated map represents a single website page, where each dot represents a different tag, and each color represents a different type of […] Continue reading »

Essential Firefox Extensions

Firefox users, lend me your ears! As you know, Firefox is like the most excellent, versatile, reliable, and secure browser available today. Extensions are just one of the features that make Firefox so versatile and efficient. Extensions enable Fx users to customize their browsing experience by adding tools that help with security, searching, and multimedia. Here is a list of my favorite — nay, essential — Firefox extensions: Continue reading »

Google Analytics Invitation

Earlier this year, we decided to implement the much-hyped, visitor-tracking and website optimization tool called Google Analytics. Google’s free data analytics service offers enterprise-level statistics capabilities and provides “high-end web analytics” and works with or without Google AdWords. Sounds great, however the service currently is available through invitation or “approved” signup. Skeptical that we would ever hear anything, we decided to submit a request anyway. Continue reading »

Osseus Website Update

Osseus Website Multimedia artist extraordinaire, Kenneth Paul Schrag — better known as Osseus to his fellow DLa comrades — is currently in the process of updating his personal design portfolio website (Flash required). Ken’s work is diverse, with online samples covering both graphic design and illustration. We finally met up with Ken and Yasuko several months ago before their Japanese trip. We shared coffee in the Desert Oasis and shared recent experiences and creative happenings. Ken and Yasuko have been […] Continue reading »

Monzilla Media Website Update

Monzilla Media After working more than nine months developing Perishable Press into a valuable online resource, which houses a growing library of notes, examples, and ideas related to the creative universe of Perishable, we feel well-prepared to press ahead with the next phase of our secret plans. About a year ago, we purchased the domain, monzillamedia.com, after deciding on a business name and refocusing our goals. Since that time, we have been sharpening skills and preparing for business. Now, as […] Continue reading »

Migration and Propagation Business

The overly dramatic process of transferring our Online Empire to a new server and then back again manifests several valuable lessons. Please look back your note and observe the following suggestions during any future server migration and/or domain propagation events… Continue reading »

Server Migration Details

About a year ago we signed up with a hosting provider that offered one of the best hosting deals around: lots of space, bandwidth, and transfer — plus all of the usual server software amenities that make life easier. Everything went smoothly at first… In fact, the first six months of service were close to 100%. The few help-ticket items submitted were promptly resolved in a professional manner. We were ready to start some business and everything was going great. […] Continue reading »

Permalink Enlightenment

I recently enabled the permalinks feature for a fresh WordPress 2.0.2 upgrade. The process required several hours of research and approximately 90 minutes to fully implement. This brief article summarizes the process and applies to the following setup: 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 »
BBQ Pro: The fastest firewall to protect your WordPress.
Thoughts
I live right next door to the absolute loudest car in town. And the owner loves to drive it.
8G Firewall now out of beta testing, ready for use on production sites.
It's all about that ad revenue baby.
Note to self: encrypting 500 GB of data on my iMac takes around 8 hours.
Getting back into things after a bit of a break. Currently 7° F outside. Chillz.
2024 is going to make 2020 look like a vacation. Prepare accordingly.
First snow of the year :)
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