// The Dev Log

Notes from the workbench.

Practical WordPress walk-throughs, snippets and quick fixes, all written from real client work.

The WordPress block editor with React 19 compatibility testing in progress

React 19 is not in WordPress 7.1. Here is why

WordPress 7.1 is expected on 19 August, and the React 19 upgrade everyone was warned about is not in it. What is coming, who is at risk, and how to prepare.

Read article 12 Aug 2026 · 9 min read

Elementor Site Settings showing the global colours palette and global font styles for a site

How-to Elementor Beginner

Setting up global colours and fonts in Elementor

Set up Elementor global colours and fonts so a rebrand takes minutes, not days: Site Settings, Theme Style defaults and naming colours by role.

Read article 11 Aug 2026 · 12 min read

A developer reviewing AI-generated code alongside a WordPress project

News Tools

AI tools are for professionals, not instead of them

AI tools are professional tools, not a shortcut past the profession. Where they genuinely save time, where they cost it, and what that means for your project.

Read article 8 Aug 2026 · 11 min read

The Elementor 4 Atomic Editor and its new atomic elements panel

News Elementor

Elementor 4 and the Atomic Editor, explained

What the Atomic Editor changes, what happens to your existing pages when you update, and whether it is worth switching yet. A plain, calm explanation.

Read article 4 Aug 2026 · 12 min read

Working through the layers of caching in front of a WordPress site to find a stale page

How-to WordPress Intermediate

When a WordPress cache will not clear

Cleared the cache and the old page is still there? Here is how to find which layer is serving the stale copy, from browser to CDN to server, and clear it.

Read article 28 Jul 2026 · 16 min read

Diagnosing a slow Elementor editor and a slow Elementor front end

How-to Elementor Intermediate

Why Elementor is slow, and what actually fixes it

Elementor slow to edit, or slow for visitors? They are different problems with different fixes. Here is how to tell them apart and what genuinely helps.

Read article 21 Jul 2026 · 12 min read

A published WordPress post clearing the cached homepage and archive pages that list it

How-to WordPress Beginner

Setting up the ABCode StackCache add-on on 20i

How to install and use the ABCode StackCache add-on on 20i hosting, so publishing a post clears your homepage, archives and feed as well as the post.

Read article 15 Jul 2026 · 9 min read

An Elementor form submission that never reached the inbox

How-to Elementor Beginner

Elementor form not sending emails? Here is why

Your Elementor form says it sent, but nothing arrives. Why WordPress email fails silently, the form settings to check first, and the SMTP fix that ends it.

Read article 8 Jul 2026 · 13 min read

The WordPress Settings Connectors screen listing AI provider connections

News WordPress

AI is in WordPress core now. What that actually means

WordPress 7.0 put an AI Client, a Connectors hub and the Abilities API into core. What those actually do, what they do not, and whether you need to care.

Read article 2 Jul 2026 · 9 min read

An Elementor layout shown as nested sections and columns beside the same layout built with flexbox containers

How-to Elementor Intermediate

Elementor containers vs sections, and when to switch

How Elementor's flexbox containers differ from the old section and column model, what the converter does to your styling, and when not to switch a page.

Read article 25 Jun 2026 · 12 min read

The WordPress 7.0 admin dashboard showing the new Command Palette and Connectors screen

News WordPress

WordPress 7.0 landed. What it means for your site

WordPress 7.0 Armstrong shipped in May with an AI client in core, a redesigned admin and one big feature cut days before launch. What you actually need to do.

Read article 11 Jun 2026 · 9 min read

How-to Elementor Advanced

Building a custom Elementor widget

Build a custom Elementor widget properly: the plugin scaffold, Widget_Base, controls, a style tab, safe rendering, and when a widget beats a dynamic tag.

Read article 10 Jun 2026 · 14 min read

The Elementor editor stuck on its grey loading screen

How-to Elementor Intermediate

Elementor editor not loading? Work through this

Elementor editor stuck on the grey loading screen? Work through the browser, PHP limits, Safe Mode, plugin conflicts and firewall rules, fastest first.

Read article 9 Jun 2026 · 13 min read

The ABCode Cache Warmer screen in the WordPress admin, showing warming sources and queue stats

How-to WordPress Beginner

How to set up ABCode Cache Warmer

A setup walkthrough for ABCode Cache Warmer: checking you have a page cache, choosing what to warm, reading the per-URL results, and scheduling it safely.

Read article 27 May 2026 · 10 min read

Preloading a WordPress page cache by crawling the XML sitemap

How-to WordPress Beginner

Cache preloading in WordPress, and when it helps

What cache preloading actually does in WordPress, how to warm a site by hand from your sitemap, and the sites where preloading is a waste of server resources.

Read article 19 May 2026 · 16 min read

The WordPress admin bar showing a View As menu with a view for each user role

How-to WordPress Beginner

How to use ABCode View As Role Switcher

A step by step guide to ABCode View As Role Switcher: install it, pick which roles appear in the toolbar, and view your front end as any role sees it.

Read article 29 Apr 2026 · 10 min read

The same WordPress page shown twice, once as an administrator and once as a subscriber

How-to WordPress Beginner

Checking what your users actually see

How to test a WordPress site as a different user: why private windows mislead you, how to use test accounts safely, and how to spot hidden versus blocked.

Read article 22 Apr 2026 · 15 min read

Hardening a WordPress site with updates, two-factor login and file permissions

How-to WordPress Intermediate

A WordPress security hardening checklist

A WordPress security checklist ordered by what actually stops attacks: updates, 2FA, file permissions, wp-config, backups, and the theatre worth skipping.

Read article 4 Mar 2026 · 18 min read

The ABCode Database Exporter screen in the WordPress admin, with database tables listed ready to export

How-to WordPress Beginner

How to use ABCode Database Exporter

A walkthrough of ABCode Database Exporter: installing it, picking tables, choosing SQL, CSV or schema, gzip, and importing the file with phpMyAdmin or WP-CLI.

Read article 25 Feb 2026 · 10 min read

A single WordPress database table being exported to a .sql file

How-to WordPress Intermediate

Exporting single WordPress database tables

Need one WordPress table, not the whole database? Exporting wp_posts, postmeta or a plugin table with phpMyAdmin, mysqldump or WP-CLI, without breaking it.

Read article 11 Feb 2026 · 14 min read

WP-CLI commands running in a terminal against a WordPress site

How-to WordPress Advanced

WP-CLI commands worth knowing

The WP-CLI commands I actually use every day: updates, user passwords, safe search-replace, database exports, cron and cache flushing over SSH.

Read article 15 Jan 2026 · 15 min read

The WordPress users screen with role names, alongside a capability check in PHP

How-to WordPress Intermediate

WordPress user roles and capabilities, explained

What each WordPress user role can genuinely do, how capabilities are checked in code, and how to add a custom role properly without breaking your admin.

Read article 3 Dec 2025 · 15 min read

Diagnosing WordPress Core Web Vitals scores for LCP, CLS and INP

How-to WordPress Intermediate

Speeding up WordPress and fixing Core Web Vitals

How to measure Core Web Vitals properly on WordPress, what LCP, CLS and INP actually mean, and which speed fixes are worth doing, in the right order.

Read article 11 Nov 2025 · 14 min read

A WordPress homepage still listing older posts after a new post was published

How-to WordPress Beginner

New post not showing on your homepage? It's the cache

Published a post but the homepage still shows the old list? Here is how to confirm it is your cache, rule out the other causes, and purge the right layer.

Read article 8 Oct 2025 · 15 min read

A branded WordPress login form replacing the default wp-login.php screen

How-to WordPress Intermediate

Building a custom WordPress login page

Brand the WordPress login page with hooks, or build a fully custom one with wp_login_form. Redirects, safe error messages and login security done right.

Read article 23 Sept 2025 · 15 min read

Diagnosing a cold WordPress page cache using response headers and load timings

How-to WordPress Intermediate

Why the first visitor after a cache clear waits

Your WordPress site feels fast until someone reports it being slow and you cannot reproduce it. Here is how to prove it is a cold cache, and how to fix it.

Read article 5 Aug 2025 · 16 min read

PHP code registering a custom post type in WordPress

How-to WordPress Advanced

Registering a custom post type without a plugin

Register a custom post type in WordPress with code, not a plugin generator. Labels, REST support, taxonomies and the rewrite flush that stops 404s.

Read article 2 Jul 2025 · 14 min read

WordPress discussion settings with comments turned off site wide

How-to WordPress Beginner

Turning off WordPress comments for good

Comments off everywhere: future posts, existing posts, pages, media attachments, the admin menu and pingbacks, with a plugin-free code route in full.

Read article 19 Jun 2025 · 16 min read

A 301 redirect sending an old WordPress URL to its replacement

How-to WordPress Intermediate

301 redirects in WordPress: every method that works

301 redirects done properly: which status code to use, how to do it in a plugin, .htaccess or nginx, and how to test it without trusting your browser.

Read article 6 May 2025 · 17 min read

A WordPress database export being written to a .sql file

How-to WordPress Intermediate

Backing up a WordPress database properly

How to back up a WordPress database you can actually restore: phpMyAdmin export settings, the mysqldump flags that matter, wp db export, and testing it.

Read article 14 Apr 2025 · 17 min read

Checking WordPress database credentials in wp-config.php

How-to WordPress Intermediate

Fixing error establishing a database connection

WordPress cannot reach its database. How to check the credentials, the DB_HOST value and the server itself, and why repairing tables comes last, not first.

Read article 11 Mar 2025 · 14 min read

The WordPress media uploader showing a maximum upload file size limit

How-to WordPress Beginner

How to increase the WordPress maximum upload size

Your WordPress upload limit is set by PHP, not WordPress. Here is every route to raise the maximum upload file size, and the one I try first.

Read article 27 Feb 2025 · 15 min read

A blank white WordPress page being diagnosed over FTP

How-to WordPress Intermediate

WordPress white screen of death: causes and fixes

A blank white WordPress page means a PHP fatal error. How to see the real error, disable the guilty plugin without admin access, and get the site back.

Read article 9 Jan 2025 · 16 min read