Blog Entry
Since 2008 smart people have been using my ExpressionEngine video tutorials to get started with the CMS.
It’s still a great time to learn it. I’m putting it on sale through Monday November 17, 2014, for $20 off the normal price. It’s as close to a steal as I can get.
Save $20 now.
The thing I love about learning from video tutorials is that I can do it on my own time, pause when I need to take a break or step away, restart when I have time. I’m not bound to the schedule someone else set. I’m not stuck in front of the computer when I don’t want to be. I can fit my learning around my already busy schedule.
Time-shifted learning is the best way to learn.
Okay, with that said, did you already grab the discounted course?
P.S. If you have a team and you want to get everyone a copy, email me and I will give you a special team discount (more special than the normal).
Blog Entry
How would you tackle planning an ExpressionEngine implementation? What are the processes and documentation involved? In this week’s episode, Emily and Lea dive deep into CMS build planning and how it’s evolved over the years, and through different systems! We not only refer to EE, but also discuss Craft and Statamic, how planning differs for those other systems, and why we would choose one system over another.
We also explain how planning documents help with client communication and deliverables, and speak about how planning can ultimately save everyone time and money.
Tune in now! Thanks to Backup Pro for sponsoring!
Blog Entry
Have you tried out EE Blocks yet?
It’s a rich content field type for ExpressionEngine that allows you to add different types of content and then move that content around to your liking.
They posted a helpful how-to on using EE Blocks to create captions for images.
Captioned images. They seem like they should be so easy. Drop an image into a content field and add a caption, and you’re done, right?
But they never are easy, are they? I can’t even count the number of times a client has requested an easy way to add captioned images to a content area on a site.
Read the entire tutorial
Blog Entry
Yesterday, Pixel & Tonic released a bunch of updates to the following add-ons:
- Assets 2.5 - has new support for uploading assets to remote sources via Channel Forms.
- Field Pack 2.2 - support
{element_name} tags within Content Elements.
- Matrix 2.6.1 - Bug fixes, including one with with EE1 migration
- Playa 4.5.2 - Bug fixes
All of the updates are free for current licensees. Grab the downloads in your Devot-ee account.
Blog Entry
Last week, EllisLab kicked off another developer roundtable. They did one previously and are now making it a monthly event.
The Developer Roundtable is a live chat with EE add-on developers and the staff at EllisLab. I dropped in on the chat last week and it was a lively and honest conversation. EllisLab is seeking input and feedback from the community that develops add-ons for their CMS.
Blog Entry
Just released on November 1st is a minimal theme for the ExpressionEngine Forum module. It’s called eeBootstrap.
By the name, it’s obvious that it is built on Bootstrap. It can be toggled to different Bootswatch themes (see the live example to try that out) if you want a slightly different look.
eeBootstrap is a professional theme for ExpressionEngine Forum Discussion Module, is developed with the latest version of Twitter Bootstrap framework, HTML5 e CSS3.
It’s also responsive and customizable the same way a Bootstrap-based site is.
You can see it in action here (looks really nice!) and test it out before you decide to purchase a license for one of your projects.
What I initially like about the idea of this theme is that might make more people use the EE Forum module. Theming it is a major pain and a lot of people shy away from it because of that. This theme makes using the module more appealing to me.
The eeBoostrap theme is $49.50 and available at Devot-ee for purchase.
Blog Entry
EllisLab is collecting links to reviews of ExpressionEngine.
Have you recently published a review to your company or personal blog? Send it over to EllisLab and they’ll consider it for inclusion on their Reviews page.
Blog Entry
Later this month the ExpressionEngine New York meetup group will gather at the Vector Media Group’s offices.
Please join us at the offices of Vector Media Group for an Expression Engine meetup! We’re planning to have some time for presentations and a general chat/discussion/Q&A.
In the NYC area? RSVP over at Meetup.com
Blog Entry
Eric Lamb at Mithra62 just released a major update (version 2) to Backup Pro, which is an advanced backup add-on for ExpressionEngine. It makes it simple to regularly backup both your ExpressionEngine site files and database.
The backups can live right on your server but for even better protection, Backup Pro 2 uploads your backup to either Amazon s3, Rackspace Cloud, Google Cloud Storage, or any remote server via FTP. Even better, Backup Pro 2 allows you to use up to three remote locations at once, so you get redundancy and safety for your website data.
I personally use Backup Pro to handle extra backups for my important EE sites. I encourage you to check it out.
Get Backup Pro 2 for your site.
Blog Entry
EE upgrades aren’t just a matter of “fixing” problems or even staying up-to-date with the latest version. They are a business decision, both for you as the developer and for your clients. For the latest CTRL+CLICK, EE Coder’s Shawn Maida joins the show to offer his suggestions for making ExpressionEngine upgrades a smooth and painless process. Shawn explains how EE Coder decides if and when an upgrade is needed, as well as the detailed client communication necessary for a successful upgrade. He shares his upgrade workflow, how he charges for upgrades, and lessons learned from upgrading both in-house and inherited projects.
With the proper planning, prep and communication, upgrades can be an important part of your business relationship with your clients. Tune in now!
Blog Entry
Are you a perfectionist? The likelihood of this personality trait in our tech industry is high and the pressure it builds can lead to procrastination, unnecessary stress, and affect our quality of life. In this week’s episode, creativity evangelist Denise Jacobs stops by to break down perfectionist tendencies, how the procrastination cycle begins, and how to alleviate these issues. We chat about being our own worst critic, touch on impostor syndrome, while Denise provides tips on how we can learn to control our perfectionist tendencies and exercises on how to break through procrastination to ultimately become more creative, efficient, happy web professionals.
Tune in now! Thanks to Visual Chefs for sponsoring!
Blog Entry
Over the weekend, EllisLab release ExpressionEngine 2.9.2, just one day after the 2.9.1 release.
The release is noted as a “stability fix.” If you’re already running 2.9.1, the upgrade can be done by just changing out two files and manually updated your app_version config item. No database changes or migrations.
Blog Entry
Announced today at Derek Jones’ EE Conference keynote presentation:
EllisLab has publicly looked for a home for CodeIgniter for the last several months.
BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) is in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Blog Entry
MojoMotor, the light CMS released by EllisLab in 2010, is now officially nearing end of life. Today at the ExpressionEngine Conference in Alexandria, VA, EllisLab announced that the product was no longer being actively developed and had one year of support left.
I don’t think anyone is surprised by this. Derek Jones even said as much at last year’s EE conference.
MojoMotor was announced with great fanfare at the EECI conference in June 2010.
Blog Entry
Today, Erik Reagan of Focus Lab was reminded of an experience he had almost starting his own add-on development company:
Some choice bits from the article:
There were a few questions I looked at while planning Sidecar’s business. The biggest of which was our market and how to sell to it. The most obvious concern was how to support the software and not allow the cost of support to kill us financially.
At this point everyone in the EE world was selling a license for anywhere from $10 to $100 and support just came with the purchase. This seemed unsustainable so my plan was to sell the two separately. The license would cost $X and support would be some type of recurring cost model based on the amount of support a customer needed. Interestingly enough, EllisLab announced that type of model not long after. This supported my view of the unsustainable model.
Just before he informed the company that the project was going away:
After reviewing everything I realized the opportunity cost was exceptionally higher than the probable revenue from Sidecar. Focus Lab is too small, too young and way too interested in maintaining an exceptional level of quality with client services. Starting this add-on arm was possible, but only at the expense of our current services. That was unacceptable.
The whole thing is worth a read.
Blog Entry
Fire up your update ExpressionEngines!
Today, EllisLab released ExpressionEngine 2.9.1. This is a security and stability release (meaning no new features).
This nugget at the end of the company blog post about the release should interest you:
This release contains quite a bit more security fixes than normal, but it shouldn’t cause alarm. We’ve recently opened ExpressionEngine up to white hat security researchers to report even the smallest issue. Most of the potential attacks found involve attacking yourself or the existence of a malicious admin, but we still recommend this update for all users. We’re committed to the hardening of our software to keep your data safe and remain one of the most provenly secure web platforms out there.
Read the changelog for the details on what was updated or check out their announcement blog post.
Blog Entry
Ryan Masuga gave a sort of State of the State of Devot-ee & EE Add-on Development today on the website’s blog.
He introduced two major changes to how Devot-ee operates:
- Add-on sellers will be able to impose a download time limit on all purchases.
- Devot-ee is moving to a 70/30 revenue split with sellers.
Both make sense to me.
The timed downloads help address the ongoing support issue for add-ons. Effectively, a customer can purchase the add-on once and then the developers are on the hook for support for, well, forever.
The developers’ only recourse for recouping their time spent on add-on development is to release a paid upgrade version. They still have to support 1.0 of an add-on that is on 5.0. Not sustainable. Devot-ee is giving them a tool to try to help.
The revenue share is between add-on developers and Devot-ee. If you deem it too steep (it’s not), then you are not obligated to sell. Some add-on developers make the choice to sell add-ons exclusively on their own. Some others make the choice to sell exclusively through Devot-ee.
There was a good series of conversations on Twitter today about this. I am preserving as many as possible using Storify before they disappear into the dark canyons of Twitter.
Before you chime in, hear Ryan out. Read his post here.
Blog Entry
What exactly is your role in a company? As a designer, are you expected to understand code? If so, what language? As a developer, do you have fundamental design knowledge? If so, to what extent? In this week’s episode, Anton Peck, UI/UX Director of OneFire Media, stops by the show to ponder the increasingly complicated and overlapping roles that web professionals are expected to have. We discuss the history of the web, realistic and unrealistic expectations of skillset, and the importance of communication whether you find yourself in a silo’d situation or have overlapping responsibilities.
Tune in now!
Blog Entry
Once upon a time, if you wanted animation on your website you had to use Flash, video or complex JavaScript. Today, CSS animations are possible, opening up new opportunities for web designers to enhance their sites with smoother and more elegant interactions. For the latest CTRL+CLICK, web and motion designer Val Head gives us a primer on CSS animations: what they are, their benefits and their challenges.
Val explains the differences between transforms, transitions and animations, as well as the roles CSS and JS can play in web animations. We discuss how CSS animations can enhance the interactive experience, as well as considerations for browser support and performance. Val also offers her tips for getting inspiration and tools to help you get started. Tune in now!
Thanks to Visual Chefs for sponsoring this episode.
Blog Entry
Drew McLellan, creator of Perch CMS, stops by the show this week to explain how a side project evolved into a full-time product. We discuss the difference between client and product work, why he created Perch in the first place, how feedback altered the direction of Perch, his perspective on support (and whether or not you should pay for it), how they tackle comprehensive documentation, and what’s on the horizon for third-party devs, plus the future of Perch with more complex sites.
Tune in now!
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