learning to
Troubleshoot WordPress
by Carrie Dils
carriedils.com • @cdils
WordCamp Orange County #WCOC • 6/7/14
Teaching you to fish
what we're talking about
Troubleshooting Basics
it doesn't work
start with the right steps
Uh, is it plugged in?
Does the problem still exist?
bonus tip for multi-user sites
Track and monitor every change on your WordPress site.
wp-stream.com
stream plugin
Fixing Common Problems
Who knows what's in your cache. Flush it.
Troubleshooting basics:
Fixing Common Problems
- permalinks don't work
- broken pagination
- restoring site from a backup
- diagnosing errors
http://codex.wordpress.org/Troubleshooting
Avoid common pitfalls
Troubleshooting basics:
avoiding common pitfalls
- using the editor in the WP dashboard
- not having FTP client and login at the ready
- editing core WordPress files
- editing framework or parent theme files
bring out the big guns
Troubleshooting has been my greatest teacher as a developer.
troubleshooting for developers
CODE helpers
Use a code editor:
Or an IDE:
PHPstorm (mac, pc)NetBeans (mac, pc)
VIM
be nice to yourself
syntax validators
debugging
// add this to wp-config.php define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
Use plugins like...
To help you...
- see what queries ran on a page
- which page template is used
- run php or sql against current query
- show all actions fired on a page
- break down HTTP requests (and show time)
query monitor
troubleshooting style
Use built-in browser tools like Firebug or Chrome Developer Tools.
troubleshooting speed & Performance
P3 (plugin performance profiler)
Browser Tools
Pingdom Speed Test
Google Pagespeed Insights
WebPageTest
In-Depth Analysis
Sitespeed.io
(plus a great review from Mika Epstein)
Questions?
carrie dils
photo credits
crying baby - http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/776532
toilet - http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/131456
big guns - http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae342/Nonsensitive/bigguns.jpg
validation - http://film-english.com
plug - http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/906155
Learning to Troubleshoot WordPress
By carrie dils
Learning to Troubleshoot WordPress
Presentation for WordCamp Orange County - June 7, 2014
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