Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

switch_to_blog() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

July 18, 2025 at 9:55 AM

Reposted by Mark Wilkinson

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Using #WordPress multisite and want to switch the context to another site in the network?

Well you can, using the switch_to_blog() function.

Just make sure you also use the restore_current_blog() function when you are done!
##learnWPFunctions

https://bit.ly/4508sHK

Switches the current blog.

switch_to_blog() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

June 25, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Using #WordPress multisite and want to switch the context to another site in the network?

Well you can, using the switch_to_blog() function.

Just make sure you also use the restore_current_blog() function when you are done!
##learnWPFunctions

https://bit.ly/4508sHK

Switches the current blog.

wp_count_posts() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

June 25, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

If you want to show the number of posts you have on your site in a specific post type, you can easily do this using the #WordPress wp_count_posts() function.

Pass it a post type and you are good to go!
##learnWPFunctions

https://bit.ly/43F2PfJ

Counts number of posts of a post type and if user has permissions to view.

get_object_taxonomies() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

June 23, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

If you want to know what objects (e.g. post types) are registered against a specific taxonomy, you can use the get_object_taxonomies() function to do this.

There are lots of #WordPress functions that we have probably never come across - this is another.
##learnWPFunctions

https://bit.ly/4krFVQc

Returns the names or objects of the taxonomies which are registered for the requested object or object type, such as a post object or post type name.

WP Café #124 | View Transitions

June 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM

Reposted by Mark Wilkinson

WP Cafe Show

@wpcafe.show

Live at 13:30 (UK time) for episode 124 to talk about:

- View transitions
- This weeks development work
- Offline Kids

Hope you can join us 👇

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbEv...

get_page_by_path() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

June 20, 2025 at 10:25 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

If you have a #WordPress pages slug (or path if it is a child page) you can use the get_page_by_path() function to return the page object.

Another useful but less known WordPress function.
##learnWPFunctions

https://bit.ly/3HirOhl

Retrieves a page given its path.

Something Has to Change with WordPress. FAIR is a Great Start.

June 18, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Reposted by Mark Wilkinson

Carrie Dils

@cdils.bsky.social

What is FAIR and why am I involved? I wrote about it here:
carriedils.com/wordpress-fa...

#FAIRPM #WordPress

Last week in Basel, Switzerland—at the Alt Ctrl Org conference held alongside WordCamp Europe—I stood on stage with my colleagues to introduce the FAIR Package Manager for WordPress. This wasn’t just ...

carriedils.com

June 13, 2025 at 4:24 PM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

We are live in 5!

WP Cafe Show @wpcafe.show · Jun 13

On today's show @keithdevon.com and @markwilkinson.dev are talking about:

- Our latest project pitch
- Receiving a 3rd party security questionnaire
- Other related #WordPress news

Join us at 13:30 (UK time) 👇

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4zU...

WP Café #123

Escaping Data – Common APIs Handbook | Developer.WordPress.org

June 13, 2025 at 12:25 PM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

The esc_js() #WordPress function escapes javascript for safe inline JS output. For example using inline JS on an HTML element.

It forms part of a number of esc_ functions that WP provides which I would recommend all developers familiarise themselves with.

https://bit.ly/4krEukM
##learnWPFunctions

Escaping output is the process of securing output data by stripping out unwanted data, like malformed HTML or script tags. This process…

June 13, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Reposted by Mark Wilkinson

WP Cafe Show

@wpcafe.show

On today's show @keithdevon.com and @markwilkinson.dev are talking about:

- Our latest project pitch
- Receiving a 3rd party security questionnaire
- Other related #WordPress news

Join us at 13:30 (UK time) 👇

www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4zU...

WP Café #123

remove_accents() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

June 13, 2025 at 10:02 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

The remove_accents() function remove accents from characters in a string. For example é would become e.

I am not quite sure why you would want to use this but an interesting #WordPress function nonetheless.

https://bit.ly/3FAyA1w
##learnWPFunctions

Converts all accent characters to ASCII characters.

wp_trim_words() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

June 11, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

I am hearing a lot of positive vibes about this #FAIR project.

Could someone let me know what it is in its most simple form... so that even I can understand it 😂

June 10, 2025 at 9:27 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Another really useful and unknown #WordPress function is trim_words()

Allows you to trim a string to a certain number of words and then sent "more" text which shows to indicate to the user there is more to read.

https://bit.ly/4dSY8nq
##learnWPFunctions

Trims text to a certain number of words.

wp_strip_all_tags() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

June 9, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Number 2 in #learnWPFunctions is wp_strip_all_tags()

This function removes all HTML tags from a string. I use this to prevent the output of terms linking to their archive page.

https://bit.ly/43Vky3M

Properly strips all HTML tags including ‘script’ and ‘style’.

WP Café #122 | Building email templates 😫

June 6, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Lots to talk about in todays episode. Hope you can join us.

WP Cafe Show @wpcafe.show · Jun 6

Today is episode 122 of the show. @keithdevon.com and @markwilkinson.dev will be chatting about:

- Building email templates
- Quoting for work blind
- Building a knowledge of solutions
- AI website builder

Join us live at 13:30 (UK time) 👇

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE03...

make_clickable() – Function | Developer.WordPress.org

June 6, 2025 at 9:27 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

#WordPress has lots of wonderful functions available to developers, some better known than others.
##learnWPFunctions #1 - make_clickable().

Wraps a strings in a clickable a tag.

https://bit.ly/4knrNHP

Converts plaintext URI to HTML links.

A plugin which enhances the core embed block for Youtube, Daily Motion and Vimeo videos by not loading unnecessary scripts until they are needed.

June 4, 2025 at 11:31 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Better Core Video Embeds has just gotten slightly better with a small release which improves the way in which the plugins CSS is loaded on the front end.

Optimise your #WordPress sites videos today 👇

wordpress.org/plugins/bett...

Better Core Video Embeds

wordpress.org

June 2, 2025 at 11:55 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Today I have that developer feeling of when you have worked on something for a number of weeks and it works 😃

You push it live and it works 🤣

3 days later, it doesn't work, you can't work out why and therefore you abandon the work and go back to how it was 😢

May 27, 2025 at 12:10 PM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Recently I have been working on adding settings to the block editor to save data as post meta.

Initially I tried to add a new sidebar to the editor to house my settings but failed.

I wish I had seen this from @permanenttourist.ch before I started.

https://bit.ly/4jkKcUn

May 25, 2025 at 8:03 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Have you watched or listened to an episode of @wpcafe.show yet?

We go out most weeks on Friday at 13:30 (UK time) and talk about all things #WordPress development, running our development agency and building our WordPress products.

Catchup on previous episodes 👇

https://bit.ly/3ed1x2w

WP Café

WP Café is the (mostly) weekly show where we chat about WordPress including practical solutions for solo and small WordPress development teams.

Enhancing WP_Query Performance in WordPress - Spacedmonkey

May 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

I don't know about you, but I use WP_Query a lot when coding in #WordPress. This article from @spacedmonkey.bsky.social is a great resource on how to enhance your use of WP_Query.

Well worth a read.

https://bit.ly/4kwUVfa

WP_Query is a powerful tool for fetching posts in WordPress. However, if you don’t carefully configure your queries, they can quickly become inefficient, particularly on larger sites. Whether you’re working on a high-traffic website, a REST API endpo...

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

May 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM

Mark Wilkinson

@markwilkinson.dev

Recently I gave a talk @wpldn.bsky.social which was a case study of how we built a recent #WordPress site using full site editing and the block editor.

It is always great to catchup with the WordPress community ❤️

https://bit.ly/4kC1iy6

YouTube

WP Café #121 | position: sticky; fixed!

May 23, 2025 at 12:43 PM

Reposted by Mark Wilkinson

WP Cafe Show

@wpcafe.show

Today is episode 121 of the show. Lots to chat about including

- Blocks API v3 and ACF compatibility
- Updates to offline.kids
- Position sticky (it'll become clear)
- Pitching via video call
- And more

Join @keithdevon.com & @markwilkinson.dev at 13:30 (UK time) 👇

bit.ly/45ulXPY

Follow us: X / https://twitter.com/highrisedigital | https://twitter.com/wpcafeshow Linkedin / https://www.linkedin.com/company/highrisedigital/ Website: https://highrise.digital/ | https://wpcafe.show Checkout our products: JobRelay: https://jobrelay.io Integrate your WordPress website with popular job posting and distribution software. RecPress: https://recpress.com Better WordPress job board, done for you. Highrise Digital is a 2 person WordPress development team based in the UK. They primarily work with Recruitment Agencies to build integrations with WordPress. They also build WordPress recruitment websites as well as sites for companies in other selected sectors. On this channel we provide WordPress development and business advice for solo and small WordPress teams. We help you to level up your development and business skills with quick tips, live coding and chats with other industry professionals. There's an overwhelming amount of information out there and lots of people telling you the 'best' way to do things. At Highrise Digital, we strip away the guilt and show you practical, pragmatic ways that developers can improve. This is how WE do things, warts and all!