Solutions to Common WordPress Problems

I’ve learned a lot of tricks over the years about WordPress, and I’ve found that many of the same issues come up over and over again. I figured I would explain how to solve these issues all in one place. This list is ongoing and I will add to it as more issues come up! Only the Home Page Comes … Read More

Responsive Width Element with Padding – CSS How-to

Padding Extends Beyond Parent Element

Have you ever had an element in your responsive website design which needed some padding, but you couldn’t add it because it broke the design? There’s a solution to that problem. Normally, the element in question will just add padding to the outside of itself, often expanding well beyond the space it is supposed to take up. But there is … Read More

Google Maps V3 “Sensor Parameter” Error – Cause and Fix

If you are here you probably received an error something like this: The Google Maps API server rejected your request. The “sensor” parameter specified in the request must be set to either “true” or “false”. This is a commonly seen error message when working with the Google Maps V3 API. If you are like me, you know little about javascript … Read More

How to Force a Button or Link to be 100% Width CSS Tutorial

These are instructions on how to make an HTML link or button expand to be as wide as its parent element. Maybe you have been confused in the past and that darn link just never wants to grow. Here is the CSS you are going to want to apply to that link.

And the corresponding HTML:

The secret … Read More

How Can I Modify the CSS of my WordPress.com Website?

If you have a free, WordPress.com website, you may have wondered to yourself whether you can customize the theme you are using. And you may even know a little CSS and thought you would try to customize everything. Sadly, with the free version of WordPress.com, you cannot actually make changes to the CSS of your theme. What WordPress.com forces you … Read More

How to Import and Export a WordPress Database with Godaddy Properly: Tutorial

DISCLAIMER: Unless you know exactly what you are doing, please back up your database in multiple ways before attempting this. I am not responsible for any lost data if you remove or otherwise change your database without it being backed up properly. See also: What to do if your WordPress site does go down. If you’re like me, you have … Read More

How to Enable and Use Custom Fields in WordPress Without Plugins

An annoying problem I’ve had lately that somehow is almost impossible to troubleshoot online is enabling or finding custom fields in WordPress without adding a plugin like Advanced Custom Fields (which is typically what I recommend using). This should work I believe with any version of WordPress after about 3.1 as well, where the Custom Fields are hidden by default. … Read More

Use Photo as Layer Mask in Photoshop: Tutorial

Decorative image featuring the Minneapolis Skyline with Brian Johnson's head Over it, with the Post Title as Text In Front

Have you ever wondered how to use an image as a mask in Photoshop but just couldn’t figure out how to do it? The solution is actually fairly simple, but Adobe hasn’t done you any favors with how unintuitive it is. With just a few easy steps, you can use any picture or graphic to mask specific parts of a … Read More

How to Link to Your Google Places Page: A Tutorial

I’ve had several people come up and ask me, ‘How can I give people a direct link to my business listing in Google Places?’ While at first it may seem impossible, it is actually quite easy. They may be looking to put this link on their website, share it with potential clients, put it on their business card, or one … Read More