WordPress is the most popular content-management system in the world. For that reason alone, it is vulnerable to hackers who delight in finding large pools of potentially insecure websites. Cleaning up a hacked site is not fun or … [Read More...] about What Should I Do to Protect My Site from Hackers?
How to Choose a WordPress Theme
Finding Your Way Through the Labyrinth In April, I shared some of my insights and experiences with choosing themes at the WordPress Southwest Florida MeetUp. Below are the slides and key topics from my presentation. There has been an explosion in the number of themes being developed in the past few years. The sheer volume of offerings can make theme selection an overwhelming challenge. Thus, making an informed choice is the first step towards a wise choice. The Early … [Read more...] about How to Choose a WordPress Theme
Three Great Ways to Create Grids in InDesign
Why Should You Use a Grid? Grids are the underlying structure to an InDesign layout. They are the skeleton upon which you place the text and images. You can see the grid in InDesign, but it doesn't display in the printed piece. Effective grids organize and align the components, providing consistency and cohesiveness to the layout. Grids are used in the design world, for sure. They can also be found in all sorts of other arenas: maps, city planning, architecture, crossword puzzles, … [Read more...] about Three Great Ways to Create Grids in InDesign
Let’s Use Google Hangouts for Our Meeting!
In my last post, I shared my list of viable tools for videoconferencing. Several clients then requested that we use my preferred tool, Google Hangouts, for our future meetings! The only glitch was that they were unsure about how it worked. Voila! It became the perfect subject for a new blog post! If you don't already have a Google account, I highly recommend that you set one up. Google provides an entire suite of applications, which includes Hangouts, Gmail, YouTube, Drive, and Docs. As a … [Read more...] about Let’s Use Google Hangouts for Our Meeting!
Free Video Conferencing Tools for Remote Teaching
Updated May 2020 Overview After I moved to Florida, I taught my graphic design class at Lasell College remotely for the first time. It took a lot of discussion, thought, and research into videoconferencing tools. During the previous year, I completed Lasell's professional development course on online teaching and got my certification. Teaching online doesn’t involve regular face-to-face interactions that adhere to a traditional schedule. Students can do the classwork on their own time, … [Read more...] about Free Video Conferencing Tools for Remote Teaching
Introduction to Web Design
Key Design Principles and How to Implement Them! In November, I shared some of my web design knowledge at the WordPress Southwest Florida MeetUp. Below are my slides and the key topics from the evening's presentation. Overview Web design is the visual styling and layout of a website. It requires a good understanding of color, type, alignment, and harmony. With pleasing aesthetics, organized navigation, and sensible UX, visitors are more likely to stay on the site, view multiple … [Read more...] about Introduction to Web Design
Accepting What Is: Lessons from a Gecko
Recently, I learned many lessons from a gecko. I have loved them ever since first setting eyes on them in the 1980s. I was visiting my mother and father in their Florida home. We were sitting at the pool, and a gecko started to climb up the leg of my chair. He quickly realized that a human was in the chair (me), and froze. Then, he turned his head from one side to the other, tilted his head upward, and then made his getaway to a “safe” location. I was enamored. In describing the initial gecko … [Read more...] about Accepting What Is: Lessons from a Gecko
How to Disable Gutenberg in WordPress 5
The new block editor, Gutenberg, is packaged as part of the core in WP5. If your site uses another block editor plugin, it may not be fully compatible with Gutenberg (i.e. Divi, Visual Composer, Avada Fusion are a few). Elementor and Beaver Builder work fine with Gutenberg. If you are not ready to use Gutenberg, there are 2 easy ways to disable it: (1) Install and activate Classic Editor plugin: this will restore the original "classic" editor that you are already familiar with.Full … [Read more...] about How to Disable Gutenberg in WordPress 5
Environmental Campaign Project 2018
This semester's Graphic Design 2 class began with an assignment to design new campaign materials for an environmental group. In this project, we explored ways to educate and alert people about the many environmental concerns that our planet currently faces. Students chose one environmental issue that they care about. Options included global warming, air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, climate change, deforestation, genetic modification, marine life, public health, … [Read more...] about Environmental Campaign Project 2018