Building a website with WordPress for your clients opens them up to a whole new world of possibilities. Just about any sort of functionality they need can be installed with a few clicks.
But, when it comes to introducing them to the all-powerful WordPress dashboard, all of that possibility can be a bit overwhelming. The sheer number of menu items, options and assorted litter make the back end difficult to digest.
For example, put yourself in the place of a brand-new user, logging in for the first time. Visually, there is a lot to take in – even with a default installation. And a typical website is anything but default. Themes and plugins add all sorts of goodies that, while often useful, are also liable to send a newbie running for a remote cabin in the woods.
Therefore, it’s up to us to try and improve this experience for our clients. Here are a few simple ways to do just that.
Take Advantage of User Roles
Not every user needs full administrative access to the WordPress dashboard. While it’s always a good idea to provide an admin account to your client, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the one they utilize on a daily basis.
WordPress has a wonderful Roles and Capabilities feature that offers various levels of access. Why, just logging in with an “editor” account, as opposed to administrator, will take away a lot of advanced menu items. It’s not perfect, but does make for a less-cluttered experience.
Of course, a lower level of access may mean that some necessary functions aren’t available. In that case, an administrator account can be used or you might even create a custom role via a plugin.
This will allow clients access to the things they need, while keeping them away from what they don’t. As a bonus, this also benefits security as well.
Use Custom Fields and Post Types
The ability to customize WordPress is one of its most powerful features. While we often think of customization in terms of themes or plugins, it goes well beyond those areas.
Through the use of custom post types and/or custom fields, you can make the task of managing content much more intuitive:
Custom Post Types
On the surface, a custom post type is really just a set of traditional pages or posts – but with a different name. As developers, we know that they are capable of a whole lot more. But from a client’s perspective, the cosmetic benefits alone are huge. And that is one of the most compelling reasons to use them.
By default, WordPress uses traditional posts, categories and tags to organize content. It certainly works, but it also has the tendency to become a tangled mess as more types of content are added.
Plus, clients (or whoever was responsible for adding content) have to remember several steps to ensure that a post ends up in the right spot. Forgetting to click a category, for example, may mean a new post is nearly impossible to find on the front end.
With a custom post type, each type of content can be clearly labeled on the dashboard’s menu. Whether it’s “Events”, “Press Releases” or “Staff”, it takes the guesswork out of where something should go. Sure, categories and tags may be used within, but at least content managers will know where to start the process.
Custom Fields
Whether your website is using the Gutenberg block editor or the Classic flavor, content starts out as a blank slate. In an opposite-of-the-dashboard sort of way, this can also lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed. Where does one even start?
So, when it comes to helping users on a micro-level, custom fields are a great way to make content creation a more intuitive experience. Seeing, for example, a set of fields that make up a staff member’s profile removes doubt. Users can see what they need to fill in and will have a better understanding of the final result.
However, neither custom post types nor custom fields fix everything by themselves. You still need to have a plan and take care to implement them in a way that really does make things easier.
Going Further
Tidying up the dashboard for your clients doesn’t have to end with the measures above. If you want to really dive in, there are some highly-custom possibilities that go the extra mile. I’m going to introduce you to one I’ve been personally utilizing on some recent projects.
The “Handy Links” Widget
While we can trim off some of the unnecessary menu items, the back end of a WordPress website can still be too cluttered. So, when thinking of clients who aren’t necessarily comfortable with technology (or just crave efficiency), I wanted to create a little “safe space” that acts as a guide to their site.
The solution was a fairly simple (and admittedly rudimentary) dashboard widget called “Handy Links”. To be clear, there’s nothing fancy about it. It’s an amalgamation of code from various places. But it does aim to serve two purposes:
Display links to both common and site-specific places, like pages, products or custom post types;
Deactivate the default dashboard widgets that come with WordPress, thus reducing clutter;
Most importantly, it provides users with something to focus on when logging in. They can click to get to where they need to go. And as new things need added, it’s just a matter of adding a new bullet to the list within the plugin’s code.
Feel free to take it and experiment! Just grab a copy of the file and place it in your site’s /wp-content/plugins/ directory. Then, login to WordPress and activate the “Handy Links Widget for WordPress” plugin.
From there, you can add your own custom links using the example code (you’ll just need to save changes and re-upload to your plugins folder). Also note that the widget is set to display only to users with the administrator or editor roles. But again, that can be customized to fit your needs.
Beyond the Default Installation
If nothing else, the ideas above are really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how the WordPress dashboard can better serve clients. Smart implementation of features makes the experience more intuitive and hopefully reduces the time you spend on training and support.
For clients, a clean, well-thought-out dashboard brings a higher level of comfort and confidence. They’ll know where to go, what to do and can get things done faster. That alone makes it worth your effort.
Building a website with WordPress for your clients opens them up to a whole new world of possibilities. Just about any sort of functionality they need can be installed with a few clicks.
But, when it comes to introducing them to the all-powerful WordPress dashboard, all of that possibility can be a bit overwhelming. The sheer number of menu items, options and assorted litter make the back end difficult to digest.
For example, put yourself in the place of a brand-new user, logging in for the first time. Visually, there is a lot to take in – even with a default installation. And a typical website is anything but default. Themes and plugins add all sorts of goodies that, while often useful, are also liable to send a newbie running for a remote cabin in the woods.
Therefore, it’s up to us to try and improve this experience for our clients. Here are a few simple ways to do just that.
Take Advantage of User Roles
Not every user needs full administrative access to the WordPress dashboard. While it’s always a good idea to provide an admin account to your client, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the one they utilize on a daily basis.
WordPress has a wonderful Roles and Capabilities feature that offers various levels of access. Why, just logging in with an “editor” account, as opposed to administrator, will take away a lot of advanced menu items. It’s not perfect, but does make for a less-cluttered experience.
Of course, a lower level of access may mean that some necessary functions aren’t available. In that case, an administrator account can be used or you might even create a custom role via a plugin.
This will allow clients access to the things they need, while keeping them away from what they don’t. As a bonus, this also benefits security as well.
Use Custom Fields and Post Types
The ability to customize WordPress is one of its most powerful features. While we often think of customization in terms of themes or plugins, it goes well beyond those areas.
Through the use of custom post types and/or custom fields, you can make the task of managing content much more intuitive:
Custom Post Types
On the surface, a custom post type is really just a set of traditional pages or posts – but with a different name. As developers, we know that they are capable of a whole lot more. But from a client’s perspective, the cosmetic benefits alone are huge. And that is one of the most compelling reasons to use them.
By default, WordPress uses traditional posts, categories and tags to organize content. It certainly works, but it also has the tendency to become a tangled mess as more types of content are added.
Plus, clients (or whoever was responsible for adding content) have to remember several steps to ensure that a post ends up in the right spot. Forgetting to click a category, for example, may mean a new post is nearly impossible to find on the front end.
With a custom post type, each type of content can be clearly labeled on the dashboard’s menu. Whether it’s “Events”, “Press Releases” or “Staff”, it takes the guesswork out of where something should go. Sure, categories and tags may be used within, but at least content managers will know where to start the process.
Custom Fields
Whether your website is using the Gutenberg block editor or the Classic flavor, content starts out as a blank slate. In an opposite-of-the-dashboard sort of way, this can also lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed. Where does one even start?
So, when it comes to helping users on a micro-level, custom fields are a great way to make content creation a more intuitive experience. Seeing, for example, a set of fields that make up a staff member’s profile removes doubt. Users can see what they need to fill in and will have a better understanding of the final result.
However, neither custom post types nor custom fields fix everything by themselves. You still need to have a plan and take care to implement them in a way that really does make things easier.
Going Further
Tidying up the dashboard for your clients doesn’t have to end with the measures above. If you want to really dive in, there are some highly-custom possibilities that go the extra mile. I’m going to introduce you to one I’ve been personally utilizing on some recent projects.
The “Handy Links” Widget
While we can trim off some of the unnecessary menu items, the back end of a WordPress website can still be too cluttered. So, when thinking of clients who aren’t necessarily comfortable with technology (or just crave efficiency), I wanted to create a little “safe space” that acts as a guide to their site.
The solution was a fairly simple (and admittedly rudimentary) dashboard widget called “Handy Links”. To be clear, there’s nothing fancy about it. It’s an amalgamation of code from various places. But it does aim to serve two purposes:
Display links to both common and site-specific places, like pages, products or custom post types;
Deactivate the default dashboard widgets that come with WordPress, thus reducing clutter;
Most importantly, it provides users with something to focus on when logging in. They can click to get to where they need to go. And as new things need added, it’s just a matter of adding a new bullet to the list within the plugin’s code.
Feel free to take it and experiment! Just grab a copy of the file and place it in your site’s /wp-content/plugins/ directory. Then, login to WordPress and activate the “Handy Links Widget for WordPress” plugin.
From there, you can add your own custom links using the example code (you’ll just need to save changes and re-upload to your plugins folder). Also note that the widget is set to display only to users with the administrator or editor roles. But again, that can be customized to fit your needs.
Beyond the Default Installation
If nothing else, the ideas above are really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how the WordPress dashboard can better serve clients. Smart implementation of features makes the experience more intuitive and hopefully reduces the time you spend on training and support.
For clients, a clean, well-thought-out dashboard brings a higher level of comfort and confidence. They’ll know where to go, what to do and can get things done faster. That alone makes it worth your effort.
As per the latest study by Persistence Market Research (PMR), the global weight loss dietary supplements market is anticipated to witness healthy growth. The market is likely to register 6.0% CAGR throughout the forecast period 2017-2026. The global weight loss dietary supplements market is also estimated to bring in US$ 37,177.6 million revenue by 2026 end.
With obesity becoming a global health concern, weight loss continues to be one of the most focused areas. Hence, increasing number of companies are coming up with the new products in weight loss supplements. The increasing consumption and demand for weight loss dietary supplements, regulations on the production of these supplements along with ingredients used are also gaining traction in various countries. The government in various countries are also focusing on the quality and quantity of ingredients used and if any of these ingredients can have severe side-effects, affecting the health of the consumers negatively.
Increasing use of Natural and Organic Ingredients in the Weight Loss Dietary Supplements
The negative effects of being obese and overweight are resulting in the increasing use of weight management products. Consumers are also adopting weight loss supplements in forms of pill, liquid, and powder. Hence, with the increase in the use of these supplements, manufacturers are also trying to produce safer products, thereby using organic and natural ingredients and plant-based ingredients. Among various ingredients, green tea extract is considered as one of the most popular and safest ingredients in the weight loss dietary supplements. Similarly, Garcinia cambogia is also being considered as an ingredient in the weight loss supplements. However, these ingredients have been reported to have adverse effects like a headache, constipation, UTI. Hence, there has been an increase in the investment in the research on other organic ingredients that can be used to produce weight loss supplements.
Global Weight Loss Dietary Supplements Market: Segmental Insights
The global weight loss dietary supplements market includes various segments such as end-user, form, ingredients, distribution channel, and region. Based on the form, the market is categorized into powder, liquid, and soft gell/pills. Soft gell/pills are expected to dominate the market during the forecast period. By the end of 2026, soft gell/pills are expected to exceed US$ 18,500 million revenue.
Based on the end-user, the segment consists of men, women and senior citizen. Among these, women are expected to be the largest users of weight loss dietary supplements. Women segment as the end-user is estimated to create an incremental opportunity of more than US$ 7,900 million between 2017 and 2026.
By Distribution Channel, pharmacies drug store is expected to emerge as the largest distribution channel for the weight loss dietary supplements. Pharmacies drug store is estimated to account for more than one-third of the revenue share by the end of 2017.
Based on the ingredients, the segment consists of amino acids, vitamins minerals, botanical supplements, and others. Vitamins minerals are expected to emerge as one of the largest used ingredients in the weight loss dietary supplements. By the end of 2026, vitamins minerals are estimated to exceed US$ 16,900 million revenue.
Region-wise, the market is categorized into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Latin America, Japan, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Among the given regions, North America is expected to dominate the global weight loss dietary supplements market throughout the forecast period 2017-2026.
Global Weight Loss Dietary Supplements Market: Competitive Assessment
Key players in the global weight loss dietary supplements market are Amway (Nutrilite), Abott Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, Glanbia, Herbalife International, Pfizer, American Health, Stepan, Nature’s Sunshine Products, and FANCL.
In part 4 we figured out how to play all 30 sounds of the Deep Note at the same time. The problem is that's way too loud. Depending on the browser and speakers you use you may: go deaf (usually with headphones), get distortion (Chrome), your OS turns it down (Mac, built-in speakers) or experience any other undesired effect. We need to "TURN IT DOWN!". This is where the Gain node comes in. Think of it as simply volume.
Plug in the Gain node
So we have this sort of node graph:
And we want to make it like so:
Having this will allow us to turn down the volume of all the sounds at the same time.
The implementation is fairly straightforward. First, create (construct) the node:
const volume = audioContext.createGain();
Its initial value is 1. So turn it way down:
volume.gain.value = 0.1;
Connect (plug in) to the destination:
volume.connect(audioContext.destination);
Finally, for every sound, instead of connecting to the destination as before, connect to the gain node:
As you see, the Gain node we called volume has a gain property. This property is itself an object of the AudioParam type. One way to manipulate the audio parameter is via its value property. But that's not the only way. There are a number of methods too that allow you to manipulate the value in time, allowing you to schedule its changes. We'll do just that in a second.
Personal preference
I like to call my gain nodes "volume" instead of "gain". Otherwise it feels a little parrot-y to type gain.gain.value = 1. Often I find myself skipping one of the gains (because it feels awkward) and then wondering why the volume isn't working.
Gain values
0 is silence, 1 is the default. Usually you think of 1 as maximum volume, but in fact you can go over 1, all the way to infinity. Negative values are accepted too, they work just like the positive ones: -1 is as loud as 1.
Scheduling changes
Now we come to the beginning of the enchanting journey through the world of scheduling noises. Let's start simple. Deep Note starts out of nothing (a.k.a. silence, a.k.a. gain 0) and progresses gradually to full volume. Let's say it reaches full volume in 1 second.
Thanks to a couple of methods that every AudioParam has, called setValueAtTime() and setTargetAtTime(), we can do this:
And we do this whenever we decide to hit the Play button. The first line says: right now, set the volume (the gain value) to 0. The second line schedules the volume to be 0.1. audioContext.currentTime is the time passed since the audio context was initialized, in seconds. The number 1 (third argument in the second line) means that it will take 1 second to start from 0, move exponentially and reach the 0.1 value. So in essence we set the gain to 0 immediately and also immediately we begin an exponential transition to the value 0.1 and get there after a second.
All in all there are 5 methods that allow you to schedule AudioParam changes:
setValueAtTime(value, time) - no transitions, at a given time, set the value to value
setTargetAtTime(value, start, duration) - at start time start moving exponentially to value and arrive there at start + duration o'clock
exponentialRampToValueAtTime(value, end) - start moving exponentially to value right now and get there at the end time
linearRampToValueAtTime() - same as above, but move lineary, not exponentially
setValueCurveAtTime(values, start, duration) - move through predefined list of values
Above we used two of these functions, let's try another one.
A gentler stop()
Sometimes in audio you hear "clicks and pops" (see the "A note on looping a source" in a previous post) when you suddenly cut off the waveform. It happens when you stop a sound for example. But we can fix this, armed with the scheduling APIs we now know of.
Instead of stopping abruptly, we can quickly lower the volume, so it's imperceptible and sounds like a stop. Then we stop for real. Here's how:
const releaseTime = 0.1;
function stop() {
volume.gain.linearRampToValueAtTime(
0,
audioContext.currentTime + releaseTime
);
for (let i = 0; i < sources.length; i++) {
sources[i] && sources[i].stop(audioContext.currentTime + 1);
delete sources[i];
}
}
Here we use linearRampToValueAtTime() and start turning down the volume immediately and reach 0 volume after 0.1 seconds. And when we loop through the sources, we stop them after a whole second. At this time they are all silent so that time value doesn't matter much. So long as we don't stop immediately.
That's a neat trick. Every time you suffer pops and clicks, try to quickly lower the volume and see if that helps.
And what's the deal with all the exponential stuff as opposed to linear? I think we perceive exponential changes in sound as more natural. In the case above it didn't matter since the change is so quick it's perceived as an immediate stop anyway.
You’ve probably heard that WordPress is open-source software, and may know that it’s created and run by volunteers. WordPress enthusiasts share many examples of how WordPress changed people’s lives for the better. This monthly series shares some of those lesser-known, amazing stories.
Meet Kim Parsell
We’d like to introduce you to Kim Parsell. Kim was an active and well-loved member of the WordPress community. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2015. Lovingly referred to as #wpmom, she leaves behind a legacy of service.
Kim Parsell
How Kim became #wpmom
In order to understand how highly valued the WordPress community was to Kim Parsell, you have to know a bit about her environment.
Kim was a middle-aged woman who lived off a dirt road, on top of a hill, in Southern rural Ohio. She was often by herself, taking care of the property with only a few neighbors up and down the road.
She received internet access from towers that broadcast wireless signals, similar to cell phones but at lower speeds.
Connecting through attending live podcast recordings
By listening to the regular podcast, WordPress Weekly, Kim met members of the WordPress community and was able to talk to them on a weekly basis. The show and its after-hours sessions provided Kim a chance to mingle with the who’s who of WordPress at the time. It helped establish long-lasting relationships that would open up future opportunities for her.
Since she lived in a location where few around her used or had even heard of WordPress, the community was an opportunity for her to be with like-minded people. Kim enjoyed interacting with the community, both online and at WordCamp events, and many community members became her second family, a responsibility she took very seriously.
“Many members of the WordPress community became her second family, a responsibility she took very seriously.”
Jeff Chandler
One of the first women of WordPress
Kim is regarded as one of the first “women of WordPress,” investing a lot of her time in women who wanted to break into tech. She worked hard to create a safe environment sharing herself and her knowledge and was affectionately called #wpmom.
She contributed countless hours of volunteer time, receiving “props” for 5 major releases of WordPress, and was active on the documentation team.
“Affectionately called #wpmom, Kim was an investor. She invested countless hours into the WordPress project and in women who wanted to break into tech.”
Carrie Dils
Kim at WordCamp San Francisco
Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship
In 2014, she received a travel stipend offered by the WordPress Foundation that enabled her to attend the WordPress community summit, held in conjunction with WordCamp San Francisco. She shared with anyone who would listen, that this was a life-changing event for her.
The WordPress Foundation now offers that scholarship in her memory. The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship provides funding annually for a woman who contributes to WordPress to attend WordCamp US, a flagship event for the WordPress community.
This scholarship truly is a fitting memorial. Her contributions have been vital to the project. Moreover, the way she treated and encouraged the people around her has been an inspiration to many.
Her spirit lives on in the people she knew and inspired. Here’s hoping that the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship will serve to further inspire those who follow in her footsteps.
Drew Jaynes
Kim is missed, but her spirit continues to live on
Sadly Kim died just a few short months later. But her spirit lives on in the people she knew and inspired within her communities. The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship will serve to further inspire those who follow in her footsteps.
Contributors
@wpfiddlybits, @yvettesonneveld, @josephahaden, Topher Derosia, Jeff Chandler, Carrie Dils, Jayvee Arrellano, Jan Dembowski, Drew Jaynes
