Resources

Here are links to some of my favorite WordPress resources.

Fonts

• FontSquirrel – 100% free for commercial use (TrueType)
• Google Web Fonts – easy enough to drop into a website
• TypeKit – by Adobe and can also be used for documents
• LostType – unique, quality fonts based on a pay-what-you-want model
• Free Fonts Listing – thank you to Amy and the kids for sharing this one
• &What; – Well, not exactly a font, but useful!
• Font Awesome Cheatsheet
• PC Wholesale’s Computer Font Guide
• Font Conversions (Google Fonts to TTF video)
• Identifont – identify a font
• Fontello – icon font generator
• 100 Days of Fonts – font pairing examples

Themes

• Cr3ativ
• Theme Blvd
• Slocum Themes
• StudioPress
• CyberChimps
• Creative Market
• iThemes
• WooThemes
• Organic Themes
• Themeton
• WP Theme Detector – greatest. thing. ever.
• Theme Frameworks – a comparison by ManageWP of some popular ones to build from
• Front-end Frameworks – a great table showing the various features of the most popular frameworks
• Templatic – premium themes
• Okay Themes?- recommended by Chris Lema
• Elegant Themes?- recommended by Chris Lema
• Themeshaker – great theme searching site

Starter Themes

• _s (Underscores)
• Forward
• Jump Start
• StartBox
• _tk
• Some Like it Neat
• Hybrid Core
• Compass

Plugins

• Backup Buddy
• Gravity Forms
  
• Event Calendar Pro
• WP Migrate DB
• Plugin Hooks
• A List of Plugins for the Genesis Framework

WordPress Blogs

• WP Beginner
• WP Mayor
• WP Daily
• Post Status
• Torque Magazine

Images

• Stock.XCHNG: free
• Creative Commons: search, but please follow license requirements
• Creative Commons Global Search: new service, images all in one place
• Photo Pin: free photos for bloggers & creatives
• Wikimedia Commons: free
• Stock Photos for Free: free
• Open Clip Art: free
• Compfight: image search engine, Flickr search tool – even has a WordPress plugin
• Creative Market/Wonders Factory: royalty-free flat icons
• Favicon Generator
• WordPress Admin Icons Template
• LoremPixel placeholder images
• PLACEHOLD.IT gray boxes with sizes displayed
• Font Awesome to PNG
• Firefox Screenshot tip from @tomwillmot: just a quick tip that if you need to screenshot a whole webpage, open the Developer Toolbar in Firefox and type ?screenshot –fullpage? #protip
• Pixabay – GPL compatible (public domain) images
• Pexels
• Unsplash?- GPL compatible (CC0) images
• Computer Keyboard Keys Clipart
• Awesome Images – a curated list of sources of free images
• Evil Icons
• How to Photoshop out a background
• Public Domain Archive
• Website Screenshot Generator?- generates screenshots displayed on screen mockups
• URL2PNG – captures full page screen grabs
• Placeimg – for placeholder images
• Startup Stock Photos
• Tranglify Generator
• Icomoon
• IconsDB

Scripts

• Chart.js

Sass

• include-media is a Sass library for writing CSS media queries in an easy and maintainable way, using a natural and simplistic syntax.

CSS Naming – BEM

• https://css-tricks.com/bem-101/
• http://www.integralist.co.uk/posts/bem.html
• https://pressable.com/blog/2015/12/10/3-strategies-tdpress-website/
• https://mindtheshift.wordpress.com/2014/10/15/getting-the-best-out-of-bem-with-sass/
• http://csswizardry.com/2013/01/mindbemding-getting-your-head-round-bem-syntax/
• http://getbem.com/naming/
• Or alternatively, SMACSS?https://smacss.com/
• Or OOCSS?https://github.com/stubbornella/oocss/wiki

Miscellaneous

• HTML Codes – for all those easily forgotten special characters
• HTML5 Periodical Table – this is a really cool way to find and remember HTML tags
• 10 Free Icon Sets – handy for so many things
• Common Function Names?- to be avoided
• PatternTap – for design inspiration
• mxtoolbox.com
• whatsmydns.net
• speedtest.net
• SEO Quake
• 960 Grid Layout – overlay any website with a 960 grid
• The Toolbox – A collection of the best time-saving apps, tools, and widgets from around the web.
• Easy WP Guide – a great how-to manual for website admins
• Snapito – takes snapshots of the entire webpage
• Screensiz.es – screen sizes, dimensions, and popularity of various mobile devices
• Meet the Ipsums – one stop shop for all flavors of placeholder text
• CSS Frameworks Comparison
• WP Roller – create a zip file with WordPress and your favorite themes and plugins for quick setups
• Sublime Text Extensions for WordPress?- makes coding a breeze
• SASS Color Functions?- cool slider!
• Flaticon
• Don’t Make Me Think – some good usability resources
• Web Designer’s Site Launch Checklist
• WebDevChecklist
• Clef’s WordPress Security Checklist
• Social Media Colors
• Hex/RGB converter
• Database Search and Replace Script in PHP
• Keyword Tool
• Page Speed Load Test?- page speed test
• Pingdom – page speed test
• Page layouts: Static, Liquid, Adaptive, Responsive
• Most important and commonly used Git commands
• A Whole Pile of Responsive Resources
• Cross Platform/Browser Testing
• HTML Encoder / Decoder
• WordPress Ipsum
• DNS Propagation Tracker
• HTML Roles
• CTA Button Optimizer
• WordPress Plugin Boilerplate
• GenerateWP
• CrossBrowserTesting.com
• Paletton?- Best. Color. Picker. Ever. (kicks out HTML, CSS, LESS)
• DevTools Tips?- Chrome DevTools
• Contrast Ratio?- for accessibility and general readability
• Share Link Generator – for social media sharing
• Symbolicode?-?HTML character reference
• Hailpixel Color – full screen color selector
• CSS Ruler – helpful in understanding various units of measurement in CSS
• Stylify Me – instant style guide!!!
• Transparent Textures?- for a subtle background
• CSS Beautifier – de-minimizes CSS
• Mood Board
• Web Page Test – page loading speed
• Can I Use It – shows which browsers support which front-end code
• Google’s Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool
• Peek User Testing?- free service
• CSS Caret Generator
• DNS Inspect
• Grid Generator
• HTML Arrows
• PureCSSApple – generates Apple devices using only CSS
• WP Function Me?- provides code snippets for various WordPress functions
• ?bersuggest – SEO keyword suggestion tool
• WhereGoes – trace redirects
• TransparentTextures
• SassMe – play with Sass functions to get hex codes, because sometimes you need to do this
• Random Color Palettes
• Custom Fields vs. Custom Taxonomies

Fun Lessons to Keep in Mind

• “Above the Fold”
• “Add a Slider/Carousel”