Are your files protected?

By default, WordPress leaves your uploaded files unprotected. That is, anyone can download your uploaded file if they know or guess the filename, even on a private page.

Protect your files today with MCM Protected File View Pro!

Click Here to Buy It Now

Not ready to buy? Try our free version. It doesn’t have file permissions per user role but has all other features that the pro version does. For instance, you may have two user roles but only want to give access to one of the user roles. In that case you’d need the pro version.

Do you really need 50+ plugins on your WordPress site?

Recently I have dealt with several WordPress websites that have fifty or more plugins installed.

Unfortunately having that many plugins makes it very difficult to isolate issues. As plugins can conflict with each other, there are at least thousands of possible combinations of conflicts with fifty plugins.

More plugins also makes updates more difficult, as there are more to keep up-to-date, and brings with it a higher risk of security issues as there are simply more plugins that could be vulnerable.

Before you install a plugin think, “Do I really need this?”. Should you do decide that you need the plugin, document what the plugin is for, as it is easy to forget over time, especially if you have more than a few plugins. If you no longer need a plugin, deactivate it and uninstall it.

Should you get to the point where you have more than about 10 or 15 plugins consider hiring a professional WordPress developer. He or she may be able to find a better solution.

WordPress 5.0 and Gutenburg

WordPress 5.0, the next major release, is scheduled to come out on November 19, 2018. It will come with a new editor known as Gutenburg.
However if you install and activate the “Classic Editor” plugin before upgrading to WordPress 5.0 you can continue using the current editor.

Gutenburg still seems to have a fair amount of kinks to iron out. Also, many plugins are not yet compatible yet. For now we recommend using the Classic Editor.