WordPress Caching Plugins Problems

isostatically WordPress offers a lot of plugins. Most of them useful. One that I install on customer sites that works fine does not work 100% across the board on all of the websites I make.

Willenhall WP-Super Cache is a very useful caching plugin that has worked for me for every customer site I have made. It involves a little bit of tinkering, but even a computer novice could get it functioning in some manner. These caching plugins are very useful because they increase the speed of your site by caching the page. Web browsers cache as well, but this plugin is very useful for the first time visitor who does not have any history saved of your site yet.

The one problem I have had is with an entertainment site I made, PetVideoParty.com. I recently designed this site using the random video player design that my friend and I have been brainstorming and constantly redesigning. The problem is when installing the caching plugin it caches the entire video player, taking the randomness away. So for now, we have nothing installed. The plugin creators indicate there are ways around this by saying there are ways to not cache specific parts of the page. So far, all of the suggestions show no results.

It seems these caching plugins need some work before acheiving perfection. For sites that revolve around constantly changing content and delivering a unique experience to each new user upon each visit, they fall short.

For the customer this should not be an issue. When installing WP-Super Cache, I always make sure to go through and do a thorough check of the site to make sure nothing is misbehaving from caching. Unless if a customer is looking for a random video player (or other random content delivering mechanism), I see the issues discussed never becoming an issue for a customer. After all, we want your site to be as fast and useful as possible, so caching add-ons will never go away.

Fixing Your Virus – Simplest Solution

I am weird. I like fixing peoples computers. My method is relatively simple, and I like doing it because it is something I can multitask while working on other tasks. All I normally do is restore/clean install these very messed up computers with a fresh copy of Windows XP. As long as you have the XP activation code on the computer, it is a simple task.

Take this old IBM Thinkpad for example. This computer was slow beyond the point of use. The only question I ever need to ask is “Do you have a disc copy or activation key for all the paid software you use?”. Usually this is just Microsoft Office.

Here are the steps I took to fix this computer once I had permission to wipe it the harddrive clean.

Steps to Fixing a Virus-Heavy Personal Computer

1. Backed up all the personal files on the persons computer. In this scenario it was just her documents folder.
2. Used my XP Pro install disc to erase the whole harddrive and then reinstall XP on the harddrive. This can take a couple hours but can be left alone while running the install. Perfect for me since I can go make some soup or work on a website!
3. Once installed, I activated the software using the activation key on the computer. This is usually located on the back somewhere and is labeled with something like “Windows XP Activation Key”.
4. Downloaded all the necessary device drivers the computer lost in the process of the install on the internet. Usually this is the video card, audio card, wireless card and ethernet card. Google searches find these drivers. For this computer I used this website.
5. Copied all the files I backed up before back onto the computer.

And Voila! New computer with all your old files still on it!

Domain Name Based Ideas

In early May of 2010, Jon Krane, a friend of mine from the University of Michigan, started talking to me about how he was interested in the web business for which we recommend to use this paystubs software. I found this interesting, considering the passion that had been recently growing in me for web design ideas.

His interests in the web were completely different from mine. While I had grown interested in the design (not only development side but user/business practicality side, i.e. designing the perfect website), he was being exposed to a completely different angle.

He went on to tell me about domain name trading and the businessmen he was meeting through his father’s law firm that were “making a killing” off of something as simple as a domain name. I understood what he meant, having a pretty firm grasp on SEO and how keywords in a url impact it. I was fascinated with something else.

When I discussed web stuff, I always talked about design ideas first. As a consequence, I had a list that was growing on my iPhone to the point of confusion. I had always started with an idea and then went to the name. Jon seemed to have done the reverse, which at first I didn’t realize could be a smart angle.

By starting at the keyword first, Jon had made it so the keywords drive the idea. The perfect example of this was with a domain name he showed me, BoredRoulette.com.

He really liked the name, because of the viral popularity ChatRoulette.com had shown. I agreed that the name was catchy. I also agreed with him that ChatRoulette wasn’t a good enough idea to stick with the majority of the Internet population.

Reasons Chat Roulette Failed
1. Everytime someone went on ChatRoulette they saw fat, old mens’ private parts.
2. Even if they weren’t being exposed to genitals, who really wants to talk to a stranger when they are on a computer? Entertainment is meant to be stress free and a time waster… meeting strangers can be a chore.
3. Creepy stuff happens way too often. Not only with the disturbing sexual images people infamously associate the website with, but I’ve heard some bad stories involving young girls and women trying to sell themselves to come to America. These stories don’t sit well with one who likes to think of himself as a “morally OK” person.

Thinking of all these problems made me think someone else could cash in big on the viral popularity of “Roulette” domain names. I mean, that was the only reason I checked out ChatRoulette—the name was catchy and I wanted to see what the site was all about. Within a couple penises, I realized I didn’t like what ChatRoulette was all about.

But what do you do with a domain name and no idea for it?