Code, Leadership & the Remote Dev Life

Category: Development

  • 10 PHP Performance Pitfalls and How to Fix Them Like a Pro

    10 PHP Performance Pitfalls and How to Fix Them Like a Pro

    Let’s be real—most PHP performance issues aren’t caused by exotic edge cases. They’re caused by small mistakes that quietly accumulate until your server starts sweating.

    Over the years, I’ve fallen into every performance trap in the book—and watched others do the same. So here’s a list of the top 10 PHP performance pitfalls I’ve seen (and fixed) in the wild.

    If you’re leading or maintaining a PHP codebase, this one’s for you.

    1. Loading Everything All at Once

    If your app is pulling thousands of rows from MySQL just to paginate them later, that’s not pagination—that’s punishment.

    Fix: Always use LIMIT and OFFSET in your queries. Better yet, consider cursor-based pagination for large datasets.

    2. Too Many Database Queries

    The “N+1 query problem” is a classic. Looping over 50 users and querying each user’s posts separately? That’s 51 queries when one will do.

    Fix: Use joins, or fetch data in batches. If you’re using an ORM, dig into eager loading.

    3. Uncached Configs and Constants

    Calling get_setting('something') in every request when it could’ve been cached once? Yeah, that adds up.

    Fix: Use config caching (php artisan config:cache in Laravel, for example), or store static settings in memory (APCu, Redis, etc).

    4. Heavy Bootstrapping

    Every request doesn’t need to boot your entire app if you’re just handling a webhook or an API call.

    Fix: Segment your application entry points and avoid overloading minimal-use cases with full bootstrap costs.

    5. Overusing Autoloading in Loops

    Autoloading classes inside tight loops leads to IO and CPU hits you didn’t ask for.

    Fix: Make sure classes used in loops are already loaded. Composer’s classmap optimization (--optimize-autoloader) helps a ton.

    6. Ignoring Output Buffering

    PHP sends data to the browser in chunks. But if your app flushes output inefficiently, that can slow things down or spike memory.

    Fix: Use output buffering strategically. Most frameworks handle this, but know what’s happening under the hood.

    7. Unoptimized Regular Expressions

    Regex is powerful—but expensive. One careless pattern can grind your CPU.

    Fix: Benchmark your patterns. Avoid backtracking traps. And seriously, don’t use regex when strpos() will do.

    8. Not Using Opcache

    If you’re not running PHP with Opcache enabled, you’re throwing away free performance.

    Fix: Turn on Opcache in your php.ini and monitor the cache hit rate. It’s easy and gives instant gains.

    9. No Profiling or Monitoring

    How can you fix slow code if you don’t know what’s slow?

    Fix: Use tools like Blackfire, Xdebug, or Laravel Telescope. Even a simple log of request durations can point you to issues fast.

    10. Overengineering

    The worst performance killer? Complexity.

    I’ve seen apps slow down just from trying to be too clever: abstracting every function, writing unnecessary layers of logic, or throwing design patterns at problems that didn’t exist.

    Fix: Write simple code that does the job. Readability often equals performance.

    Final Thought

    The truth is, most PHP performance issues are 20% code and 80% awareness. If you’re mindful of what your app is actually doing—how it queries, caches, renders, and routes—you’re already ahead of the pack.

    So the next time your app feels sluggish, don’t panic. Run through this list, fix what you can, and move on like a pro.

  • Why Developer Experience Matters in Plugin UX

    Why Developer Experience Matters in Plugin UX

    When we talk about plugin UX, we usually think about the end user. Is the UI intuitive? Does the feature solve the user’s problem? Is the performance snappy? All valid questions—but often, we forget one critical piece: the developer’s experience building and maintaining that plugin.

    Developer Experience (DX) isn’t just an internal concern—it has a direct impact on the quality and longevity of the plugin itself. And, if you’re working on something meant to be extended, forked, or reused, it’s part of your user experience too.

    Let’s talk about why.

    1. DX Affects Product Velocity

    If your plugin’s internal architecture is a mess—spaghetti code, no tests, unclear function names—it slows everything down. New features take longer, bugs are harder to fix, and onboarding new devs feels like hazing.

    A good DX means:

    • Clear, modular code
    • Logical file structure
    • Sensible abstractions
    • Realistic documentation

    When your devs enjoy working with the codebase, they build faster. They ship better.

    2. Poor DX Leaks Into UX

    Ever noticed how plugins with great UX often feel “tight”? Transitions make sense. Settings are where you expect them. Little things feel polished.

    That’s rarely an accident.

    It’s usually a result of developers not fighting the code. When devs don’t waste brainpower decoding an outdated logic branch or jumping between unrelated files, they have more energy to focus on experience—the real UX.

    3. A Plugin is a Platform (Sometimes)

    If you’re building something extensible—whether it’s hooks, filters, or a custom API—then your developers are your users.

    You owe them:

    • Stable APIs
    • Clear documentation
    • Thoughtful design patterns
    • Predictable upgrade paths

    If you treat third-party devs as second-class citizens, they’ll treat your plugin the same. Or worse—they’ll fork it and never look back.

    4. DX is a Retention Strategy

    In open source, contributors often come and go. But good DX can keep people around.

    I’ve seen projects thrive because the dev experience was delightful. Clean code, welcoming docs, a sense that someone cared.

    It’s not about being perfect—it’s about being thoughtful.

    I always ask myself: “If I came back to this code in six months, would I thank Past Me or curse him out?”

    5. Better DX = Fewer Bugs = Happier Users

    This one’s simple math.

    Fewer WTFs per file = Fewer mistakes
    Fewer mistakes = Fewer bugs
    Fewer bugs = Happier users

    Improving developer experience is one of the most high-leverage things you can do for plugin UX. But it’s often invisible—until it’s missing.

    Final Thoughts

    If you care about your plugin’s users, you have to care about the experience of the people building it.

    DX isn’t a side quest. It’s part of the core loop. And when you get it right, everyone wins.

    Even (especially) Future You.

  • How to Onboard a New Developer to Your Plugin Codebase

    How to Onboard a New Developer to Your Plugin Codebase

    Bringing a new developer into your plugin project can go one of two ways: smooth and productive—or completely chaotic.

    I’ve seen both.

    Whether you’re working on a public WordPress plugin or a custom solution for a client, onboarding a new dev isn’t just about giving them access to the repo and saying “good luck.” It’s about giving them clarity, confidence, and context.

    Here’s how I do it now—and what I wish I had done sooner.

    1. Set the Stage: Explain the Plugin’s Purpose

    Before diving into any code, I always walk through why the plugin exists. What problem does it solve? Who are the users? What’s the long-term goal?

    Too often, devs are thrown into a project and only understand the what, not the why. That leads to narrow thinking and missed opportunities for improvement.

    Even a short video or a quick explainer document helps give a mental model of the plugin’s architecture and intent.

    2. Provide a Dev-Ready Environment

    Don’t make new devs spend hours figuring out how to spin up the environment.

    If you’re using Docker, share the commands and prebuilt configs. If you’re on a local dev tool like Local or Lando, make sure setup steps are documented. Add a README.md with installation steps that actually work.

    The faster a new dev gets to running code, the sooner they start contributing.

    3. Map Out the Architecture

    Your plugin probably has its own structure—maybe includes/, assets/, templates/, etc.

    I usually include a brief “file structure” doc with one-liners explaining what lives where. Example:

    /includes/classes/ → main plugin logic  
/includes/hooks/ → custom hooks and filters  
/templates/ → frontend output

    It’s basic, but it orients people quickly.

    Bonus points if you document how custom post types, taxonomies, or meta fields are registered and used.

    4. Document Common Workflows

    Are there scripts for releasing new versions? Conventions for submitting PRs? Gotchas when building new features?

    If you’ve been working solo, you’ve probably internalized all this. But to a new dev, it’s tribal (yes tribal, not trivial) knowledge.

    I keep a CONTRIBUTING.md file with:

    • Branching strategy
    • PR review process
    • Linting rules
    • Deployment steps

    Even if you’re not running a large team, this makes life easier for you and your new dev.

    5. Pair on One Task

    After the walkthrough and docs, I always sit down (virtually or in person, I mostly do it virtually using Google Meet, Zoom or a similar service) and pair on a small task. Nothing huge—maybe a bug fix or a tiny feature tweak.

    It’s not about the code. It’s about watching how they approach things, answering questions in real-time, and catching any disconnects before they grow.

    That one session can shortcut days of confusion.

    6. Encourage Questions (and Capture the Good Ones)

    New developers ask great questions—ones you’ve stopped thinking about long ago. Instead of brushing them off, I treat them like gold.

    If they ask something insightful, I update the docs. That way, every new hire makes the process better for the next.

    7. Give Them Ownership Early

    Once the new dev is up to speed, I assign something meaningful. Not just small bugs, but a feature or enhancement where they can leave their mark.

    That sense of ownership builds momentum. And nothing motivates like being trusted.

    Final Thought: Onboarding Is an Ongoing Investment

    Yes, it takes time. But good onboarding pays dividends. Developers become confident contributors instead of code tourists. They build faster, break less, and stay longer.

    Treat onboarding like part of your dev workflow—not a one-time checklist. Your future self (and your team) will thank you.

  • The Hidden Costs of Not Documenting Your Plugin Code

    The Hidden Costs of Not Documenting Your Plugin Code

    We’ve all done it. You’re deep in the flow, building out a plugin feature, squashing bugs, hitting milestones—and you think, “I’ll document this later.”

    Then later becomes never.

    I used to think documentation was a “nice-to-have.” Something you do when the real work is done. But over the years—especially maintaining my own WordPress plugins and client custom solutions—I’ve seen how the lack of documentation creates invisible (but very real) costs.

    Cost #1: Slower Development (Yes, Even for You)

    The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that we’ll remember how something works “because we wrote it.” Six months later, you’re staring at your own code like it’s a riddle written by someone else. Without inline comments or clear README notes, every revisit becomes archaeology.

    Worse, even current development slows down when you forget why a helper function behaves a certain way, or what parameters that hook expects.

    Documentation isn’t for “someone else.” It’s for future you.

    Cost #2: Onboarding Hell

    Whether you’re growing a team or just collaborating with another dev for a sprint, a lack of documentation turns simple onboarding into a game of 20 Questions. What does this function do? Is this filter still used? Why is this action hook conditional?

    Every minute your teammate spends asking basic questions (or worse—debugging things they don’t understand) is a minute lost to productivity. Multiply that over weeks or months and the time cost is huge.

    I’ve had clients switch agencies purely because “the last dev left and no one knows how their plugin works.” That’s not a tech debt issue—that’s a business loss.

    Cost #3: Increased Bugs and Regressions

    When you don’t document intent, you leave interpretation up to the next developer’s guesswork. And guesses lead to bugs.

    I once refactored an old plugin and removed what I thought was redundant logic. Turns out it was a workaround for a very specific WishList Member bug that I myself fixed from 5 years ago. That workaround wasn’t documented anywhere—only realized the issue after customers started reporting it in support.

    One comment or note would’ve saved hours of debugging.

    Cost #4: Lower Plugin Adoption and Community Contribution

    This one’s especially true for public plugins. If people can’t figure out how to use your plugin or contribute to it because there’s no clear documentation, they’ll move on to one that is documented—even if it’s less powerful.

    I’ve seen talented devs build incredible tools, only to wonder why no one uses them. The code may be clean, but if the onboarding experience is confusing, your plugin will sit idle.

    Documentation isn’t marketing, but it is user experience.

    Cost #5: Burnout

    This one’s more subtle.

    When you’re the only person who understands the plugin codebase, everything lands on your plate. Every question, every issue, every tweak. You can’t delegate, you can’t scale, and eventually… you get tired.

    I’ve burned out maintaining side projects because no one else could help, and the idea of “explaining everything” felt more exhausting than just doing the work myself. That’s a trap.

    Good documentation is how you offload that burden. It’s how you give yourself permission to rest and step away when needed.

    So Why Don’t We Document?

    Honestly? It’s not sexy. You don’t get dopamine hits from writing function descriptions. There’s no client applause for a well-written README.

    But over time, I’ve found a quiet pride in it. When a junior dev says, “I figured it out from your comments,” or when I revisit old code and don’t feel lost—it feels damn good.

    How I Approach Documentation Now

    Nothing fancy. Just consistent:

    • Inline comments for logic that’s not immediately obvious
    • DocBlocks for all public functions and hooks
    • README.md files that explain the plugin’s purpose, how to install, how to use, and how to contribute

    When I’m pressed for time, I at least leave TODO comments or open a Notion page to circle back.

    The key is to treat documentation like part of the code—not an afterthought. Just like you wouldn’t commit broken syntax, don’t leave logic undocumented.

    Final Thought

    Code is temporary. Even plugins you’ve maintained for years will eventually evolve, be handed off, or sunset. But documentation is what gives that code clarity, life, and continuity.

    If you’re not documenting your plugin code, you’re silently agreeing to future confusion, wasted time, and limited collaboration.

    It’s not about perfection. It’s about leaving breadcrumbs—so someone else (or future you) doesn’t get lost.

    Write the damn docs.

  • Why I Still Love Developing for WordPress After 25 Years

    Why I Still Love Developing for WordPress After 25 Years

    It’s been 20+ years since I started developing with WordPress, and a lot has changed in the tech world. Frameworks have come and gone, trends have shifted, and countless tools have promised to “replace WordPress.” And yet—after all this time—I still find myself coming back to it. Not out of nostalgia or habit, but because WordPress continues to be one of the most effective, flexible, and developer-friendly platforms I’ve ever worked with.

    I’m not a designer. I don’t fuss over colors, font pairings, or spacing systems. I’ve always lived closer to the server—building scalable systems, fixing broken APIs, optimizing database queries, and writing plugins that get the job done. And in all those years, WordPress has never let me down.

    A Platform That Respects Structure

    One of the earliest things that drew me to WordPress was its underlying structure. At its core, it’s simple—but not simplistic. There’s a logic to the way things are built: posts, custom post types, taxonomies, metadata. If you understand relational data, you’ll understand WordPress.

    I appreciated that immediately. I could define data models without spinning up entire Laravel projects or building from scratch. And if something didn’t exist, WordPress let me hook into it—add_action, add_filter, register_post_type. There was always a way in.

    Over the years, I’ve built for clients:

    • Custom event schedulers with recurring logic
    • Inventory systems using custom post types and metadata
    • and of course WishList Member – a super awesome membership plugin for WordPress
    • and more…

    That flexibility, all while using a battle-tested platform, made WordPress an obvious choice for someone who values efficiency and maintainability.

    The Power of Hooks

    Hooks are one of the most underrated features in WordPress. They’re elegant. With just a few lines, I can modify the way a core function behaves, inject data, sanitize input, or manipulate output—without touching the core.

    In a world that often defaults to complex inheritance trees and bloated frameworks, WordPress gives you hooks. It gives you just enough control to get things done without overengineering it.

    I’ve used hooks to:

    • Modify REST API output without rewriting endpoints
    • Integrate third-party CRMs directly into the admin flow
    • Adjust how WooCommerce handles tax calculations in real time
    • Trigger background processes on content publish

    There’s beauty in that simplicity. WordPress lets me stay focused on logic, not boilerplate.

    Performance and Optimization: WordPress Isn’t the Problem

    One of the recurring myths I hear is that “WordPress is slow.” But after 25 years, I can confidently say: it’s not the platform, it’s the implementation.

    Yes, out-of-the-box WordPress is designed to be general-purpose. But with the right backend strategies, I’ve helped clients scale their WordPress sites to millions of users per month.

    Some of the tactics I’ve used:

    • Query optimization with custom SQL or WP_Query tuning
    • Object caching using Redis and Memcached
    • CDN integration for media delivery
    • Lazy loading and script deferral
    • Background jobs using Action Scheduler or custom cron runners

    WordPress provides the tools. You just need to know how to use them.

    And if I ever do hit a wall, the fact that it’s open-source means I can always trace performance issues right into the core or plugin source.

    Developer Experience That Just Works

    As someone who prefers terminal windows over drag-and-drop builders, I’ve always appreciated how WordPress doesn’t get in the way of development.

    I can spin up a new environment in minutes. I can migrate databases easily. I can write plugins using the same structure I’ve used for years.

    And now with modern additions like:

    • WP-CLI for managing installs and scripts from the command line
    • Composer support for dependency management
    • Dockerized environments for consistent dev setups
    • PHPUnit integration for testable plugins

    …the WordPress developer experience has matured without becoming bloated or overcomplicated.

    It’s still PHP. It’s still readable. It’s still hackable.

    WordPress at Scale

    People often assume that WordPress is only for blogs or small businesses. I’ve worked with large-scale enterprise applications that rely entirely on WordPress for backend management.

    From custom analytics dashboards to REST APIs serving mobile apps, I’ve pushed WordPress far beyond its blogging roots—and it handles that just fine.

    Multisite, for example, lets me manage dozens or hundreds of related sites from one codebase. User roles and capabilities give me granular access control. Cron events and scheduled actions power automation flows. It’s more than capable—if you treat it like a real platform.

    Long-Term Stability

    One thing I’ve come to value over the years is platform stability. WordPress evolves—but it rarely breaks. I’ve seen countless frameworks break backward compatibility just to chase trends. WordPress doesn’t do that. It balances progress with care.

    That’s why I can return to a client site I built eight years ago, and it still works. Maybe a few updates are needed, but the core structure is sound.

    This kind of long-term reliability makes WordPress perfect for maintainable, client-friendly builds. You don’t have to rewrite everything every two years. You can build once, build right, and focus on value—not versioning.

    The Plugin System: A Backend Developer’s Playground

    Plugins are where I spend most of my time. They let me extend WordPress in any direction I want. Over the years, I’ve written:

    • Custom SSO (single sign-on) integrations
    • API bridges to ERPs and payment gateways
    • Backend logic for content approval workflows
    • Custom reporting tools using WP Admin UI extensions
    • Cron-based importers that parse massive datasets nightly

    The plugin system is structured but flexible. I don’t have to jump through hoops to extend functionality. I just write my logic, register the plugin, and go.

    And I don’t have to rely on bloated third-party solutions if I don’t want to. I can build exactly what’s needed—no more, no less.

    Working with Content, Without Managing It

    As a backend developer, I don’t want to manage content. I want to empower people who do.

    That’s why I’ve always appreciated how WordPress separates logic from content. Editors and marketers can do their thing in the admin area—whether that’s creating posts, building pages with the block editor, or managing media—without needing to involve me.

    And when they need something custom—like a new content type, a specific taxonomy, or custom validation—I can build it in code, deploy it through version control, and let the content team take over.

    I’m not locked into a rigid CMS structure or forced to build everything through config files. I can write code to reflect real-world needs.

    The Community: Quiet but Deeply Skilled

    I’m not a big forum guy. I don’t hang out in Discords. But when I need an answer, the WordPress developer community always delivers. Whether it’s digging through the Codex, finding a plugin on GitHub, or reading a detailed blog post—there’s almost always someone who’s solved the same problem before.

    And if there’s not, I can build the solution and share it.

    WordPress may not be flashy or trendy, but it’s backed by some of the most battle-tested developers in the industry. People who understand not just code, but software that lives in the wild, used by real clients with real business needs.

    Why I’m Still All-In

    After 25 years, I could have pivoted to other stacks permanently. I’ve worked with Laravel, Node.js, Python, heck even old-school CGI scripts. They all have their strengths. But I keep coming back to WordPress because it’s:

    • Practical
    • Scalable
    • Developer-friendly
    • Well-documented
    • Deeply extensible
    • Future-ready (especially with the REST API and full-site editing)

    For backend developers, WordPress is a solid, reliable, and powerful platform that still respects the fundamentals of good engineering: clear separation of concerns, composability, and performance-conscious architecture.

    I don’t need it to be “cool.” I need it to work—and it does.

    Final Thoughts

    Twenty plus years is a long time to stick with anything in tech. But WordPress has earned that loyalty.

    Not because it’s perfect. But because it continues to provide a stable, flexible foundation that lets me solve real problems for real people—without reinventing the wheel every time.

    As long as clients need custom logic, data integrations, secure user flows, or performance-focused builds—I’ll keep choosing WordPress.

    Not because it’s trendy.

    Because it works.