Updated on December 10, 2021
Here’s my updates on the latest changes to the blog.
WordPress plugin changes and reductions
The biggest change since my last update is that I’ve cut back on the number of plugins. While I recently tried expanding the number used for several reasons, I’ve concluded I should try to use fewer plugins after all. Of course, there’s no set rule on how many plugins are “too many,” and some plugins use more resources than others. Still, it can’t hurt to cut down on unnecessary or extraneous plugins.
Some of the plugins changes include:
- Dropping a recent posts plugin (more on that below).
- Switching back to using Jetpack’s social media share buttons. The previous plugin I was using, Social Warfare, worked fine. However, I’m already using Jetpack for other functions, so figure it’d save a plugin.
- Switching from Contact Forms 7 to WPForms Lite for the site’s contact page form. The latter offers a built-in honeypot feature for antispam protection, plus a checkbox for GDPR privacy compliance. It’s also easier to use to create and manage forms.
Sidebar changes
I removed from the sidebar the recent posts section, as well as the plugin I used to display its thumbnails. Among the reasons:
- The popular posts section seems more, well, popular.
- The recent posts listing seemed a bit redundant when viewing the main blog page.
- Its formatting didn’t fit that for the popular posts section, though that might stem from using a separate popular posts plugin. Currently, I’m using Jetpack’s top posts feature.
Some minor back end changes
Finally, I made various minor changes and cleanup of the site’s back end. While I use a child theme for WordPress, the files contained some CSS and PHP code from previous modifications I no longer used or needed. Thus, I deleted the now-useless code.
I also adjusted some of the plugins’ settings, including a few cache-related settings. I usually use WP Super Cache as a cache plugin.
Are there any features or changes you’d like to see made to Diverse Tech Geek? Let me know in the comments.
