Monday, August 19, 2019

Twitter tests a filter to screen ‘illicit’ messages

Twitter is moving ahead of its competitors when it comes to screening unknown and unpleasant messages. The social media platform recently announced that it is testing a filter that would contain a list of offensive ‘keywords’ and will single out the messages that contain them. These messages will...

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by Saima Salim via Digital Information World

YouTube’s new team of managers is focused on monitoring political creators

Over the past years, YouTube faced a lot of controversies regarding censoring right-wing political contents. Now YouTube is hiring new managers to handles political issues more effectively and effortlessly. These new managers are meant to work with progressive political publishers and conservative...

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by agha ali via Digital Information World

How the Top 1% of Candidates Ace Their Job Interviews

You've done it.
 
You've made it through the initial screening process. You've just earned an interview with one of the most prestigious and successful companies in your industry. As you're waiting in the office with three other candidates, a fourth candidate walks in.
 
He has an interview scheduled, the same as you.
 
There's something odd about this interviewee. He already knows everyone there. He's on a first-name basis with the receptionist. Everyone likes him and thinks highly of him. Instead of waiting in the lobby with the rest of you, he's immediately ushered into one of the offices.
 
Who is this guy?
 

This is an everyday reality for elite job candidates

 
How is this possible?
 
Candidates like these are pretty uncommon. Not because they're so special, but because of their decision-making process. What makes their decision-making process different?
 

  • They win coveted jobs and promotions in the face of intense competition
  • They ask for and receive substantially higher salaries than their coworkers
  • Employers create positions specifically for them (to keep them)
  • They earn positions before they're publicly available
  • These job candidates seem to receive preferential treatment wherever they go
     
    Something is going on, but what?
     
    These elite candidates have a very different set of attitudes, behaviors, and habits than most other employees. Is it simply because they're better than everyone else?
     
    Not at all.

The post How the Top 1% of Candidates Ace Their Job Interviews appeared first on SitePoint.


by Andrew McDermott via SitePoint

How Page Builder Plugins Make it Easy to Build a WordPress Website

Page builder plugins make it easier for both novices and experienced developers to build websites faster. With a page builder, you don't need to know how to code—you can build your site with drag and drop. 

There are many free and premium WordPress page builders in the market. In this post, I’ll show you the page builders available on CodeCanyon and some of the best add-ons to page builders. 

  • WordPress Plugins
    The Ultimate WordPress Page Builder: WPBakery
    Daniel Strongin
  • WordPress
    What Makes WPBakery (Visual Composer) the Best WordPress Page Builder Today?
    Jane Baker
  • WordPress
    Get Started With WPBakery (Formerly Visual Composer)
    Ashraff Hathibelagal

Introduction

A website has many moving parts like menus, headers and footers, gallery, contact forms, shopping carts, reviews, and testimonials. To build a site from scratch means you have to code and configure each of these parts. And if for some reason you need to make some changes you'll have to go through the process of coding again. It’s time consuming and very expensive. 

That's why WordPress has always been the perfect solution to get one started with creating web pages. It has out-of-the-box features that let you build a basic website easily. To make your site robust, stylish, and professional, however, you will need to customize it. 

In terms of design and functionality, the core features you get when you download WordPress only take you so far. WordPress’s own page builder—Gutenberg—is very basic. And with limited customization options, you’re restricted in what you can create. Here is where a WordPress page builder plugins comes in. Page builders put the whole process of building and customizing your WordPress website in your hands. 

What is a WordPress Page Builder?

A WordPress page builder is simply a drag-and-drop design and development toolbox that allows users to build stylish and professional websites quickly and affordably without any coding knowledge. 

Using drag-and-drop widgets, you can pick and arrange elements on your website exactly the way you want them to look. You can resize, reposition, and change colors—in short customize it to reflect your style. And you don’t need to write any custom CSS. 

It is perfect for the individual website owner who prefers the affordable DIY (do it yourself) route. And for developers, a page builder significantly cuts down on development and production time.

What's more, some page builders have their own ecosystem of supporting plugins. You can extend their capabilities by downloading and installing add-ons built especially for them. 

Why Use a WordPress Page Builder?

  • You don’t need coding knowledge. You can drag-and-drop elements and rearrange them. You can type directly into them. 
  • You save a lot of time and money. 
  • You have tons of flexibility when it comes to styling elements on your website. 
  • What you are building on the screen looks exactly how visitors view it (what you see is what you get). 
  • You can make design changes to a site that has already launched without taking it down. 

Turnkey Solutions

For a developer, cutting down on developing and production time is important. Page builders allow developers to save their own designs as templates to reuse later for different clients. This however depends on whether you get a free or pro version. For many page builders you can only save your templates when you buy a pro version. 

WordPress Page Builders Contain the Following

The interface: The type of interface and it’s different features depends on the page builder. Some have both visual front-end and back-end editors. For some you add pages using blocks. 

Styling options: What you get in terms of styling options all depends on the page builder you buy. Some you insert and style new elements via popups. Others have inline editing while others don’t. Others have a sidebar area. Others have tabs with different styling choices. Some even allow you to use the WordPress editor. Others have previews too. 

Widgets and templates: This again depends on the page builder but many come with a wealth of widgets and templates with a variety of layout options. 

Things to Consider When Choosing a WordPress Page Builder 

Budget: Think about what you can afford. Do you have to pay a one time payment or monthly charge? Do you have to pay for extended license? Are there features you can only get by paying extra? 

Responsive and mobile-friendly: This is a no-brainer because over 70% of online transactions happen via mobile devices.

Updates and maintenance: Regular updates are important to patch up vulnerabilities and to keep up with changes that WordPress implements. 

Integration with other platforms: Your life will be a lot easier if your website integrates smoothly with platforms like WooCommerce, Yoast SEO, MailChimp. and others.

Lock-in: What happens if you ever deactivate the page builder plugin or if its developer quits supporting it? How will it affect your website? Avoid lock-in by choosing a page builder that leaves your content with clean HTML.  

Loading speed: You want your website to load quickly for users, otherwise they might not stay to view your content. Make sure the page builder you choose creates pages that load quickly. Again, choose a page builder that leaves your content with clean HTML.

WordPress Page Builders on Code Canyon 

The following are premium page builder plugins you will find on CodeCanyon. Of these, WPBakery (formerly known as Visual Composer) is by far the most popular and comprehensive. We'll talk about WPBakery in more depth below.

You will also find add-ons for WPBakery page builder and for Elementor. Elementor is a free page builder. 

  • WordPress
    What Makes WPBakery (Visual Composer) the Best WordPress Page Builder Today?
    Jane Baker
  • WordPress Plugins
    The Ultimate WordPress Page Builder: WPBakery
    Daniel Strongin

WPBakery Page Builder for WordPress

WPBakery Page Builder (formerly known as Visual Composer) is the most popular premium drag-and-drop page builder plugin on CodeCanyon. With over 380,000 copies sold, it has been used to build over 2 million websites.

WPBakery page builder comes with excellent core features, modules, templates and layout styles. 

It can integrate with many platforms including Yoast SEO, WooCommerce, WordPress multisite, translators, and more. It is also compatible with thousands of plugins. 

Finally you can extend the functionality of WPBakery page builder even further using third party add-ons. On CodeCanyon you will find hundreds of third party add-ons for WPBakery. The possibilities are limitless! 

Add-ons for the WPBakery Page Builder

 All-in-One or Multipurpose Add-ons

These add-ons are packs of templates, widgets, and components that could be useful for any website. Pick one with the features and style that you like, and you'll find it useful over and over.

Gallery, Slider, and Video Add-ons

These add-ons contain widgets and components specifically useful for creating galleries, video players, sliders, and slideshows.

Form Add-ons for Visual Composer

These add-ons help you build attractive and powerful forms.

Other Add-ons

There not easy to classify, but each of these add-ons has something unique to offer to your site. 

  • WordPress
    20 Best WPBakery Page Builder (Visual Composer) Addons & Plugins of 2019
    Nona Blackman

Add-ons for Elementor Page Builder

Elementor is another leading page builder for WordPress. It's one of the most popular WordPress page builder plugins on the market, with over 2 million active installs. Even better, it's completely free and open source, making it easy for developers to extend the functionality and capabilities of Elementor.

Here are some of the bestselling Elementor add-ons on CodeCanyon. 

All-in-one Add-ons

These all-in-one development add-ons come with widgets, templates, and much more. 

WooCommerce Integration Add-ons

WooCommerce integration is a killer feature for a theme or plugin, and these add-ons make it a snap.

Slider, Gallery, and Media Add-ons

The right media or gallery plugin can really bring your images and your website to life. Check out these gallery, slider and media plugins to see what could be added to your own site.

Conclusion

This article is an overview of WordPress page builder plugins and add-ons available on CodeCanyon. 

The following articles and tutorials should help in your quest to find the most suitable plugins and add-ons for your needs. 

  • WordPress
    Create a Responsive Landing Page With WPBakery (Visual Composer)
    Ashraff Hathibelagal
  • WordPress
    Get Started With WPBakery (Formerly Visual Composer)
    Ashraff Hathibelagal
  • WordPress
    New WPBakery Course for WordPress Theme Developers!
    Andrew Blackman
  • WordPress
    20 Best WPBakery Page Builder (Visual Composer) Addons & Plugins of 2019
    Nona Blackman
  • WordPress
    What Makes WPBakery (Visual Composer) the Best WordPress Page Builder Today?
    Jane Baker
  • WordPress Plugins
    The Ultimate WordPress Page Builder: WPBakery
    Daniel Strongin
  • WordPress
    Visual Composer Website Builder vs. Elementor; From a Developer’s Perspective
    Karen Pogosyan
  • WordPress
    How to Create Awesome Popups in WordPress with Elementor Pro
    Adi Purdila



by Lorca Lokassa Sa via Envato Tuts+ Code

9 Key Ways to Turbocharge Your Design Career

9 Key Ways to Turbocharge Your Design Career

This article was created in partnership with StudioWorks. Thank you for supporting the partners who make SitePoint possible.

Sure, you need a certain minimal viable level of design skill prowess if you want to have a successful career as a designer. But a lot more than that goes into it, too. Think about how many people you know who can cook amazing food but who would never last five minutes in a restaurant kitchen during the lunch rush.

It would be great if we could just sit down, design pretty things, and go home. Or better yet, just chill in our home studios, creating. Unfortunately or not, design is a business just like everything else, and that means you’re going to have to put time, effort, and sometimes money into cultivating the soft skills and business side of your design career.

This means managing your time well, marketing yourself, building a brand, experimenting, maybe launching a side business, and generally just putting your name and work out there for people to find.

These days, it’s not enough to have a portfolio. That’s just table stakes. You need to plan out your whole career — with the understanding that plans change.

Let’s look at some of the things you need to do to develop your career until you’re basically the next Jen Simmons or Jeffrey Zeldman.

Get Your Communication Skills Flowing

Communication skills come naturally to some, and not so naturally to others. In both cases, those skills are rather drastically affected by the people you have to communicate with most. Most of us find ways to convey our thoughts and intentions clearly to our friends, and also to people in our industry and hobby communities. We learn the lingo, we learn which topics encourage discussion, and which are best avoided.

Writing for anyone who’s not a part of your immediate community, and especially writing for people who don’t know what you know, is hard. Speaking to them in person can be harder, depending on how you, as a person, prefer to communicate. But, all the same, you have to.

Even if you work in an agency amongst other designers right now, there will inevitably come a time when you have to pitch clients on the benefits of your work, explain to a newbie the processes you use, or defend your decisions to developers who push back, or to other people who just don’t know what you know.

If there’s any single thing you take away from this article, focus on your communication skills. It will affect your career more than anything else on this list. If you’re looking for a place to start learning those skills, CopyBlogger always has you covered — at least for the writing side of it.

Branch Out into Side Businesses

Some side projects are great, strictly because they allow us to get out of our comfort zones, try new things and regain a sense of creative discovery.

Others may overlap with the activities you’d use to build a personal brand, which we’ll get into shortly, with the added benefit that they can bring in extra money while you’re establishing yourself as an expert in the field.

Here are some of the more popular ways of doing this.

1. Courses

Sure, you can throw some tutorials onto your blog, or onto YouTube, for free. And you probably should. But if you want to make a side business out of teaching others what you do, and further your career in the process, you’re going to need an actual product. This is where courses come in.

Quality video courses, which are quite popular these days, can be expensive and time-consuming to set up. It’s gotten easier, though, now that you can use all-in-one course development and delivery services like Kajabi. This platform can help you manage everything relating to your premium educational content and running the business around it.

You can create membership sites, host live events, create automation funnels, upsells, maintain a blog and manage contacts all in one place, so it’s not as hard as it used to be. However, you still have to get a half-decent camera, a half-decent microphone, and ideally learn some basic video editing skills.

This is a side hustle I’d frankly only recommend if you’ve got some time on your hands, and a bit of extra money for some beginner hardware. It can be quite rewarding, though, so don’t dismiss the idea out of hand.

2. Live Streaming

I mentioned live events in the last section, so I thought I’d mention streaming as its own thing. Streaming doesn’t have to be educational, although education is probably the best way to sell your expertise. You could just sit there and share designer memes on Twitch if you want.

The problem is mostly that the requirements for video and audio haven’t changed, and depending on how you set up your stream schedule, it can be even more demanding than making video courses.

Then again, if you don’t mind not making a lot of money, and want to do it for fun, it’s still a great way to “meet” new people, and to be seen.

3. Paid Newsletters

Now this is an option I’d save for when you’ve already built a bit of an audience by other means, such as social media and/or blogging. But Substack has made it easier than ever for people to pay writers directly.

If you’ve got wisdom to share, and if you think people would be willing to pay to have that wisdom beamed straight into their inboxes, go on and have at it.

4. Make Stuff for Other Designers

Plenty of designers and agencies have kept up a healthy “passive” revenue stream by making resources for other designers.

Be it a template, a WordPress theme, a Sketch UI kit, an icon font, or whatever else, if it’s valuable to you because it solves problems that you have, then there’s a good chance your peers will be willing to pay for it. Just don’t forget to also give stuff away once in a while. Gratitude goes a long way in the design world.

The post 9 Key Ways to Turbocharge Your Design Career appeared first on SitePoint.


by Gal Shachar via SitePoint

Facebook’s new changes will remove discrimination from housing, employing, and credit ads

Facebook is working to eliminate discrimination for the targeting option for various ads like housing, credit, and employment. It has brought about significant and comprehensive changes to the Marketing API. The American Civil Liberties Union, Communications Workers of America and Outten &...

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by Aqsa Rasool via Digital Information World

Website Inspiration: Thibaud Allie

Massive typography in this visually unique One Pager for Parisian Art Director, Thibaud Allie. This Roslindale + Graphik font combo is lovely and note the random project on website load. If you’re wondering how I discovered the typefaces (as the style names are hidden), it’s tip #5 in my article discovering fonts in web pages.

Full Review


by Rob Hope @robhope via One Page Love