Ideas and stories about technology, business, and communication.

Any product, or experience, or artwork – anything you will build – is made up of pieces. And content always sits at the center. Content is the fleshy part of media.

The other pieces include structure, style, and functionality.  These parts layout a skeleton, decorates the aesthetic, and adds usefulness. This  model translates well to modern web development. HTML defines the structure. CSS describes the style. JavaScript adds interactivity. But always, content is King.

That’s why a robust content management system (CMS) is critical. Most clients prefer to have one. It makes content updates easy. WordPress is the modern choice. It’s what this blog is built on.

A website I built featured the work of a visual artist – paintings, etchings, photos. It had a lot of content. A lot of content that needed massaging. As you may have guessed, I chose WordPress to manage it.

This was a situation where I had to be a project manager, and deliver results. Although the content itself was impressive, it was delivered as image files in various formats and different sizes. Filenames were not consistent. And the meta-data – descriptions, titles, notes – was listed is excel files that didn’t always match-up to the image’s filename. This required a lot of spot checking, and manual work. I did my best to automate as much as I could, and make things uniform.

Resizing multiple images

Resizing a batch of images can be done directly in Mac OS by selecting the files, and opening them in Preview. From the ‘Edit’ menu, I clicked ‘Select All’. Then, in the ‘Tool’ menu I found ‘Adjust Size’. Windows has a similar feature, as does other image manipulation apps.

Renaming multiple files

I had to make the filenames match what was listed in the meta-data spreadsheet. Here’s the command I used, in Mac OS, to truncate filenames to the first eight characters:

rename -n 's/(.{8}).*(\.jpg)$/$1$2/' *.jpg

Batch uploading WordPress posts

Each piece of art was a WordPress post, with a different title, meta-values, and image. Once all of the files were sized and named properly, I uploaded them to the server via sFTP. Each category of art (paintings, photos, etc.) was a folder. I created a temporary database table that matched the columns from the meta-data spreadsheet I was given.

CREATE TABLE `content` (
  `content_id` int,
  `title` varchar(250) NOT NULL,
  `medium` varchar(250) NOT NULL,
  `category_id` varchar(250) NOT NULL,
  `size` varchar(250) NOT NULL,
  `date` varchar(250) NOT NULL,
  `filename` varchar(100) NOT NULL,
  `processed` int
) ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=latin1;
COMMIT;

I wrote a PHP script that would loop through all records, and create a new post for each. I had to make sure to include core WordPress functionality,  so that I would be able to use the wp_insert_post() method.

require_once('/var/www/html/wp-load.php');

Once I connected to the database, I queried my temporary table, excluding any records that have been marked as already uploaded:

$query = "SELECT * FROM `content` where `processed` != 1"; 
$result = mysqli_query($mysql_link, $query);

While looping through each record, I would look up the WordPress category ID and slug based on the provided category name. This would allow my code to assign the post to the correct category, and to know which folder the image file was in. Once the post is inserted, I take that post ID and assign meta-values. At the end of the loop, I mark this record as processed.

while ($row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($result)) {

    $category = $row['category'];
    $content_id = $row['content_id'];
    $term_id = "";
    $slug = "";
    $category_query = $mysqli->prepare("SELECT * FROM `wp_terms` where name = :name");
    $category_query->bind_param(array(':name' => $category));
    $category_result = $category_query->execute();
    if (mysqli_num_rows($category_result) > 0) {
        while($cat_row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($category_result)) {
           $term_id = $cat_row['term_id'];
           $slug = $cat_row['slug'];
        }
    }
    $post_id = wp_insert_post(array(
        'post_status' => 'publish',
        'post_title' => $row['title'],
        'post_content' => " ",
        'post_category' => $term_id
        
    ));
    
    if ($post_id) { 
        //meta-values
        add_post_meta($post_id, 'medium', $row['medium']);
        add_post_meta($post_id, 'size', $row['size']);
        add_post_meta($post_id, 'date', $row['date']);
        $img = $slug . $row['image'];
        add_post_meta($post_id, 'image_file', $img);
    }

    $update = $mysqli->prepare("UPDATE `content` SET processed = 1 where content_id = :content_id");
    $update->bind_param(array(':content_id' => $content_id));
    $update = $category_query->execute(); 
}

Managing clients, and their content, can be the most challenging  part of web development. Using the right software for the job makes it easier. So does having a toolbox of techniques, and being clever.

In a previous post, I wrote about creating an image carousel using basic web tech: HTML, CSS, and vanilla JavaScript. No frameworks, no jQuery. This is an update to that. The major difference is that it supports multiple carousels on the same page. I also added a try/catch, in case no carousel data is found in the database. I recently used this implementation on a WordPress site. Each carousel was a post (of a custom carousel post-type), that had each image attached. On that post-type archive page, I looped through the posts, and created a separate carousel for each.

Here is the updated JavaScript.

try{
    var galleries = document.getElementsByClassName("carousel-class");
    for(var i = 0; i < galleries.length; i++){
        showGalleries(galleries.item(i), 0);    
    }
}catch(e){
    console.log(e);
}

function showGalleries(gallery, galleryIndex){
    var galleryDots = gallery.getElementsByClassName("dot-button");
    var gallerySlides = gallery.getElementsByClassName("my-slide");
    if (galleryIndex < 0){galleryIndex = gallerySlides.length-1}
    galleryIndex++;
    for(var ii = 0; ii < gallerySlides.length; ii++){ gallerySlides[ii].style.display = "none"; galleryDots[ii].classList.remove('active-dot'); } if (galleryIndex > gallerySlides.length){galleryIndex = 1}
    gallerySlides[galleryIndex-1].style.display = "block";
    var resizeEvent = new Event('resize');
    window.dispatchEvent(resizeEvent);
    galleryDots[galleryIndex-1].classList.add('active-dot');
    //hide gallery navigation, if there is only 1
    if(gallerySlides.length < 2){
        var dotContainer = gallery.getElementsByClassName("dots");
        var arrowContainer = gallery.getElementsByClassName("gallery-arrows");
        dotContainer[0].style.display = "none";
        arrowContainer[0].style.display = "none";
    }
    gallery.setAttribute("data", galleryIndex);
}

//gallery dots
document.addEventListener('click', function (event) {
    if (!event.target.matches('.carousel-class .dot-button')){ return; }
    var index = event.target.getAttribute("data"); 
    var parentGallery = event.target.closest(".carousel-class")
    showGalleries(parentGallery, index);

}, false);

//gallery arrows

//left arrow
document.addEventListener('click', function (event) {
    if (!event.target.matches('.fa-arrow-left')){ return; }
    var parentGallery = event.target.closest(".carousel-class")
    var galleryIndex = parentGallery.getAttribute("data");
    galleryIndex = galleryIndex - 2;
    
    showGalleries(parentGallery, galleryIndex);
}, false);

//right arrow
document.addEventListener('click', function (event) {
    if (!event.target.matches('.fa-arrow-right')){ return; }
    var parentGallery = event.target.closest(".carousel-class")
    var galleryIndex = parentGallery.getAttribute("data");

    showGalleries(parentGallery, galleryIndex);
}, false);

You’ll notice that each carousel section has a data attribute assigned, so our JS knows which one to affect. This version also includes left and right navigation arrows, in addition to the navigation dots we already had.

HTML:

<div class="ap-carousel" data="0">

<?php $num_slides = 0; foreach($posts as $post){ $num_slides++; ?>

	<div class="ap-slide">
		<a href="<?php the_permalink($post->ID); ?>" title="<?php the_title(); ?>">
			<img src="<?php echo esc_url(get_the_post_thumbnail_url($post->ID)); ?>" class="zoom">
		</a>
	</div>

<?php } ?>
<div class="nav-dots">
	<?php $active = "active-dot"; for($x = 0; $x < $num_slides; $x++){ ?>
		<div class="dot"><button data="<?php echo $x; ?>" type="button" class="dot-button <?php echo $active; $active = ''; ?>">b</button></div>
	<?php } ?>
</div>
<div class="gallery-arrows">
    <i class="fas fa-arrow-left"></i>
    <i class="fas fa-arrow-right"></i>
</div>


</div>

I emphasize simplicity when building solutions. I avoid including superfluous code libraries when a vanilla technique works. It’s helpful to keep track of solutions I engineer, and try to reuse them where they fit. And when they need to be adjusted to work with a new problem, I enhance them while still trying to avoid complexity.

On a recent project, I needed a simple image carousel on the homepage. And then, on the gallery page I needed a fully polished solution. Sometimes, using a framework is the right choice. Others, a fully built out toolkit can be overkill.

The Vanilla Option

First, here is the home-rolled version that I came up with. It was integrated into a custom WordPress template. I loop through a set of posts within my carousel wrapper, creating a slide div with that record’s featured image. I keep track of how many slides get built. Beneath the carousel wrapper I create a navigation div, and build a dot button for each slide. Each dot gets an index assigned to it, saved to its button’s data attribute.

HTML:

<div class="ap-carousel">

<?php $num_slides = 0; foreach($posts as $post){ $num_slides++; ?>

	<div class="ap-slide">
		<a href="<?php the_permalink($post->ID); ?>" title="<?php the_title(); ?>">
			<img src="<?php echo esc_url(get_the_post_thumbnail_url($post->ID)); ?>" class="zoom">
		</a>
	</div>

<?php } ?>
<div class="nav-dots">
	<?php $active = "active-dot"; for($x = 0; $x < $num_slides; $x++){ ?>
		<div class="dot"><button data="<?php echo $x; ?>" type="button" class="dot-button <?php echo $active; $active = ''; ?>">b</button></div>
	<?php } ?>
</div>


</div>

CSS:

I used CSS animation to create a fade effect between slides. I position the navigation dots using CSS flexbox layout.

.ap-carousel{
	position: relative;
}
.ap-slide{
	display: none;
	margin: 0 auto;
}	 
.ap-slide img{
	width: auto;
	display: block;
	margin: 0 auto;
	max-height: 90vh;
	-webkit-animation-name: fade;
	-webkit-animation-duration: 1.5s;
	animation-name: fade;
	animation-duration: 1.5s;
}
@-webkit-keyframes fade {
	from {opacity: .4} 
	to {opacity: 1}
}
@keyframes fade {
	from {opacity: .4} 
	to {opacity: 1}
}
.nav-dots{
	display: flex;
	justify-content: center;
}
.dot button{
	display: block;
	border-radius: 100%;
	width: 12px;
	height: 12px;
	margin-right: 10px;
	padding: 0;
	border: none;
	text-indent: -9999px;
	background: black;
	cursor: pointer;
}
.dot button.active-dot{
	background: red;
}

JavaScript:

Finally, I create a JS function to change the slide and active dot based on a timer. I attach an event listener to the dots that will change the active slide based on the saved index data.

var slideIndex = 0;
showSlides();

function showSlides() {
	var i;
	var slides = document.getElementsByClassName("ap-slide");
	var dots = document.getElementsByClassName("dot-button");
	for (i = 0; i < slides.length; i++) { slides[i].style.display = "none"; dots[i].classList.remove("active-dot"); } slideIndex++; if (slideIndex > slides.length) {slideIndex = 1} 
	slides[slideIndex-1].style.display = "block"; 
	dots[slideIndex-1].classList.add("active-dot")
	setTimeout(showSlides, 5000); // Change image every 5 seconds
}

document.addEventListener('click', function(event){
	if(!event.target.matches('.dot-button')) return;

	slideIndex = event.target.getAttribute("data");
	showSlides();
}, false);

That’s a simple and lite solution. It worked fine for the homepage of this recent project, but the main gallery page needed something more complex. I choose Galleria, a JavaScript framework.

The Framework Option

I implemented this option onto the WordPress category archive page. For this project, each piece of artwork is its own post. In my category template file I loop through posts, and populate a JSON object with the data about each slide. Initially, I had built HTML elements for each slide, but that caused slow page load times. The JSON data option is significantly faster. Here’s what my code setup looked like:

<div id="galleria"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
	window.galleryData = [];
</script>
<?php if (have_posts()): while (have_posts()) : the_post(); 

$featured_img_url = get_the_post_thumbnail_url(); 

?>

<script>
window.galleryData.push({ image: "<?php echo esc_url($featured_img_url); ?>", artinfo: "<div class='galleria-img-info'><h3 class='title'><a href='<?php the_permalink(); ?>'><?php the_title(); ?></a></h3><?php $size=get_post_meta(get_the_ID(), 'size', true);$size=addslashes($size);$date=get_post_meta(get_the_ID(), 'date', true);$materials=get_post_meta(get_the_ID(), 'materials', true);if(! empty ( $size ) ){echo '<p><strong>Dimensions:</strong> ' . $size . '</p>';}if(! empty ( $date ) ){echo '<p><strong>Date:</strong> ' . $date . '</p>';}if(! empty ( $materials ) ){echo '<p><strong>Materials:</strong> ' . $materials . '</p>';} ?><p class='you-can-mouse'>You can click the image to enlarge it. </p></div></div>" })
</script>

<?php } ?>

<script src="/galleria/galleria-1.5.7.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
// Load the classic theme
Galleria.loadTheme('/galleria/galleria.classic.min.js');
//https://docs.galleria.io/collection/25-options
Galleria.configure({
    imageCrop: false,
    transitionSpeed:1000,
    maxScaleRatio:1,
    swipe:true,
    thumbnails: 'none',
    transition: 'fade',
    lightbox: true
});
// Initialize Galleria
Galleria.run('#galleria', {dataSource: window.galleryData, autoplay: 5000, extend: function() {
            // var gallery = this; // "this" is the gallery instance
            // gallery.play(); // call the play method
        }
});

Galleria.ready(function() {
        	
	$(".loading").hide();
		this.bind('image', function(e) {
	});

});
 </script>

I think it’s best to avoid using plug-ins when possible. It reduces bloat and “black-box” code.

The mobile “hamburger” menu is a staple of responsive user interface design. Users know that clicking on that three-lined icon will show a menu. It’s a modern solution to displaying long navigation lists on smaller screens.

“A ‘hamburger’ menu is a button (usually in the corner of a screen) that toggles a menu or list of hyperlinks.”

Below is a simple rendition using basic web technology. I used this recently as part of  a website that showcases the work of a graphic artist.

HTML:

Drop this code in your header file for the menu (list of links) itself.

<div class="mobile-menu">
	<span class="close-mobile-menu"><i class="far fa-times-circle"></i></span>

	<ul>
			 
			<li><a href="/biography">Biography</a></li>
			<li><a href="/education">Education & Awards</a></li>
			<li><a href="/reviews?order=asc">Reviews</a></li>
			<li><a href="/etchings">Etchings</a></li>
			<li><a href="/category/paintings/1960s/">Paintings</a></li>
			<li><a href="/mukfa-about">Mukfa</a></li>
			<li><a href="/category/drawings/human-comedy/">Drawings</a></li>
			<li><a href="/exhibitions-and-collections">Exhibitions & Collections</a></li>
			 
	</ul>

</div>

Next, add this to your existing navigation, or wherever you’d like the hamburger button to show.

<div class="mobile-hamburger mobile-only"><i class="fas fa-bars"></i></div>

I used FontAwesome to generate the hamburger icon itself (and the close icon). Alternatively, you can use an image file.

CSS:

This code sets the hamburger button to only show on mobile devices. Mobile devices are specified at 787px or less by a media query.

.mobile-hamburger{
	font-size: 36px;
	color: #005FAA;
	float: right;
	cursor: pointer;
	margin-right: 16px;
	margin-top: 5px;

}
.mobile-menu{
	display: none;
	width: 100%;
	background: #DCC7AA;
	position: fixed;
	height: 100%;
	right: 0;
	top: 0;
	z-index: 20;
}
.mobile-menu ul{
	list-style-type: none;
	font-size: 16px;
	text-align: left;
	padding: 25px;
	margin: 50px 0px;
}

.mobile-menu ul li{
	margin-top: 15px;
}

.close-mobile-menu{
	position: absolute;
	top: 5px;
	right: 16px;
	font-size: 36px;
	cursor: pointer;
}

@media only screen and (min-width:787px) {
	.mobile-only{display: none;}
}

JavaScript:

With jQuery:

(function ($, root, undefined) {
	
	$(function () {
		
		'use strict';
		
		// DOM ready, take it away
		$(".mobile-hamburger").click(function(){
			$(".mobile-menu").show();
		});

		$(".close-mobile-menu").click(function(){
			$(".mobile-menu").hide();
		});

		 
		
	});
	
})(jQuery, this);

Or, plain vanilla JS:

document.addEventListener('click', function (event) {

	if (!event.target.matches('.mobile-hamburger')){
		return;
	}

	document.getElementsByClassName('mobile-menu')[0].style.display = 'block';

}, false);

document.addEventListener('click', function (event) {

	if (!event.target.matches('.close-mobile-menu')){
		return;
	}

	document.getElementsByClassName('mobile-menu')[0].style.display = 'none';	

}, false);

By the way, this is the tool I’ve been using to encode the HTML I paste into my WordPress posts (that way, it doesn’t actually render on page): https://github.com/mathiasbynens/mothereff.in/tree/master/html-entities