web design | Mike Matera Dot Com!

Divi Theme: You Can Do Better

Mike Matera — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 19:23:24 +0000

I’ve been a Divi owner for so long that it feels like we’re practically related. I bought my Elegant Themes subscription nearly a decade ago, which means I’ve had plenty of time to almost use Divi for serious projects—and then decide against it. Repeatedly. And with conviction. Owning Divi has felt less like using a […]

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Black Friday? Cyber Monday? No Thanks, I’m Good.

Mike Matera — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:50:00 +0000

Full-Site Editing, especially with the latest default WordPress theme, may be the best-kept secret in WordPress. This post hits as I mark 16 years working with WordPress. Before that, I had been making web sites for almost nine years. I’ve seen plenty of changes in web publishing in general – and with WordPress in particular. […]

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A WordPress Child Theme Alternative

Mike Matera — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 02:11:16 +0000

You find a knockout WordPress theme. With minor font, color, and layout tweaks, it’ll look great. Add in some custom functions, such as support for certain post types or control over social media thumbnails, and it’ll be almost perfect. Normally, you’d make a child theme for that. A child theme piggybacks off the theme you’re considering, letting you […]

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Brilliant CSS Plugin for WordPress

Mike Matera — Thu, 19 Nov 2015 22:16:18 +0000

Here’s a quick overview of what may well be the best CSS plugin available for WordPress. SiteOrigin CSS SiteOrigin, creator of the popular and very customizable Vantage theme, also authors a comprehensive set of plugins that not only enhance every theme it releases, but can also be used to enhance almost any other WordPress theme. […]

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Vantage WordPress Theme: Customizing the Site Title and Tagline

Mike Matera — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 05:54:51 +0000

Here’s a quick solution to problem with an otherwise stellar WordPress theme. No matter whether you use either the free or premium version of Vantage, you’ll notice that there’s no way to customize the site title in the theme’s header. It’s set to a gray default that you can’t change, neither via the WordPress Customizer nor […]

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My Erstwhile Top WordPress Theme Picks

Mike Matera — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 20:20:08 +0000

Note: I’m in the process of an updated post on my favorite WordPress themes. Though the themes I reviewed here were quite good in 2015, they are not all among my top picks in 2020 (however, the free version of Make remains a decent choice, while Vantage and other SiteOrigin products still rock!). I’ll be […]

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Disable WordPress Page Comments by Default

Mike Matera — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 18:35:24 +0000

It’s 2014, and WordPress is well into its 11th year of existence. It’s become the most widely-used Web site CMS (content-management system) in the world. So, why do “static” pages still accept user comments by default? Specifically, when you create a new page (a page, not a post) in WordPress, it allows users to add comments […]

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Questions to Ask – Before Yg

Mike Matera — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:05:57 +0000

You want a good-looking Web site, but you’re put off by the technical details. Perhaps you don’t want to struggle with Web-design software. Or perhaps you dislike the generic look of pages created with automatic site builders. If you don’t want to tackle Web authoring yourself – or you have complex or highly-specific needs – […]

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