The document discusses using WordPress for complex enterprise applications, emphasizing the need for improved code quality and maintainability through an MV* approach. It highlights the evolution of WordPress from simple blogging to a robust platform for business, advocating for the use of a new architecture called 'wplib' to facilitate development. The presentation also addresses best practices and modern workflows in web development for agencies serving larger organizations.

1. Ye ole WordPress
for Big Budgets
a.k.a
Using WordPress for Complex
Enterprise Applications
#wpfbb

2. The Slide Added
After Presentation
To the designers whose sensibilities I offended
for using Papyrus, I apologize sincerely.
I am not a designer and do not recognize these
things. I blame Apple and Keynote.

3.
We Champion WordPress
for the Lords (Agencies)
who service the
Kings (Larger Organizations)
- Mike Schinkel - @mikeschinkel
Managing Partner
NewClarity Consulting LLC
About Me?

4. Show of Hands?
Developer of Locked-down Client Site?
Internal Developer of Corporate Sites
Developer of Vertical Market Products
None of the above?

5. What Means Enterprise?
Performance & Scalability?
Security Concerns?
Rapid Development?
Professional Workflow?
Scaling Complexity?
Or Big Company Politics?!?

6. This Talk:
Scaling
Complexity

7. Schinkel’s Law
The Code Quality, Maintainability
and Extensibility of a
WordPress Theme (or Plugin) is
inversely proportional
to how visually impressive it is.

8. A Tale of Two
WordPresses

9. In Days of Yor
WordPress was Just a Blog
Themes were Just Templates
Sites were Built by Adding Plugins
And Cowboy Coders Ruled the Land

10. Then the Settlers Came
They Wanted Sites for Business
Agencies Emerged to Serve Them
Designers Envisioned Great Designs
And the Settlers Wanted it Now
But the Cowboy Coders Failed Them All

11. New Sheriffs Are in Town
They are Cleaning up Bad Practices
They are Requiring Version Control and
Multi-server Deployment Processes
And they Separate Concerns in Code
All while Respecting the Townsfolk

12. Are Best Practices
Always Best?
i.e. “No Post Types
in a Theme!”

13. Agency-built Sites:
Do Not Need
to Switch
Custom Themes!

14. So Let’s Slay
Another
Sacred Cow

15. Death to
“The Loop”
Yeah: It’s LoopConf.
I Get the Irony.

16. Instead: Use an
MV* Approach
(Inspired by the Backbone
library for Javascript)

17. Models & Views:
For each Post Type
For each Taxonomy
For each User Role
For Comments
And more….

18. “List” Classes
wrap
WP_Query

19.
$partners
=
new
WP_Query(
array(
‘post_type’
=>
‘lp_person’,
‘order’
=>
‘asc’
‘orderby’
=>
‘title’
‘meta_key’
=>
‘_position’,
‘meta_value’=>
‘partner’,
‘posts_per_page’
=>
99,
));?>
<ul
id=“partner-­‐list”>
<?php
while
($partners-­‐>have_posts()):
$partners-­‐>the_post();
?>
<li><a
href=“<?php
get_permalink();
?>”>
<?php
the_title();
?></a></li>
<?php
endwhile;
?></ul>
Typical Theme Code

20.
<ul
id=“partner-­‐list”>
!
<?php
foreach
(LawPress::partner_list()
as
$partner):
?>
<li><?php
$partner-­‐>the_title_link();
?></li>
!
<?php
endforeach;
?>
!
</ul>
MV* Theme Code

21.
$person
=
new
LawPress_Person(
$post
);
<h1><?php
$person-­‐>the_fullname();
?></h1>
<?php
$person-­‐>the_template(‘person-­‐contact’);
?>
<div
class=“bio”>
<?php
$person-­‐>the_content_html();
?>
</div>
<div
class=“team-­‐list”>
<?php
$person-­‐>team_list()-­‐>the_template(‘team-­‐link’);
?>
</div>
Full Visibility for Themers

22.
!
<div
id=“<?php
$article-­‐>the_slug_attr();
?>”>
!
<h1><?php
$article-­‐>the_title();
?></h1>
!
<?php
$article-­‐>the_content_html();
?>
!
<img
src=“<?php
$article-­‐>the_image_url();
?>”
!
</div>
!
Suffixes Define Escape

23. Convention-Driven Escaping
_attr() => esc_attr()
_html() => wp_kses_post()
_link() => wp_kses_post()
_url() => esc_url()
(none) => esc_html()

24. Automatic View Methods
Define a Model method slug()
to automatically get a
View method the_slug_attr()
with automatic escaping!

25. Benefits of MV*
Business Logic in the Model
Repetitive HTML in Views
Simple, Easy-to-read Templates
Easier Fragment Caching
Automated Testing (mostly)

26. Benefits, cont’d
Fewer Global Variable Bugs
Fewer Hook Side-effect Bugs
Separates Team Member Concerns
HTML/CSS vs. Javascript vs. PHP/MySQL
Enables Reusable Modules

27. Techniques in use at :
Dell
Coca-Cola
Internally

28. But you ask,
How?!?

29. Announcing
WPLib
Based on~5 Years
Experience

30. WPLib
An Architecture, not an MVC Plugin
A “Foundation Library” to support
the architecture.
Built for Coders, not for
End-users or “Sitebuilders”

31. Available Now
Open Source - GPLv2
On github.com/wplib
Docs are on wplib.org

32. WPLib Goal:
Adoption among Agencies
Curated Reusable Modules
Enable Faster Implementation
of Complex Sites

33. Thank You!
mike@newclarity.net
@mikeschinkel