George Mamadashvili’s Bookmark Card block is the sort of simple plugin that is easy to overlook. It is one of those plugins that suffers from the lack of block discoverability in WordPress at the moment. Like many other one-off blocks, you don’t know you need it until you need it.
The plugin is essentially an embed block, but it is not specific to one website or service like Twitter and YouTube. Instead, it allows users to add a “card” for any URL in their content.
Mamadashvili has previously worked as a developer on several blocks for the Sorta Brilliant brand, which sported some of my favorite block-related plugins, such as Emoji Conbini. Unfortunately, those plugins are no longer in the WordPress directory at the request of the owner, Nick Hamze.
However, Mamadashvili has continued building separately. Yesterday, he launched Toggles, a block for creating FAQs, hiding spoilers, and adding simple accordion elements..
I have had his Bookmark Card block literally bookmarked for a few months, just now finally giving it the overdue trial run that it deserves.
The name of the plugin brings me back a few years. There was once a time when bookmarks were a common feature of the web. Entire sites were dedicated to managing them, and some people created their own bookmark pages on their WordPress sites. Some were mere blogrolls. Others were more advanced galleries with images. Even the “link” post format archive in WordPress has served as a bookmark system.
The idea of bookmarks is about preserving pieces of the web that interests us. So, I opened my dusty old recipe folder in Chrome and started putting together a recipes page for fun, hoping for some inspiration in my culinary pursuits.
I enjoy this recipe page a lot more than the plain links hidden away in my Google bookmarks. I suppose I could get even more creative and break everything down by category on different pages.
The Bookmark Card block currently ships with two styles. The horizontal style, shown above, places the image to the right of the card content. The default style, shown below, adds the image at the top. Users can also try combinations with other blocks for unique looks, such as adding cards to the Columns block.
The plugin can be useful in many contexts. Users can add URLs that are not supported via the regular embed blocks. They may also enjoy the shared card style for all of their embedded links.
Future Ideas for the Plugin
The simplicity of Bookmark Card is part of its allure. However, it is also overly simple in some respects. The only option it provides is the choice between a vertical and horizontal card style. This limits its potential, especially if the default design does not match the user’s theme.
The plugin does not need a plethora of options. However, it could use some basics. Text and background colors are a must. Base typography options, such as selecting the font size, would be nice-to-have features. Integration with the Gutenberg plugin’s newer border-radius component would work well with this type of block. Like all blocks I test or use, I also ask that plugin developers add support for wide and full-width alignments.
A few additional styles or layout options would help. For example, a horizontal style that moves the image to the left of the card content would be a good option.
The plugin, which is currently at version 1.0, is a good starting point. However, it could be much better with just a handful of extras in future updates.
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Do you want to disable automatic update email notifications in WordPress?
By default, WordPress sends email notifications for automatic updates of WordPress plugins, themes, and the core itself. These notification emails can get annoying.
In this article, we will show you how to easily disable automatic update email notifications in WordPress.
Some of these updates are automatically installed, and you will receive an email notification that your site has been updated.
Similarly, WordPress also allows you to enable automatic updates for WordPress plugins and themes. This means that you can spend less time updating plugins and more time growing your business.
You can enable automatic updates for plugins that you trust by visiting the Plugins » All Plugins page in your WordPress admin dashboard.
Simply click on the ‘Enable auto-updates’ link next to the plugin that you want to update itself.
For WordPress themes, you can visit the Appearance » Themes page and click on a theme.
This will bring up a theme information popup where you must click on ‘Enable auto-updates’.
WordPress will send you an email notification when any of your plugins, theme, or WordPress core is updated.
This can get annoying, particularly for users who manage multiple WordPress websites. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could control and turn off these email notifications?
Let’s take a look at how to easily disable automatic update email notifications in WordPress. You can use the quick links below to jump to the method you want to use:
Method 1: Disable Automatic Update Email Notification Using Code (Recommended)
This method requires you to add code to your WordPress files. If you haven’t done this before, then take a look at our beginner’s guide on pasting snippets from the web into WordPress.
You can manually add the code below to your theme’s functions.php file. But this can be tricky since a mistake can bring down your whole website. Plus, if you update your theme, then any custom code snippets will be erased.
We will show you a better approach below, which is using a code snippets plugin.
1. Disable Auto Update Notification Emails for WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins
Luckily, there is an easy and safe way to disable auto update notification emails in WordPress, and that’s using the WPCode plugin.
WPCode lets you easily add custom code snippets in WordPress without editing your theme’s functions.php file.
Plus, it has a full code library inside the plugin that includes ready-to-use, verified code snippets for popular feature requests like disabling automatic update emails, removing the WordPress version number, disabling comments, and more.
Once the plugin is activated, you need to go to Code Snippets » Library from your WordPress admin dashboard.
Then, search for the ‘Disable Automatic Updates Emails’ snippet and click on the ‘Use snippet’ button.
WPCode will then automatically add the code and set the proper insertion method.
The snippet has three filters, with one for each type of auto-update email: WordPress core, WordPress plugins, and WordPress themes.
If you don’t want to use a particular filter, simply add a // at the beginning of the filter line.
For example, if you still want to get auto-update emails for WordPress plugins, add a // to the plugin, and the filter will stop it from executing.
After that, all you have to do is toggle the switch from ‘Inactive’ to ‘Active’.
Then, click the ‘Update’ button.
Now you will no longer get automatic update emails from WordPress.
2. Disable Auto Update Notification Emails for Core Updates
You can also use WPCode to disable notification emails for automatic WordPress core updates. Instead of choosing an existing code snippet, you will need to add this code as a custom snippet:
Upon activation, you need to visit the Settings » Notification emails page. This is where the plugin allows you to manage all WordPress notification emails, including auto-update notifications.
Simply scroll down to the auto-update options and uncheck the box next to the notifications you want to disable.
Finally, don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.
2. WP Mail SMTP
Another plugin you can use to disable automatic update email notifications is WP Mail SMTP. It’s the best SMTP service for WordPress and ensures your emails are delivered to your inbox.
WP Mail SMTP lets you easily manage the emails sent by WordPress through its Email Controls. However, you will need the WP Mail SMTP Pro license to unlock the Email Controls option.
Next, you will need to install and activate WP Mail SMTP Pro on your website. You can check out our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin for more details.
Once the plugin is active, navigate to WP Mail SMTP » Settings from your WordPress admin panel and click the ‘Email Controls’ tab.
After that, scroll down to the ‘Automatic Updates’ section and disable email notifications for plugins, themes, WP core status, and full log.
When you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save Settings’ button.
That’s all. You have successfully disabled WordPress auto-update email notifications for your website.
Rolling Back WordPress Updates if Something Goes Wrong
Because WordPress plugins run on many independent WordPress hosting and server configurations, sometimes a plugin update may break a feature on your website or make it inaccessible.
This is easy to troubleshoot and fix. First, you need to figure out which plugin has caused the issue by deactivating all WordPress plugins and reactivating them one by one.
Once you have isolated the plugin causing the issue, you can use the WP Rollback plugin. It allows you to switch to the previous version of a WordPress plugin or theme.
You will also want to make sure that emails sent to users are delivered, including forgotten password emails, payment receipt emails, and order confirmation notifications.
To send emails, WordPress uses the PHP mail function. This function is easily misused by spammers, and your emails may end up in the spam folder.
To make sure all your important WordPress notification emails reach your users’ inboxes, you will need a proper SMTP service to send emails.
This is where the WP Mail SMTP plugin comes in. It uses an SMTP service to send all your WordPress notification emails.