As many of you know, I am a terrible when it comes to programming and as a result sometimes when I try new things here on FactPile the site blows up for a bit of time. Like yesterday, some comments were lost due to a database error. So, I had to activate a back-up copy and move on from there.

So, as part of my constant tinkering, I am always looking for ways to improve performance of the site. One of the ways to help the site run smoother is to use caching. This helps to lighten the load on the server and is intended to provide faster loading pages. I had been using a simple caching plugin for this site that I wasn’t thrilled with, but it helped a little.

I stumbled upon a much better caching plugin for wordpress yesterday and began to install it. The instructions were simple enough and I figured it would be a no-brainer to get it up and running. Well, that’s when all the server issues began to arise.

After trying a few options for about 10 minutes, I decide to email the creator of the new caching plugin himself. Now, most times when you do this, all you get is an automated reply indicating that the person got your email and will be in contact with you shortly. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised and got an email from Frederick Townes, the writer of the plugin.

He politely reminded me to review all the installation instructions for the plugin which I did since most times, I am too stuck in my ways and assume that I can figure it out. After reading all the instructions, it still wasn’t working. So I emailed him back. This correspondence continued for the next half hour or so of Frederick making suggestions and providing me tips on what to do. He then offered to configure the plugin for me to make sure I couldn’t screw it up.

Now, keep in mind that Frederick is the CEO of W3 Edge located in Boston. As the CEO of a company, I’m sure he has much more important things to do than worry about some blog that he’s never heard of before.

After the site recovered from the database issue, I got an email from Frederick with a link to all the settings needed to run on FactPile. He had even gone through the setup process to ensure that the plugin was working properly and so that I couldn’t screw it up again. He also pointed out some server issues that need to be resolved that would help FactPile run better.

That is what a great wordpress consultant does – they quickly find and assess your issues, and provide remedy. I can’t thank Frederick enough for his help in this matter and because of his efforts, FactPile runs more efficient than it ever has. Woot!