WordPress Designer - Sidera Design
Just another WordPress site
this plugin looks pretty cool!
WordPress lacks an easy way to create unique page templates from within the admin. Some themes will give you several templates to choose from, or you can buy plugins for specific pages like landing pages, but Impact allows you to create any type of page layout with a WYSIWYG type editor.
If you’re a developer, the unlimited license is 88$, so you can install it on multiple sites.
To download your free copy, just fill in the form in the sidebar, which will take you to the download page.
I never cease to be amazed by the quantity, quality and diversity of WordPress plugins. There are several ways to find the right plugin for the task at hand such as searching on google, on WordPress.org or reading a blog post which lists the most popular WordPress plugins.
Over the past couple of years, I have developed many WordPress websites, and I’ve found myself relying on the same list of core must-have plugins. Through trial and error, I have selected the most reliable, powerful, less resource intensive, most actively developed plugins to use on all the sites I develop for clients.
And now, I am sharing this list with you, so go download it already!
I’d love to read your comments about the ultimiate list of WordPress plugins, feedback and suggestions are welcome, just leave a comment below.
My first guest post has been published on the Freelancefolder blog today!
I really enjoy finding creative ways to use WordPress and its plugins.
The article explains how to use certain plugin in combination to add more functionality and flexibility to your WordPress site.
Read the full article at freelancefolder.com
If you’re running a WordPress site, you’ve probably seen the update notification. The new version is 3.0.2, and this is a security patch to stop hackers gaining access to your site.
For more details visit WordPress.org
This update encouraged me to check if my site was secure enough to prevent it from being hacked. So I’ve compiled a list of resources that you should read and implement immediately.
One thing I’d like to say is that the update process has improved a lot since compared to earlier versions. It’s still a good idea to do a backup before updating, but you should’t be nervous about pressing the button anymore!
First, here is a presentation from WebDevStudios.com, which is pretty extensive and is a good start to hardening any WordPress installation.
The WordPress codex is always a good place to start when looking for resources about any subject related to WordPress. It seems obvious but sometimes we forget that.
http://codex.wordpress.org/Hardening_WordPress
http://codex.wordpress.org/FAQ_Security
Digging into WordPress has an excellent article about WordPress security : WordPress security lockdown
WPBeginner.com : http://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/11-vital-tips-and-hacks-to-protect-your-wordpress-admin-area/
Note : one of the tips is about using an SSL certificate, I advise you not to use this unless you know what you’re doing! You need to have a valid certificate, which on shared hosting plans, is a paid upgrade. If you install an SSL plugin it could make your site inaccessible to you.
These are the plugins I recommend and install on my client’s sites:
Vaultpress is a new service by the founders of WordPress which will automatically backup your site whenever content changes on your site, apply security fixes and more. Unfortunatley you need a Golden Ticket to gain access to the service, and it’s not that affordable for a small business or solo entrepreneur or blogger. I recommend backupbuddy instead.
Cloudflare is a new free service that aims to add a protection layer to your site, and also caches your pages for faster delivery. I recently configured my main domain to use this service and I’m really impressed. It has really sped up my site, and it also offers analytics.
It protects your site against hacker attempts as well. I really recommend that you try it.
https://www.cloudflare.com/overview.html
I also encourage you to watch this interview of Matt Mullenweg, where he talks about how security among other things : Matt Mullenweg at the Big Web Show
If you’d rather let a professional handle this for you, I offer affordable monthly maintenance plans. Contact me for more information.
So you hired a WordPress designer to create a unique website for your business, and you’d like to start learning how to use WordPress. Here are some resources that will teach you how to begin publishing posts and pages and generally maintaining your website.
The resources I mention here are mostly targeted to editors and authors, not developers. There are many resources for more advanced topics, but that would be the subject for another post.
If you need help with a plugin, a theme or any other aspect of managing a WordPress website, this is an excellent resource. You can usually get answers from the theme or plugin author themselves, or even suggest a feature to add in the next update!
http://wordpress.org/support/
These days, I tend to prefer learning by watching screencasts or video tutorials. When they are well executed it requires less effort than reading a lengthy article and can help digest complex topics much easier. These guys have produced some fantastic video tutorials for learning the basics and I always refer my clients to them.
http://www.wp101.com/
This is an excellent blog to add to your feed reader. They also offer a few free ebook guides to download,
They regularly feature articles about WordPress.
http://maketecheasier.com/category/internet-tech/wordpress
Thesis is a WordPress theme that offers great features, and they also have a blog with very informative articles. Definitely worth taking a look.
http://diythemes.com/thesis/
Another resource I discovered recently, it seems to aggregate videos from sites such as Youtube and Vimeo. Quality may vary, but it’s a huge resource!
http://wordpressvideos.tv/
This blog has a beginner’s section with tutorials that will help you make the most of your WordPress site.
http://www.wpbeginner.com/category/beginners-guide/
This site is by WordPress itself. It mostly features recordings of WordPress related events, so if you want to keep up to date on the latest WordPress news, this is a good place to start.
http://wordpress.tv/
If you need an answer to a support question urgently, you can ask it at WPQuestions.com. You’ll get answers from top WordPress developers in minutes for the price of a coffee. A good alternative to the WordPress forums when it can’t wait.
Did I leave something out? Let me know in the comments!
Discover how a WordPress designer launched a successful premium theme business with practically no investment
let’s say that you want to add a new custom menu to your WordPress site. For example, a list of social media links. You want these links to be icons. (Facebook, twitter, RSS)
You are going to need to add a unique CSS class to each link so that you may be able to assign the icon to each of them.
In the default view of the custom menus screen it doesn’t seem possible to add a CSS class to a link. The trick is to pick on the screen options button at the top right of the WordPress admin panel. This will bring down an extra menu where you can options for your menus. The difference of the font menu properties include CSS classes, link targets, link relationship, description.
Now, when you add a link to your menu, you will be able to add a custom CSS class.
custom menus hidden options
Another hidden option in the screen options menu is the ability to display your custom taxonomies for adding them to your menus. So if you have registered custom taxonomies and you want to add them to your menu you will need to check them in this screen options.
Here’s a quick video tutorial on how to easily check out the latest version of the WordPress Hybrid theme framework from SVN.
If you don’t know anything about SVN, then this will be useful.
You’ll need to download PhpStorm