wordpress

Premium Press offers 50% off WordPress themes

Premium Press, the company behind the WordPress themes of DirectoryPress, ShopperPress and CouponPress are offering 50% off their themes as part of a Halloween special. Just click on the link below and then when you get to the purchase screen, use the code “halloween”. I’ve used DirectoryPress as the system upon which I’ve based Recruiter Network Directory (which you can see here: http://www.recruiternetwork.co.uk/directory/) and on Oil and Gas Recruiter Directory (which you can see here: http://www.oilandgasrecruiter.co.uk/directory/).

 

In terms of out of the box functionality, the themes can’t be faulted. They’re easy to install and include an abundance of payment gateways so that you can straight away begin to monetize your site. There’s lots of powerful features too, but once configured you can almost sit back and let the sites manage themselves. The only intervention required is for WordPress updates or responding to contact form enquiries. 

Fix for RSS Error: WP HTTP Error: name lookup timed out

wordpressI’ve just had a minor hassle trying to sort out the RSS Error on a different site that I maintain, but after searching for a solution online and not finding one, I had to figure out something myself – so I’ve posted my solution here. It’s actually really simple too… so that’s a bonus.

If you use sub-domains with the latest version of WordPress v3.x – and try to use RSS feeds to cross populate them, for some reason, all of a sudden you may start getting this WP HTTP Error. I followed all of the advice online, from consulting with my host, deactivating and re-activating plugins, and re-installing WordPress. Nothing worked.

So, the simple solution is pass to the feeds through an external feed generator/management provider, such as Feedburner. You can still use exactly the same feeds, but as they’re now routed through an external service, WordPress doesn’t seem to have a fit about the redirects any more… and, hey presto, you’re back up and running again.

Interrupted plugin update solution

wordpressI’ve just had a mini heart attack after accidentally interrupting a plugin update in wordpress and being presented with “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute” whenever I try and access the front or back end of my WordPress site. After much frantic searching online, I found a simple solution – just delete the .maintenance file from the root folder of your WordPress installation. You can do this easily with your FTP client, or if like me you’re just using the Cpanel file manager, then make sure that when you start up the file manager – you select to show the hidden files (it’s a tick box otpion), so that you can see the .maintenance file in the first place.

Good plugin: WordPress Socializer

I’ve come across another good plugin that I like and have decided to add to my site(s) – it’s called the WP Socializer.

It’s an all-in-one plugin that includes links to all of the popular social networking / media web sites, but importantly, it allows a fair amount of customisation too. If you click on the full version of this post, you can see the plugin in effect, with the email, print, facebook, linkedin and twitter icons appearing rather faintly just at the top of the post. 

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Animated slide out WordPress plugin like NY Times

If you’ve noticed the NY Times or other online publications have now started using a slide out tool and thought it was pretty fancy – then you may be pleased to know (as I was) that there’s a helpful, free plugin that allows you to achieve the same effect on your WordPress blog.

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Adapt your WordPress site for mobiles

There’s a relatively easy way of making sure your WordPress site or blog is readily accessible from the growing number of smartphones and mobile devices out there, whilst still retaining much of the functionality and style that you’ve worked so hard to create with your site.

WP Touch is a handy, free plugin that will simply reformat your WordPress site if it detects that is being viewed on a mobile browser. It doesn’t change the viewing experience in a traditional browser on a desktop or laptop, but works behind the scenes to make your site that much easier to view and navigate on a mobile device.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wptouch/

WordPress Android plugin

This is my first chance to use the Android WordPress plugin and I have to say that despite the small screen on my HTC, it’s actually fairly easy to use. In fact, this post is being written on my mobile!

I think my biggest reservation about the app was typing a long post and not being able to save it in draft format, or losing the info somehow. Well, the app allows me to save drafts and return to them at a later date to edit and/or publish. And it’s fast too; faster than I expected it to be.

I think the biggest advantage of the app will come from being able to view and moderate any blog posts whilst I’m on the move. It should help make the blog a bit more interactive, responding to visitors more quickly – but also allowing me to make micro-posts on the move.

I’d give it 4 stars out of 5 overall. It’s missing some of the advanced plugins I have on my desktop, but for remaining connected and up to date whilst mobile, I can see it becoming invaluable.

Kindle and wordpress

Amazon Kindle 3GThe more I play around with the Kindle the more uses I’m finding it for it. Already there’s a plugin that can be used with WordPress to benefit Kindle owners/users. It’s called Kindle This (more info below HERE). And if you’re wanting to publish your blog to Kindle – then you can do so now – and it’s actually surprisingly easy, taking around 10 minutes to do; info on this, including step by step instructions is included below HERE.

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How to build WP Pagenavi into your WordPress theme

It’s surprisingly easy actually… you just need to make sure you edit the theme in all the right places.

I used this resource here to guide me on how to best to achieve this: http://themeshaper.com/how-to-build-wp-pagenavi-into-your-wordpress-theme/

Code example after the link…

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My Page Order WordPress plugin

What a great little plugin I’ve just found and used. It never ceases to amaze me how there are so many different plugins available to tweak and develop your site; they can do pretty much anything you want and the community involved with WordPress are fantastic at making these available too. My Page Order does exactly what it says on the tin. WordPress, by default, orders pages according to those that were most recently added. I prefer to have things in alphabetical order – and can see that in the future, as my site gets bigger, or I start implementing some of these systems for corporate sites, there’ll be a bigger demand for more static pages. To be able to have such flexible control over the order in which these display is invaluable. Thanks to the author for this one! Link: My Page Order