WPDesigner

WordPress Themes, Blog Design, and Web Development

WordPress Tips

Using WordPress as a CSS gallery

Although CSS galleries showcasing beautiful designs are nothing new, using WordPress to power your CSS gallery is picking up steam. Take CSSRemix.com for example, one of many CSS galleries powered by WordPress, although it would be time-consuming to duplicate all of CSSRemix’s features, it isn’t hard to imitate the basic structure.

  • First, you need to know how to use custom fields.
  • Second, download Lester Chan’s WP-PostRatings plugin, install, and integrate it. This plugin isn’t necessary, but people like to rate stuff so let them rate.
  • Third, decide how many custom field keys and values you’ll use for each featured-site or each entry. For examples: URL (key) = https://wpdesigner.com (value), url_img (key) = wpdesigner_screenshot.png (value). The number of custom field keys and values per site or entry equal the amount of work you have cut out for you.

Here’s an example of how to implement the outline above:

<?php the_title(); ?>
<a href=”value of url”><img src=”value of url_img” alt=”<?php the_title(); ?>” /></a>

After you’ve gotten everything set up, outsource the job of indexing thousands and thousands of beautiful designs. Then, there you’ll have it, a CSS gallery powered by WordPress.

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How To Create Popular WordPress Themes

Creating a WordPress theme is easy. Creating a popular theme that gets thousands of downloads is hard. Creating a popular theme, downloaded thousands of times, that can also convince users to stick with it is even harder.

Adding to my post about factors of a popular WordPress theme is a checklist to give your theme a fighting chance.

  • Is it a three column theme? Getting more downloads is as easy as converting your two-column theme into a three-column.
  • Is it visually stunning? While design is subjective, users don’t preview codes; we preview designs.
  • Does it focus on content? A visually stunning theme will always get a second look. But along with that, your design has to focus the attention on the content (usually, the main column).
  • Is it generic? Your free theme will not be used by one client. It’ll be used by thousands of clients. It’s very important to keep all features generic. Stay away from hard-coding anything and stay away from too many non-customizable graphics.
  • Is it compatible with more than one WordPress version? Believe it or not, not every blog is using the latest WordPress version.
  • Are the codes, XHTML and CSS, valid? If your codes are not valid by now, you shouldn’t be releasing public themes.
  • Is it compatible with the most popular browsers? Just like you, your theme users want their blogs to look the same across all popular browsers, Firefox and Internet Explorer for examples.
  • Is it widget-ready? The widget plugin now comes with WordPress so this is an obvious one. There’s no more reasons to not widgetize your theme.
  • Is there a theme options page? Some users like to customize headers and other sorts of tweakable features through the theme options page. If you’re PHP-savvy and know how to do this, it’s a big plus.
  • Does the design includes a date button? Date buttons are eye candies. Theme users really love them.
  • Does it come with a custom template for archives? Some bloggers prefer to put archive links on their own page, instead of the default sidebar listing.
  • Has it been SEOed (search engine optimized)? The default WordPress structure is not search engine friendly. Not every page should have the same H1 title. Sidebar titles shouldn’t nest in H2 tags.
  • Is your theme designed around ads? Despite not everyone wants to monetize and integrate ads, almost everyone wants to sleep well at night knowing your theme is easy monetize.
  • Do you give theme support? If a user can’t figure out something, that user will come to you. If you don’t offer support for your theme, guess what that person is going to do?
  • Where are you releasing your theme? If you’ve just started a blog to release your own WordPress themes on it then you’re not going to get any download at all. Submit your themes to public databases and popular blogs that feature WordPress themes.
  • Do you offer previews or live demos? Save your users the trouble of downloading the theme and having to test it first before deciding whether to use it. Allow your users to fully preview your theme or look at a live demo of it.
  • Does it come with Small Potato’s emoticons? Most importantly, my human emoticons will ensure huge success for your theme.

Bonus info:

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5 Ways to Secure Your Blog

With WordPress being so popular its no wonder that in many ways its become a target for would-be hackers. WordPress has many doors available that if left open make your website easily accessible for hackers. But we all love WordPress and would like to use it, so how can you remain secure?

Before you make any changes according to the suggestions below, back up your blog, just in case you need to undo the changes or additions.

A few simple easy steps to a secure WordPress:

1. Stay updated

Join the mailing list for release notifications and update when announced. Staying updated is perhaps the most important and easiest thing you can do. Also, if you are running an older version of WordPress, make sure to not announce it to the world. Remove version listings from your templates that could announce what version you are running, and possibly alert hackers to exploits you have available. Make sure when updating your install of WordPress to read the Upgrading WordPress section of the codex.

Staying updated should also mean backing up your website, so if you do get hacked your website can be restored from backups. Backing up WordPress requires you to have both the database and its files. Backing up your files is as easy as clicking and dragging them to your computer via FTP. Backing up your database can be complicated for some if attempted from within your hosts control panel, but fortunately, a number of plugins exist that help automate and simplify the process.

The following plugins can help automate the database backup process, visit their websites for more information:

Visit the the WordPress codex for further details on backing up your website.

2. Permission your files

Make sure that your wp-config is not world read or writeable. Otherwise, people could steal your login information or even overwrite your login with their own. And make sure to delete your install.php after installation is complete.

WordPress codex has an excellent walkthrough on setting file permissions here.

3. Protect against comment spam

Spam can be a danger to your blog and its visitors. Comment spam can insert unwanted content onto your website. One way of protecting against spam is using plugins that track comments and trackbacks, running them through tests to check on whether they are spam and then refusing or approving based on the test results. Though it’s worth noting that this is not completely full proof and depending on the size of your blog you may even want to personally moderate commenting, or maybe even limit commenting to specific posts.

Anti-spam Plugins and additional resources on how to protect from comment spam:

4. Limit self-registration of users

WordPress supports the ability for users to create new accounts for the purpose of posting. Though this registration does allow them to subscribe as well, which gives them access to reading only. Turn self-registration off in options: general: general options: uncheck anyone can register
(see screenshot below.) or limit your readers to the subscribe role only.

members

5. Make sure your login information is unique

I’d suggest creating a new WordPress admin user account and deleting the default admin account. Its very important to create a unique password in conjunction with your name. Check out the automated password generator to create a unique and difficult to crack password.

In summary:

  1. Stay updated with your WordPress install.
  2. Permission your files.
  3. Protect against comment spam.
  4. Limit self-registration of users.
  5. Make login information unique.

Along with this post I’d recommend reading the other options available in Hardening WordPress. Don’t let your blog or website be vulnerable to attack.

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Make Your Blog Stand Out, Use Overlapping Tabs

Nowadays, horizontal menu tabs are everywhere. How do you make your tabs stand out from the rest? Make them overlap.

Take Wpdesigner current design for example. It took a while to get the tabs to overlap, but the effect is well worth it.

wpdesigner-overlapping-tabs

 

Analyze this example to learn how to achieve that effect. If that example is too difficult for you, stay tuned for the upcoming Wpdesigner WordPress tutorial, which will show you how to create a theme from scratch and how to create tabs that overlap, in details.

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Get more exposure for your WordPress theme

You put a lot of time into your free theme. It’s your baby. I know. Want lots of bloggers to download and use your theme?

Places to submit, post, or upload your theme:

WPDesigner.com
Yes, yes! I’m finally opening up WPDesigner to accept theme submissions and to feature your themes. Follow my instructions below to get your themes featured on this blog.

WordPress Themes and Templates
Announce your free theme arrival on the WordPress forums. You won’t get many replies, but people do check out your theme.

WordPress Theme Viewer
Upload your free theme to the WordPress Theme Viewer (a public themes database) to get the most downloads. Note: I heard it’s pretty hard to get a theme author account to start uploading right now. I requested for an account a long time ago, didn’t have to wait long back then. I don’t know how long you have to wait nowadays.

JohnTP.com WP Themes (Not Available Anymore)
Submit your theme to John’s list of WordPress themes. Usually, you do this through posting a comment on that page, but the comment form is gone. Bug John to add your theme. *Sorry John*

Emily Robbins Themes List
Submit your theme to her list through the comment form.

Get more exposure for your WordPress themeRead More