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Christmas is around the corner, so how about a little giveaway? I feel like offering one of my readers a copy of The Smashing Book (313 pages, paperback, full-color images on coated paper, seems like a pretty book indeed). Drooling yet? Enter the giveaway!
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Ever since I discovered the site, I’ve been keeping tabs on DigWP.com which used to be known as Digging Into WordPress.com. I’ve linked to them a number of times from WPTavern.com because of the awesome content they were producing. It’s no surprise then that the book Digging Into WordPress which is now available (eBook form, print form to come soon) for $27 in PDF form is a great read.

I’ve been reading the eBook off and on the past two weeks and I have to admit, when I dig in, I keep reading until I notice that all of a sudden, an hour has gone by. Jeff and Chris not only do a good job explaining things before they dig in, but they also cover it in a way that doesn’t feel overwhelming. After reading a few chapters, my verdict is that if you’re a beginner with WordPress, you can’t go wrong with WordPress For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson which does a great job of covering the basics and getting you familiar with how WordPress works all around. Digging Into WordPress however is great for intermediate users of WordPress looking to expand their knowledge with how various parts of WordPress works and how to easily extend the software with hooks, filters, etc. To get a sample of how the book reads, here is a brief look at chapters 3.9.1 to 3.9.3.

While I think many people would like to have a physical copy in their hands or to put on the bookshelf, I encourage you to get the PDF version since it contains shortened URL links to relevant information such as Codex articles or plugins/themes. If you’ve had a chance to read the book, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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A few months ago (yeah, that long) I was asked by Packt Publishing if I would like to review a copy of WordPress Plugin Development: Beginner’s Guide by Vladimir Prelovac. Needless to say, I thought this could be fun and interesting, so I jumped on the occasion, and finally found some time to read the book and share my thoughts about it.
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Digitally recreating light is a pretty challenging task, and this week we’re going to look at websites that manage to use this effect brilliantly.

Designs of the Week

I’m not exactly sure what the orbs of light are on the header but I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen anything quite like it, and I love it. Especially when combined with the little stringed icons flying all over the place. The effect also carries over to the icons in the lower sections of the homepage, which is great.

The lighthing here is a little darker, but it does have an ethereal quality to it. The arrangement of the portfolio items and the left sidebar is not really groundbreaking but it’s effective and well executed.

Sunbursts and grunge—now there’s something I don’t see everyday. I would’ve liked a little more attention to detail particularly in the sidebar and footer elements, but I like this treatment. It’s grungy, but an elegant sort of grunge (if that’s even possible!).

Speaking of sunbursts, here’s nicely done one. My only beef with this site is that it’s got great personality at the top, but it kind of disappeared on the lower half.

I really like the spotlight concept here. I also think it’s great that you can navigate using the keyboard, but mouse navigation shouldn’t have been limited at just the footer. Still, a simple and effective portfolio.

So this is one of the more obvious and literal ways of recreating light, but man is this design lovely. The level of detail everywhere—and I mean everywhere—is amazing.

Here’s a less subtle implementation of the literal spotlight effect, but it does match the gritty feel of this site. Love the use of vintage posters for navigation.

Not your usual layout, or imagery, for that matter, but it’s certainly eye-catching. I like the soft rays of light at the top and how the icons are glowing. And of course the cloth turned sparkling sea. Leaves me wanting more!

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Yesterday was quite a day for WordPress news but one thing I noticed was the news surrounding a few books. The first is that Lisa Sabin-Wilson confirmed that she will be writing a new book through Wiley Publishing called BuddyPress For Dummies. Lisa is the author of WordPress for dummies both the first and second editions with a third on the way. The dummies series is aimed at providing 101 level information to various topics so those of you looking to get your feet wet with BuddyPress will enjoy this book. I have WordPress For Dummies both the first and second editions and they have been a blast to read.

The other book related news I came across was that the WordPress Bible authored by Aaron Brazell, also being published through Wiley & Sons now has a reserved page on Amazon.com. The publish date says March 1, 2010.

The last piece of news I wanted to share is that the DiggingIntoWordPress site which I’ve linked to before on WPTavern is doing a great job presenting information which will be in their book which goes under the same name. If the content on the site from Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr is anything to go by, you’ll definitely want to have it on your book shelf when it’s released. It’s not on Amazon.com but you can visit their preorder page in order to receive a special promotional offer since it will be available as a downloadable PDF first before it hits print.

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Apologies for posting this a day late, but I will try to make it up to you with yummy-looking websites. It’s a food-centric Friday Focus!

Designs of the Week

The full-width background photo under the earmarked recipe notecard is great. Unfortunately I’d rather that the top navigation wasn’t part of the Flash objects on this site. I like the very subtle grungy texture used here as it does seem to reinforce the seafood/marina feel.

A very green website, both in color and food group. Perhaps the best way to present veggies (and fruits) is to photograph them on a crisp, white background, and that works quite well here.

This is a nicely-designed restaurant site—elegant photography, rich dark hues, and good spacing all over. I like the high-res icons jutting out of both sides of the layout.

Another full-width background photo effect, this time it’s much bigger and has several rotating images. I kind of wish the content below it were longer—more than 3 links each for the new and popular recipes, for example—because you want to give more diverse options to your readers.

This is one of the more “different” designs of the bunch, because of the illustrations, brighter colors, and the overall lighter attitude this site has. But, really, when it comes to food websites, the greatest measure of good design is in the food photography, so make sure you prioritize that!

How pretty is that lettuce as a frilly background! Brings way more to the table than any other Photoshop brush, no? I would’ve liked a little more tweaking on the navigation but on the whole this is a nice, clean site. Very easy on the eyes.

We get a more hip atmosphere from this site, but the food photos are still front and center. Great JavaScript effects, typography, and color scheme.

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