WordPress Hosting

I’ve posted before about being a somewhat “late-adopter” of WordPress, but now that over 90% of the sites I run are powered by the wonderful WP, I spend a lot of time in various WP Dashboards. Which is why I love these plugins, made specifically for back-end administrators:

WP-Task-Manager

Because of the aforementioned serious amount of time I’m in WordPress, it really helps to be able to keep track of to-dos from within the Dashboard. A widget lets you quickly see your task list, and it’s easy to create and manage tasks for other authors or admins, and write comments on these tasks. Download WP-Task-Manager »

wp-Typography

Like most designers, I’m very nitpicky when it comes to typography. This plugin features a host of options for people like me, including proper hyphenation, detailed spacing control (e.g. widow protection, forced internal wrapping, etc.), and smart character replacement for things like quote marks and copyright symbols. Download wp-Typography »

GD Press Tools

Finally, there’s GD Press Tools. Certainly not for the faint-hearted, this is one powerful plugin, with included options ranging from maintenance operations, to tracking the popularity of your posts and pages, to some very good database tools. Before you dive into using this plugin, make sure you spend some time learning which features work with your version of WordPress. Download GD Press Tools »

Which WordPress plugins make your life easier?

Why optimize your CSS at all? In a nutshell: for faster loading pages. Because, really, anything that can speed up the loading of your site is a good thing. Here, my favorite four tools for CSS optimization and compression:

Clean CSS

A free online service, and what a service it is: this tool, based on CSS Tidy, also helps you with CSS shorthand, in case you haven’t got it memorized yet. A worthy bookmark.

CSS Compressor

CSS Drive’s CSS Compressor does just that: compresses your CSS in either Light, Normal or Super Compact modes. I personally prefer their Advanced Tool (also free), which allows you to get specific (e.g. whether or not to leave spaces between selectors and properties, etc.)

CSS Analyser

This one not only verifies your CSS with the W3C, it also tests your color contrast. Which, if you read my last post, is pretty awesome.

CSS Redundancy Checker

Finally, because redundancy is just not cool, especially when you’re trying to optimize your CSS, this nifty little tool is quick, easy to use, and simple to understand.

How do you optimize your CSS code?

If you create custom themes for Wordpress, chances are you’ve already used category templates in the past. They usually look like this:

category-x.php

where x corresponds to the ID number of the category, and are extremely useful if you want to give a specific category a certain look. For example, if you wanted to add an “Asides” area to your theme, you’d create a category named Asides, get the numerical ID of that category (e.g. “3″) and create a template file named category-3.php

My problem, of course, was having to find the ID of the category, which could vary from one WP installation to another. The truth is that I usually chose to go the route of conditional queries instead, doing something like this:

if ( is_category(‘asides’) ) {
// what I’d like to show for my asides
}

Wordpress 2.9, however, has added support for slug-based category templates. So instead of naming my template category-3.php, I can go ahead and name it something wonderfully semantic like category-asides.php

The hierarchy in which Wordpress looks for which template to use has been updated as well. Now, it’ll look for the slug-based template first, then the ID-based template, and finally the default template.

Do you use Wordpress category templates in your themes?

Ah, snippets: they’re bits of reusable code that you can copy and paste to your heart’s content. Because I definitely fancy myself more of a designer than a developer, when it comes to programming I’m very dependent on code snippets- and I’m so grateful to people who actually take the time to create snippet repositories. Here are five of my favorite:

Snipplr

I’m not sure whether Snipplr’s been around longer than the other sites on my list, but it’s definitely the one I’ve been using the longest. Easy to use, with a really wide library of snippets, Snipplr also has a Wordpress plug-in that I’ve used a few times, and a bundle for TextMate users. I like how Snipplr features both the most recent and the most popular snippets on their front page- it makes for fun browsing when I’m feeling somewhat geeky. Visit Snipplr »

Snipt

With a tagline that reads “long-term memory for coders”, Snipt is a site I visit over and over again. The snippets are nicely organized and clearly presented, with links for instant embedding or copying at the bottom of each snippet. Visit Snipt »

Google Code Search

It seems I’ll never tire of recommending Google products, but the Code Search service from the big G is great because it lets you search the entire web for function definitions and sample code. Be sure to use their recommended syntax to search. Visit Google Code Search »

DevSnippets

DevSnippets is no relation to Devlounge- what it is is an awesome gallery for code and design snippets- from CSS to jQuery, Prototype to Mootools. Unlike some of the other sites I mention here, DevSnippets doesn’t host the code- they link to code and tutorials around the web. Visit DevSnippets »

CSS Tricks’ Code Snippets

My favorite of all, this one’s almost a daily visit for me. I love how simple it is to find the snippets you need, and appreciate that the Wordpress snippets- which, lets face it, are what I use the most- are just one click away. Visit CSS Tricks’ Code Snippets »

Do you use snippets?

When WordPress 2.5 was introduced in Spring 2008, one of the biggest innovations and additions was the WordPress Shortcode API. Shortcodes have become a regularly used feature by designers and can help to reduce the number of plugins used. In this post we look at some shortcodes you can implement and use to enhance your WordPress themes.

Getting Started With Shortcodes

A shortcode is a php function which you can add to the function.php of your theme. Via the trigger add_shortcode() you can define the name of your shortcode and how to call the function in the editor. Add this code immediately under the php function in your function.php.

1. Adding A Generic Link

The easiest use for shortcodes is probably to use a shortcode for content you publish regularly like a link to your subscription page.

Sample Code

What we did in this example was to define the shortcode sub and link it to the function subscribe. Now if you use the shortcode [sub] in the text editor it will automatically replace it with the link Subscribe to Devlounge in the entry.

2. Adding Pullquotes To Your Theme

Pullquotes are a well known design element in print design but often forgotten online. Especially when posting long entries, choosing an ad rem quote can highly improve the readability and interest. The screenshot on the right is a perfect example of the visual effect pullquotes have.

It is very simple to add pullquotes to entry with a simple shortcode, similar to BBCode.

Sample Code

You can now use the shortcode [pull]your quote here[/pull] in the editor when writing entries.

Do not forget to style the new code in your theme’s CSS. In this example the shortcode [pull] returns <blockquote class="pullquote">.

Sample Code

As you can see in this example, shortcodes can easily be used to use different styling in your entries without having to write HTML. This can be very handy for multi-authored blogs, not every author knows HTML, and makes shortcodes a genuine alternative for bbcode. It is very easy to provide a shortcode to use @font-face in your entries.

3. Adding A ‘Twit This’ Image/Link

Twitter is very practical to promote your entries and there are several methods to implement buttons or links to submit your entries. But sometimes you want an additional method to quickly add a button or submit link.
When entries start to become popular sometimes it can make sense to add a link at the top right or left of your entry, without having this submit link in every entry. This can easily be done with a shortcode and is also handy on multi-authored blogs and without the need to allow your authors the add code, scripts to their entries.

Sample code

You can now easily style the id="twitit" in your CSS, all the authors have to do to display the link is use the shortcode [twitter] in their entry.

If you want to add buttons to other social networks you can find the code needed for the submission process here.

4. Adding Previous Entries From The Same Category

Displaying related entries is a very popular on many blogs but some bloggers might prefer to show previous entries from the same category instead. This is very handy when you only have few categories and want to randomly display previous entries from that category.

Sample Code

In this example the shortcode [related] will randomly display 5 entries from the same category.

5. Using Shortcodes To Hide Content From The Public

Shortcodes can also be used to hide content from non-logged in members. This can be very handy when you regularly publish paid content and still want to show a teaser to your entries. Additionally it can be smart to show only not-logged in users a certain text, fe. ‘This content is only visible to members, subscribe here to get access to all our awesome tips or log in here if you are already a member‘.

Creating The Shortcode For Guests

Creating The Shortcode For Members

With both shortcode functions added to the functions.php it now is very easy to add the teaser line, with link to your subscription or login page, and the content for members only.

An Example Entry

Sources

• WordPress Shortcode API documentation
• WPRecipes
• Justin Tadlock

With hundreds of free and premium Wordpress themes out there, you want the one you create not only to stand out, but to be as useful as possible to as many people as possible. One way to do this is to “internationalize” it. By doing this, you’re making your Wordpress theme ready for translation into any of the languages that Wordpress supports. It’s also easier than you think. Here’s how:

Find the functions.php file. This is located in the same directory of your theme (it’s where you set up your widgetized areas as well). If it doesn’t exist, create one.

Put this text into the functions.php file:

load_theme_textdomain ($domain);


You need to change “textdomain” to a word of your choice, something that signifies your theme. For example, if your theme is called The Black Labrador Theme, you might want to select blacklab as your textdomain. Also, make sure you put it inside php tags.

After editing your functions.php file, begin looking through the other templates in your theme. What you’re looking for is text that needs to be internationalized. For example, within the loop on an index.php page, you probably have something like this:

<?php endwhile; else: ?>
<p><strong>Not Found. Please look elsewhere.</strong></p>
<?php endif; ?>

That’s text you’ll want to internationalize. To do that, you need to use either of two functions:

The _e function, for text not within a PHP function, or
The __ function, for text within PHP tags.

So for our example, you’d do this:

<?php endwhile; else: ?>
<p><strong><?php _e(”Not Found. Please look elsewhere.”, “blacklab”); ?></strong></p>
<?php endif; ?>

For text that’s already within PHP tags, such as this common Wordpress tag:

<?php the_content((’Keep reading’));?>

You’ll want to use the double underscore function. Like so:

<?php the_content(__(’Keep reading’, “blacklab”));?>

And that’s it! If you want to learn more about internationalizing your Wordpress themes, I recommend the I18n for Wordpress Developers page at the Codex, and visit other excellent guides and tutorials on how to do it.

Do you internationalize your Wordpress themes?

All computer students and programming geeks might like to look up CodeChef and maybe even take part in a competition they have for programmers.
CodeChef hosts competitions for programmers with cash prizes for people residing in India and the US. Currently they have two upcoming contests the CodeChef Campus SnackDown on November 21st and another one called CodeChef December Challenge which is from Dec 1st to Dec 11th. Registration for SnackDown contest is already over but you can still look up the contest at the CodeChef website.

CodeChef December 2009 Challenge

• First prize winner for winner from India is Rs 22,000/- and for the US is $440/-.
• CodeChef’s December challenge will consist of 6-8 problems of varying difficulty.
• The contest website has problems visible on the website on 1st December, 15.00 IST.
• Visit CodeChef website for registering your entry.
• If you solve the problem you get one point regardless of the level of difficulty.
• You can submit your solutions as many times as you would like as there are no penalties for incorrect submissions.

About CodeChef

Code Chef is a competition started by Directi as a way to engage the developer community and give them a forum. CodeChef hosts monthly online competitions for programmers in 35 programming languages. The winner gets a prize and also recognition. The winner is also then eligable to take part in CodeChef Cup which is a live event held yearly.

Win $150 Every Month in “Bloggers$ of The Month” Award

Writing for Devils Workshop and other blogs in our network just got better!

Now you can be “Blogger$ of The Month” and win from $150 cash prizes, in addition to direct 100% AdSense revnue from your post.

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Related posts:

• Result for Virgin-IHL Contest on DW and more…
• Virgin-IHL Contest – Answer A Simple Question To Win A Prize!
• [Results] Winners of DW’s 3rd Anniversary Contest!

I’ve recently moved to WordPress an active community site which is run and moderated by several editors and administrators. Each post gets dozens of comments, and I wanted to highlight those made by staff members.

What not to do

If you’ve googled a bit for a solution on how to identify authors’ or admins’ comments, you’ve probably seen several explanations on how to implement this by comparing emails. Something like:

While this is sort of OK for a single author weblog, it’s totally inconvenient and not scalable for a community site run by several editors and administrators: you would need to edit the template file whenever there’s a new member in the staff, and nothing prevents an unlogged user from commenting using your well known email address.

So, what to do instead?
(…)
Read the rest of How To Style Editor (Or Any Role) Comments in WordPress (283 words)

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If you’re a developer that blogs (and you should) or one that develops websites powered by Wordpress, chances are you already know about my top three favorite plug-ins. Yes, these are the ones I can’t imagine life without:

ExecPHP

One of my default plug-in installs, ExecPHP allows you to, yes, “execute” PHP from within Wordpress. That means that chunks of PHP code will work in your pages, posts and widgets- not just in your templates. I previously used runPHP, but switched after running into some problems with the latter- and I’m glad I did. This one just works for me.

Preserve Code Formatting

Developers know how important it is that the formatting of our code isn’t trifled with. This lovely plug-in makes it so Wordpress (or other plug-ins you’ve got installed) can’t modify your code, while retaining your original whitespace and characters. Simply use <pre> and <code> and the plug-in will take care of the rest.

SQL Executioner

A gem of a plug-in that allows you to access your MySQL database from within Wordpress- that’s right, without having to fire up phpMyAdmin. Among other things, it performs “select”s and “describe”s, and modifies with “insert”s and “update”s.

What are your favorite Wordpress plug-ins?

Because web browsers are notorious for displaying things differently from each other, for many web designers it sometimes feels like so many browsers, so little control. But there are ways around this- and one of my favorites is a little something called a CSS reset. A CSS reset can be anything from a single definition on your stylesheet to an entirely new stylesheet that you link to. For example, many designs like to add this to the beginning of their existing stylesheets:

* {margin:0;padding:0}