WordPress, the new industry standard?

For a considerable amount of time now, WordPress.org has been the platform of choice for most of the World’s bloggers; challenged only by free publishing platforms like Blogger. However, in more recent times WordPress is beginning to make it’s mark on web design, for both blogs and full website installations; this comes as a result of an almost unending list of benefits.

WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time. WordPress.org

So why has WordPress become so popular? My first instinct is to suggest that the flexibility offered by WordPress to everyday users (by which I mean non-web designers), through the plethora of themes and plugins, make this publishing platform an easy (and inexpensive) way to build a great looking website.

However, WordPress is equally as popular with web designers and developers the World over! The answer becomes apparent when you delve a little deeper into the structure of WordPress and the community generated codex. The core functions of WordPress (and the ability to add custom functions) provide the opportunity to build anything, limited only by one’s imagination.

Whereas in times gone by WordPress was used solely as a blogging platform, it has been developed to the point where it can be used for almost any purpose; it’s mixture of dynamic features and static pages catering for almost any conceivable purpose.

If you feel this article was one-sided and you’re keen to offer some criticisms of WordPress, please comment below!

So you designed a slick WordPress theme for a client, you set up WordPress for them and installed all the plugins and you have even gone the extra mile and designed a sweet video player and built a new custom content type for them. Then, about a month later you get a call that says the video posts aren’t showing up in their RSS feed – what is a designer to do?

Add your custom post type to you feed silly. Its really pretty easy, just add another little function to your functions.php file, way easier than building the custom post type in the first place. Here is the code, good luck ya’ll.

function myfeed_request($qv) {
    if (isset($qv['feed']) && !isset($qv['post_type']))
        $qv['post_type'] = array('post', 'videos');
    return $qv;
}
add_filter('request', 'myfeed_request');

source for snippet: wp-snippets.com

Customizing your WordPress Blog

WordPress has long since been a favourite choice for bloggers world-wide. We love it’s flexibility and expandability through the use of themes and plug-ins, but for those bloggers who want to customize their WordPress blog even further, there is the following WordPress hacks. Blogs with several authors may find these these tips and tricks particularly useful!

Customize your Log-In Screen – Without a Plug-in

If you have many authors / guest bloggers logging in, you may wish to brand your log-in screen. The following code, added to your theme’s functions.php file, will replace the default WordPress logo on the log-in screen with an image of your choosing.

function my_blogs_logo() {
echo '
h1 a { background-image:url(http://www.yourlogo.com/image/location.png) !important; }
';
}

add_action('login_head', 'my_blogs_logo');

Don’t forget to replace the URL with the location of your logo!

Brand Your Admin Screen – Footer Credits

This code, when placed in your functions.php file, will automatically replace the default credits within your admin screen’s footer, with the content you specify.

add_filter( 'admin_footer_text', 'my_admin_footer_text' );
function my_admin_footer_text( $default_text ) {
return '<span>A Blog by <a href="http://www.yourwebsite.co.uk">Your Name</a><span> | Powered by <a href="http://www.wordpress.org">WordPress</a>';
}

Remember to change the credentials above. We would suggest leaving the credit to WordPress in place; after all , it is both free and priceless at the same time!

Create a Teaser Section – Show Upcoming Posts

One of the best ways to keep visitors coming back to your blog is to give them a taste of the awesome content that’s coming soon!. This code will help you create a teaser section populated by scheduled posts. Place this code in your theme’s template files.

<?php
$my_query = new WP_Query('post_status=future&amp;amp;order=DESC&amp;amp;showposts=5');
if ($my_query->have_posts()) {
while ($my_query->have_posts()) : $my_query->the_post(); ?>
<li><?php the_title(); ?></li>
<?php endwhile;
}
?>

This code can be added anywhere in your theme files or you can even create a page template using it. It’s also worth remembering that currently the list will show post titles; but it could also show an excerpt (the_excerpt) to entice your readers even more!

Breathe New Life Into Old Posts – “This time last year…”

Often visitors to your blog only see the freshest content. We ask, whats wrong with your older posts that never see the light of day? A nice feature to show off some of your older posts is a “This time last year…” section. To achieve this, add the following code anywhere you would like these posts to appear:

<?php
$current_day = date('j');
$last_year = date(‘Y’)-1;
query_posts('day='.$current_day.'&amp;amp;year='.$last_year);
if (have_posts()):
while (have_posts()) : the_post();
the_title();
the_excerpt();
endwhile;
endif;
?>

Once again, remember that the appearance can be altered by using the the_excerpt and the_title functions.

Hopefully you will find these tips and tricks useful! If you enjoyed reading this article, please consider sharing it!

WordPress is now over ten years old and its popularity is still growing. Originally a blogging platform, since the release of WordPress 3.0, WordPress has made its full fledged triumphant step onto the CMS stage. WordPress developers used to hack the snot out of WordPress to get it to do what they wanted, but now, with features like Custom Post Types, Custom Taxonomies and Widgets, WordPress is a legit CMS platform that is even better to use than most of the other popular CMS’ on the market.

There are still plenty of developers and designers (mostly developers) who don’t believe in the power of WordPress. They don’t believe that WordPress is a powerful, easy to develop and user friendly CMS that is actually being used to build “real” websites and not just blogs. But they are wrong.

WordPress is being used all over the interwebs for more than just blogs and by some really powerful names and companies. WordPress.org has a really great showcase of websites that are powered by the mighty WordPress; full CMS sites, blogs, e-commerce, business, education and colleges.

Here is a few of my favorite websites that are showcased on WordPress.org:

mashable

arcadefire

omgubuntu

spotify

kimkardashian

uxbooth

mozillalabs

odysseybmx

bungobox

techcrunch

playstation

mikeroweworks

surfermag
sylvesterstallone

Well, if Rocky uses it, then I think WordPress has finally arrived.

There are a ton of different ways to include jQuery in your WordPress theme, but after I stumbled upon this snippet I have never turned back. Brought to us by the pure genius of Chris Coyer – CSS Tricks – this snippet is a simple PHP function to add to your functions.php file. The real benefit to this is that you can avoid loading jQuery multiple times if you have plugin, widgets or anything else that requires jQuery.

Here’s the code:

if( !is_admin()){
wp_deregister_script('jquery');
wp_register_script('jquery', ("http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1/jquery.min.js"), false, '1.4.2');
wp_enqueue_script('jquery');
}

Thanks CSS-Tricks.com!!!

Today’s Kick Ass Snippet is a nifty little WordPress snippet that allows you to add pagination to your posts anywhere without using a plug in. I was working on a project recently and needed a better solution for pagination, I tried a few plug-ins but never fell in love with any of them and then I found this snippet on WP-snippets.com and it solved my problem.

This snippet creates a pagination style just like the WP-PageNavi plugin and its pretty easy to install. You’ll just need to start by adding this snippet to your functions.php:

function pagination($prev = '«', $next = '»') {
global $wp_query, $wp_rewrite;
$wp_query->query_vars['paged'] > 1 ? $current = $wp_query->query_vars['paged'] : $current = 1;
$pagination = array(
'base' => @add_query_arg('paged','%#%'),
'format' => '',
'total' => $wp_query->max_num_pages,
'current' => $current,
'prev_text' => __($prev),
'next_text' => __($next),
'type' => 'plain'
);
if( $wp_rewrite->using_permalinks() )
$pagination['base'] = user_trailingslashit( trailingslashit( remove_query_arg( 's', get_pagenum_link( 1 ) ) ) . 'page/%#%/', 'paged' );

if( !empty($wp_query->query_vars['s']) )
$pagination['add_args'] = array( 's' => get_query_var( 's' ) );

echo paginate_links( $pagination );
};

Then add this code – pagination() - to where you want to add your pagination, outside the loop but inside the if( have_post() ) statement, like this:

<?php if ( have_posts() ) : ?>
<?php while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
// post goes here
<?php endwhile; ?>

<div><?php pagination('»', '«'); ?></div>

<?php endif; ?>

Here are the CSS classes to use when styling:

<pre><code>.page-numbers { font-size: 15px; }
.page-numbers.current { color: #222; }
.page-numbers .dots { letter-spacing: 1px }
a.page-numbers { font-size: 14px; color: #3888ff; }

Thanks WP-Snippets.com and @pjrvsWP for the great snippet!

WordPress is the most popular blogging platform in the world, for very good reason, its freaking awesome. WordPress is also one of the hottest opensource CMS platforms used today, so if you’re a web designer or developer that doesn’t know WordPress I think its about time you get your self educated.

There are a lot of articles floating around the web for learning more about WordPress, and there are many, many, many books written on WordPress from blogging to theme development to plugin development. But WordPress – just like everything else on the web – changes pretty quickly and WordPress is constantly adding new features. So if your learning WordPress, or planning on learning WordPress, its important to have some good resources that are being updated regularly.

Here are the top 8 online resources for learning WordPress. These resources are devoted to educating you about everything WordPress and presenting new information as things evolve.

wptuts

WPTutsplus.com is a great site for the beginner or the advanced WordPress designer or developer. In the tradition of Tutsplus, WPTutplus is chalk full of tutorials, videos and articles about the mighty WordPress.

wpbeginner

WPBeginner.com is one of the first resources I used to start learning about WordPress. Lots of tutorials and articles about everything from theme development to Facebook integration to popular blogging plug-ins. Its geared more toward the beginner, but since WordPress is constantly evolving, even the advanced developer can pick up a few new tips.

wpgarage

WPGarage.com is a great resource for current tricks, tips and hacks – if you need them. The content is updated often and is usually on the cutting edge of WordPress development.

wordpress codex

The WordPress Codex is probably the best resource for learning everything WordPress. Its WordPress under the hood. The Codex is updated all the time with new content to keep you updated and it has hands down the best WordPress user forum. If you’re not using the Codex as you develop, you should be.

wpcandy

WPCandy.com has everything from WordPress news to tutorials to blogging tips to reference charts… pretty much everything you need to kow about WordPress.org or WordPress.com. WPCandy is also a great place to learn everything BuddyPress as well, if you’re into that kind of thing.

wpdesigner

WPDesigner.com is great resource for any WordPress designer or developer, whether you are a beginner or expert. The topics range from hosting to theme development and they also have their own little free theme marketplace if you need a good WordPress theme.

wordpressmax

WordPressMax.com, “WordPress Guides for the Geek Impaired” is a great place for the WordPress beginner. Most posts are tips and tricks for improving your WordPress site or blog. More centered for the WordPress webmaster, WordPressMax also has some really great development tips and tricks.

wordcamps

WordCamps are awesome. WordCamps are live conferences in your local area with your local WordPress experts. Generally WordCamps are a one or two day event focused on everything WordPress.com or WordPress.org. Because talks are generally from your local neighborhood experts its also a great place to meet WordPress experts and also network with other WordPress designers in your area. Check out WordCamps central page to see when and where your local WordCamp is being held.

There are so many plugins for WordPress that you’ll need to round out your WordPress site. This list is really just a few plugins that I personally believe should be included in the core installation. Next time you set up another WordPress install, upload and install these guys Read ★ More