WordPress 2.1: Template Tag and Function Changes

I’m just beginning to dig into some of the template tag and function changes in WordPress 2.1, as are many volunteers covering the WordPress Support Forums and WordPress Codex. Here is a DRAFT list of some of the template tag and function changes I’ve found in WordPress 2.1. If you know of any others or […]

Alex King: WordPress Themes Versus Templates

Alex King’s “WP Themes vs. Templates” discusses the modular system of how WordPress Themes work with some good tips on creating a template form to work within your WordPress Theme. While the theme system works well as advertised, it doesn’t work exactly the way I like to set up my web front-end code. Luckily, it […]

Cybercafe Experiments: How to Convert Any Web Template Into a WordPress Theme

Max Limpag of The Cybercafe Experiments has written a great guide on “How to convert any web template into a WordPress theme” so you can take any open source or free web design template and convert it into a WordPress Theme. Among blogging applications, WordPress probably has the largest number of great-looking themes to use. […]

Editing the Edit This WordPress Template Tag

For those of you just reading WordPress blogs, there is a part of the blog, just under the title, that you can’t see. If you are the administrator, owner, or chef-cook-and-bottle-washer of a WordPress blog, and logged in, you see it. It’s called the Edit Post Link Template Tag. Once you are logged in, the […]

Using Author Template Tags Outside of the WordPress Loop

WordPress allows you to create a custom Author web page for your WordPress blog. You can make this page look like anything you want, customized to the author or with just some tidbits about the author added to the page to help readers learn a little more about the person behind the post. I had […]

Free Text Only Editors for Templates, PHP, HTML, CSS, and More

Over and over again on the WordPress Support Forum and WordPress Codex, I and other volunteers keep saying “Use a TEXT ONLY editor to edit your files.” A text editor is one that only works with raw text. But what does that really mean? When you are working with Word, WordPerfect, or any word processing […]

WordPress Tips and Tricks for Template Files

Tips Apply to WordPress 1.5+ We looked customizing the WordPress Administration Panels and many other WordPress Tips. This one looks at some tips and tricks for WordPress template files and style sheets. The template files in WordPress are found within your WordPress Themes. They are the building blocks which come together to create the structure […]

WordPress Template Files and Style Sheets – Give Them a Name

I love the modular template files in WordPress. The ability to mix and match the building blocks to create custom web pages is great. The problem comes when working on the style sheet for the different looks. I often have to track down which style belongs to which template file. Solution? Give them a name? […]

WordPress Anniversary: Comment Spam Lessons

It’s hard to believe that I’ve learned much from comment spammers over the years. I’ve learned that they are among the most hated folks in the world, yet you have to respect them as well. As I look back on ten years of blogging with WordPress on this 10th Anniversary year, I realized that comment […]

The Brute-Force Password Attack on WordPress Sites

My mother emailed me and asked if WordPress was under attack. With all the news of last week’s attack of the Boston Marathon, the attacks on WordPress and other PHP-based web publishing sites was low on the priority list for myself and others, but this is something to take seriously. As we get back to […]

Blog Exercises: Add Industry Events to Your Editorial Calendar

In the blog exercise to create an editorial calendar, I gave you many ideas for setting self-assignments and deadlines for content throughout the year on your blog. Don’t forget to investigate your industry to discover events, conferences, and news to add to the calendar. Whether you go or not, take time to research calendars and […]

Blog Exercises: Does Your Site Look Spammy?

Does your site look spammy? How would you know whether or not your site looks spammy? It’s time for a spam check. Web design is hard, especially if you aren’t an expert. Yet, in many ways you are an expert if you are a fan of the web. You’ve seen enough sites to know the […]

The Secret Recipe of Comment Spam Comments

Mr. Louis Vuitton just sent me a message in my blog comments I’d like to share with you. I share this touching message because it is highly educational when it comes to the art of spam comments, and serves to remind us of why we love having Akismet, the best comment spam fighter, on our […]

Blog Exercises: Check Your Site Title Tag

Do you know what the title of your site is? Not the name of your site or the title of your post, but the HTML <title> tag for your site buried in the source code. In HTML, every website is required to have the <title> tag in the <head> of the source code HTML structure. […]

Blog Exercises: Know Your Pageviews

In this Blog Exercise, it is time to learn some website jargon, specifically, what are all the web pages of your site called. I teach web publishing with WordPress and web design courses at two colleges, and I’m stunned that students don’t know at the lack of proper names for all the parts of a […]