Tag Archives: Wordpress

The CMS

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One of my favorite things about WordPress is its extensibility. We’re on the same platform today as yesterday, but have built new tools for writers and editors. Featured and pinned articles get expiration dates, so editors don’t have to go back and manually un-feature things. Selecting a post layout is as simple as clicking a button. Automated resizing of images means faster load times and fewer distorted photos. And choosing which articles go on the home page is a single-click affair.

Really loving the new design of TechCrunch. It is getting a lot of heat, but I like the change. Looks nice. Would love to steer Make in a similar direction.

via: Redesigning TechCrunch: We Picked This Logo Just to Piss You Off

WordCamp Vegoose

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Just a little wrap up from WordCamp Vegas that was this last weekend. I had a great time, I am always impressed with the WordPress community. Open, caring, and would literally give you warm cookies just for driving down to Vegas.

This trip was a lot of fun. The conference was great, lots of really good, relevant talks. Highlights included Brandon Dove of PixalJar.net gave a great presentation about Child Themes vs. Theme Framworks. Having built a bunch of custom themes and child themes, personally I have stayed away from frameworks, but after hearing him, I kind of want to dig into Thematic and see what else there is to learn. Also really like when we looked into a site and he said, “This filter applies to all the single ladies.” Kind of a WordPress joke…

I had the opportunity to present myself, and was really happy when John Hawkins invited me to come down at WordCamp Utah. I spoke on the Loop, on how to build custom queries, template tags, and working with custom post types. My slides, similar to the WordCamp Utah ones below:

I also enjoyed hearing the flamboyant Eric Marden and hearing him speak on DevCraft: Best Practices for WordPress Teams. I never worked professionally as part of a dev shop, so his comments were interesting on a lot of levels. Taking a lot of his critique and commentary to heart, hoping to become a better developer as a result.

I guess this brings me to the crux. No one is a perfect developer.  For all of the WordCamps that I have been to, (been to eight now in the last two years) there is always something to learn. For the $20-$30 that they normally cost, there is no better way to spend a Saturday learning from everyone around you on how to be a better developer, better blogger, or better designer.

Hope to see you at the next one!

WordCamp Utah 2010

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WordCamp Utah 2010 will be held August 28th at University of Utah, in the Skaggs Biology Building. This is a great opportunity to spend a day with local WordPress developers, users, and fans of all kinds! Presentations will cover a range of topics, with two tracks running throughout the day.

Just getting started or looking for a little help with your WordPress questions? We’ll have a Genius Bar where you get some help. Already a WordPress whiz? Come volunteer at Genius Bar! Contact us and we’ll put you on the list.

And finally, at WordCamp Utah 2010 we’ll get an answer to that question you’ve always wondered about, Will WordPress Blend?

If you are interested in sponsoring, presenting, or helping make everything run smoothly please let us know –  we are still looking for help with video recording in both rooms so if you know someone who can help in that area we’d really like to hear from you.

The vital details:

Catching Up

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Haven’t been blogging in a while but I wanted to mention a few things, and try to get back in the swing of it.

Work

Since October I have been working at Stevens-Henager College. Had some great experience teaching there. Due to the four week class schedules, I got to teach a lot of different classes namely: Web Design, HTML+CSS, Flash, Logo Design, Package Design, and Flash Animation.

A few months ago, I started working at the WordPress HelpCenter. The HelpCenter is a great facility helmed by Alex King and a child to his company Crowd Favorite. At the HelpCenter, we do WordPress theme support, and plugin support. After almost three months, I have worked on a ton of projects, everything from plugin support, theme hacks, all the way to theme design and full site builds. If you are a WordPress developer, if you are ever in a pinch, the HelpCenter is a great place to go for help. One phone call gets you years of WordPress experience and likely a quick fix to whatever ails you.

I have wanted to be able to work both jobs, as I really like teaching but something had to drop, (either my sanity, or one of my jobs…) so this week I will be leaving Stevens-Henager. With much coercing, I am going to stay at Stevens-Henager on an advisory board that will assist the faculty in developing curriculum in the web program at Stevens-Henager.

Family

Last Friday was my five year anniversary. Hard to believe six years ago I met my wonderful wife. I feel so blessed, happy, and fortunate each day that I get to spend with her. And everyday that she puts up with me. ;)

Rush is doing well, growing everyday and finding new ways to test his Mom and Dad about what is right and wrong. Over the last few days we have seen some big advances as he has started walking more. What was a cautious shuffle of the feet has moved into multiple big steps. He loves the attention that we give him, and will be running in no time.

Colosseo

So, I didn’t win an iPad as part of the SEO contest but Cameron sent one of his Colosseo prints as a gift anyways. Namaste to you Cameron.

The Loop

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Had a great WordPress Meetup tonight at SEO.com. I gave a short presentation about the WordPress loop, and how to integrate different content into theme templates.

The WordPress Loop

During my presentation, I mentioned my secret weapon in WordPress theme design, and that is the WordPress Cheat Sheet. Great tool for designing, lots easier then digging through the WordPress codex.

Thanks to Ash Buckles and Thom Allen for also presenting and for all those that attended!

WPMU Missing Link

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For the last year or so, I have been heavily invested into the WordPressMU platform. For those that are unaware, WordPressMU is similar to WordPress, but allows the creation and implementation of literally thousands of other blogs all under the same domain. This software is what powers blogging networks like WordPress.com, EduBlogs.org, and projects that I have built, like Petomundo!, Photo-Bloggers.com, and UrTur.

WPMU,orgWhen you are building around the WordPress platform, you get the benefit of the thousands of beautiful themes, robust plugins, and dedicated community of the platform, but WordPressMU, sometimes you need a little more, and that is where WPMU.org fits in. WPMU.org, and its premium version Premium.WPMUDEV.org which I am happily paying member are priceless tools when developing around the WPMU platform. Here are some of the essential tools for building a WordPressMU community.

  • The Support Forums – Great place to get help when you need. They are always quick with a response, and happy to help.
  • Training Videos – When creating a blogging network, some people are going to need some help. These videos were such a help when people needed help on Petomundo!.
  • Google Analytics for WordPressMU – Able to be used for site-wide analytics, and for individual blogs. Great tool.
  • MailChimp Newsletter Integration – For a project that I haven’t announced yet… Able to rapidly manage users and create email marketing campaigns.
  • Rebranding WordPressMU – Remove and modify all of the images and links to WordPress. Sometime you want it to be your own! Part of the beauty of using Open Source Software…
  • Terms of Service – Simply shows a terms of service box during signup that must be agreed to during signup. Great simple plugin.
  • WordPressMU Affiliate – Create your own affiliate tools via this great plugin. Have your users help you in developing membership.
  • The Premium Themes – Beautiful WordPress and BuddyPress themes with enough customization options to keep anyone happy. The themes alone are worth the price of the membership alone.

If you are developing around WordPressMU, membership to this site shouldn’t even be question. Every tool in the box is worth an annual membership, especially considering the robust support given.