One of the most common issues with blogs that I critique is the WWW/No-WWW issue. That is where you can see the same content with both the WWW. in the URL and without. Doesn't seem like much of a problem? There is a theory around SEO circles that having content available on both creates problems in search engines with either duplicate content or counting links or both. A growing movement is trying to remove the WWW. because it is unnecessary For usability concerns at the very least you … [Read more...]

Adam started a great thread over at the Authority Blogger Forum which I would like to open up over here; How many columns should a blog have, and why?For myself, I switch between 2 and 3 columns. When I have advertising, such as at DSLRBlog, I have a third column to accommodate it. That said, my sidebar is getting very stuffed here on this blog so I am starting to consider a three column approach.Rather than what we like, we have to focus on what your reader needs. As Lorelle says ... The single … [Read more...]

Every week I am asked how I put that download link in my RSS feed. Until to now I have had to explain that the solution requires a WordPress plugin that I hard coded. No longer! Damian, my WordPress hacking friend, has kindly released the plugin complete with an options screen. Now anyone can do what I do with complete flexibility. He should really have called it "What would Chris Garrett do" but I guess I shouldn't push his kindness too far ;) Go over to Damian's site for more … [Read more...]

My friend Damian and I have just been moving DSLRBlog from Drupal 5 to WordPress 2 using instructions from D'Arcy Norman.While Drupal is a fantastic platform, I had problems maintaining it. It was getting me down particularly fighting the torrent of spam being thrown at it. Keeping on top of updates, bug fixes, security patches, yada, was a pain. I am simply not interested in Drupal, whereas I do keep abreast of WordPress news.The biggest problem we had was I didn't want to lose rankings through … [Read more...]

Gary has written a post about his "Group Writing Project" WordPress plugin that should be interesting to anyone involved in Wordpress hacking and plugin development. Most interesting is his description of a poorly documented Wordpress function, wp_insert_post() that ought to be very useful.The most important thing about the plugin is the wp_insert_post() function that I use. This is used to create new posts in the blog, just by using code and by passing an array to it, containing the data … [Read more...]

My good friend Damian has just released his first plugin and it's a corker. It goes by the name WP_LinkIt and I think many bloggers will find it useful ... WP_LinkIt as a free simple Wordpress plugin to automatically convert text from your posts and pages into links from your blogroll. This makes it easy to add value your site but maximizing links to other sites and keeping them consistent throughout your site. Now I can see several big uses I will find for this tool Without editing old … [Read more...]

I just majorly goofed on my blog. While upgrading a bunch of blogs to Wordpress 2.2 I overwrote my theme before checking my backup. It seems my FTP had not managed to transfer my sidebar so when I had a look at my handy work I had the default staring back at me.Don't do upgrades in a rush, take your timeAlways take regular backups, not just when you are upgradingCheck your backups before making big changesRename any themes you customise so you are using a completely unique name to prevent … [Read more...]

The buy me a beer plugin is not the only plugin I have been trying out recently. Here are some other Wordpress plugins you might want to try out Dagon Design Sitemap Generator - sitemaps are not just useful for visitors but can help your posts get indexed also. This plugin makes creating a sitemap automatic and painless. I had to tweak the look of it a bit, perhaps in the next version there will be more formatting options. Comment Timeout - I noticed a lot of the spam was appearing on … [Read more...]

You might have noticed under my posts a little cup of coffee icon. I am trying out a plugin for Ankesh called "Buy Me a Beer Plugin" ... This WordPress plugin allows your readers to donate money to you via PayPal. The plugin is widget enabled. So the idea is if a reader likes your post they might send you a couple of dollars as a tip, enough to buy you a coffee or a beer. Neat idea, eh? Update: My small problem fixed, you can buy me a coffee again now ;) … [Read more...]

In my last post I said blogs were an excellent content management system. A couple of people asked me to elaborate. What is a CMS and why are they a good thing?What is a CMS?A CMS (Content Management System) is simply a computer software package that makes it easy to create web pages. In the old days to create a web site you would need knowledge of HTML (HyperText Markup Language), FTP (File Transfer Protocol), and some other geeky stuff. Content Management Systems, sometimes also called … [Read more...]