TechHui2024-03-29T15:44:01ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuckhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/353339962?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://www.techhui.com/group/wordpress/forum/topic/listForContributor?user=3vk7o7aeqns7y&feed=yes&xn_auth=nowordpress.com and phptag:www.techhui.com,2012-01-05:1702911:Topic:1037112012-01-05T20:00:49.804ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>I am working on a website for a non-profit group. The current website is mostly static html & css, but we do have a php form (validates and stores data in small db and generates email notifications).</p>
<p>Some folks in the group have suggested we move to wordpress.com. But I don't see how I can add my php form on wordpress.com. I understand how I could integrate the php form if I was running wordpress on my own server. But it seems that wordpress.com doesn't offer this level of…</p>
<p>I am working on a website for a non-profit group. The current website is mostly static html & css, but we do have a php form (validates and stores data in small db and generates email notifications).</p>
<p>Some folks in the group have suggested we move to wordpress.com. But I don't see how I can add my php form on wordpress.com. I understand how I could integrate the php form if I was running wordpress on my own server. But it seems that wordpress.com doesn't offer this level of control.</p>
<p>Can I do this from wordpress.com? </p> Challenge Your Brain on the WordPress Game Show!tag:www.techhui.com,2011-11-24:1702911:Topic:1020792011-11-24T20:35:39.997ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>This has to be the most awesome thing for a WordPress geek! It's a Jeopardy-style WordPress quiz game: <a href="http://www.wpgameshow.com/" target="_blank">The WordPress Game Show</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As featured at WordCamp Detroit 2011:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wpgameshow.com/" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1044570830?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600"></img></a></p>
<p>Seriously, how cool is that?! I was able to answer a lot of the questions, except for some of the more historical ones, e.g. which features were incorporated into certain…</p>
<p>This has to be the most awesome thing for a WordPress geek! It's a Jeopardy-style WordPress quiz game: <a href="http://www.wpgameshow.com/" target="_blank">The WordPress Game Show</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As featured at WordCamp Detroit 2011:</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.wpgameshow.com/"><img width="750" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1044570830?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600"/></a></p>
<p>Seriously, how cool is that?! I was able to answer a lot of the questions, except for some of the more historical ones, e.g. which features were incorporated into certain versions of WordPress.</p>
<p><br/><br/>Kudos to the developers in Detroit for creating this fun site.</p> APEC is coming - The Lovelink Project - Art Websitetag:www.techhui.com,2011-10-24:1702911:Topic:996712011-10-24T23:12:04.047ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>Introducing: <span style="color: #800080;"><strong>The Lovelink Project</strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is a great nonprofit with a long distinguished international history. Founded in New York in 1985. Now we have an APEC related event happening in Honolulu between the Nov 7 and 13 but our website is not up. Domain name suite is secure.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have to set up a WP website quick to promote this important art for peace and nonviolence initiative. …</p>
<p></p>
<p>Introducing: <span style="color: #800080;"><strong>The Lovelink Project</strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is a great nonprofit with a long distinguished international history. Founded in New York in 1985. Now we have an APEC related event happening in Honolulu between the Nov 7 and 13 but our website is not up. Domain name suite is secure.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have to set up a WP website quick to promote this important art for peace and nonviolence initiative. </p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">We need volunteer WP web help NOW.</span></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Why?</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Lovelink Project is soliciting resources now for the project so we need a better web presence.</p>
<p>A one page profile of Lovelink can be seen at: <strong><a href="http://www.michaeldalyartist.com/thelovelinkproject.html" target="_blank">MichaelDalyArtist/TheLovelinkProject</a></strong></p>
<p>The APEC project is developing and may be neutral or leaning toward opposed to APEC -not sure yet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nevertheless our happening is pro-active as it is important</p>
<p>Our theme is <span style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>PACIFIC SUSTAINABILITY</strong></span></p>
<p>Potential! I hope this kick starts a renewal of these global projects and puts Lovelink on the map. This is a great project to be part of especially that it has good funding appeal.</p>
<p>Please contact me: alohamichaeldaly@gmail.com</p>
<p><strong>-----<br/></strong></p> The Perfect "Pre-Launch" Theme for WordPress?tag:www.techhui.com,2011-10-22:1702911:Topic:999352011-10-22T11:21:27.358ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>One of the best moves you can do as a webmaster is to get users to sign up even before you've launched your new site. You can get a good gauge of how many people will be interested, and those early adopters can spread the word to their friends, hopefully building a nice advance buzz.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://launchrock.com/" target="_blank">LaunchRock</a> is a popular choice, often used by tech startups. <a href="http://launcheffectapp.com/" target="_blank">Launch Effect</a> is a…</p>
<p>One of the best moves you can do as a webmaster is to get users to sign up even before you've launched your new site. You can get a good gauge of how many people will be interested, and those early adopters can spread the word to their friends, hopefully building a nice advance buzz.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://launchrock.com/" target="_blank">LaunchRock</a> is a popular choice, often used by tech startups. <a href="http://launcheffectapp.com/" target="_blank">Launch Effect</a> is a new WordPress theme that seems heavily influenced by LaunchRock. It has a small opt-in box for users to sign up, and the ability to upload a catchy background image. Launch Effect was created by Barrel, a creative agency in New York.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Even better, it's free! But free doesn't mean low quality. I installed Launch Rock on a domain I use as a testbed. For the background, I found a nice photo on Flickr Creative Commons. Within about 15 minutes, I built this launch page (click on image to enlarge):</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1044569971?profile=original"></a><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1044569928?profile=original"><img width="600" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1044569928?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Not bad for a quick landing page. I didn't even take advantage of the full customization options, to really pimp out the sign-up box. There is a footer that gives credit to Launch Effect, a common feature in free themes is attribution for the designer. Perfectly acceptable, compared to other free themes that stick a bunch of spam links in the footers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I did hit one big snag. When I'm logged in, the landing page looks fine. But if I view it when logged out, the image is missing and the layout is messed up. The support page says that sometimes there are glitches with the file permissions that prevents the image from displaying. Hope this gets resolved soon, or it's a deal-breaker.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The killer feature of Launch Effect is that you can generate unique referrer URLs that subscribers can use to share the website with their friends. With the analytics data, you can then identify the key influencers who are convincing the most people to sign up. You could send them follow-up e-mails to build relationships with them. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>These subscribers can also see how many people have signed up with their referrer URLs. They only see the stats for their individual URLs, while the webmaster sees all the numbers. This would be useful if you hold a contest where you give prizes to people who drive the most sign-ups, like giving away the latest Apple product. If there is another theme or plugin that does this, I'd love to know.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You can also export the user data as a CSV file, to be imported with an e-mail marketing service like MailChimp or Aweber. One question I had was whether these companies would allow that? I know some e-mail firms have strict policies about not importing e-mail addresses without a double opt-in process. They usually require the webmaster to use the e-mail companies’ own opt-in forms for users to sign up with, and for those users to click on a confirmation link sent to their inboxes. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There are loads of horror stories of bloggers who tried to switch their e-mail subscriber list to another provider. If the new provider required the blogger to get his readers to opt in again, it usually resulted in losing a big portion of the list. A lot of people don't want to register again, out of laziness or being suspicious of getting spammed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To be on the safe side of the CAN-SPAM Act, I might wait until Launch Effect has full integration with MailChimp or Aweber’s opt-in forms. On Launch Effect's site, there is a "Development Road Map" and it says connecting the theme with MailChimp is a top priority. Nothing so far about Aweber, which Internet marketers prefer because Aweber is more lenient about affiliate links, as long as the users double opted-in.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There’s a similar free launch theme available from Woo Themes, called <a href="http://www.woothemes.com/2011/01/placeholder/" target="_blank">Placeholder</a>. From a cursory comparison, Launch Effect has more features and is more customizable. One nice thing about Placeholder is that it has a countdown clock.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anyway, this Launch Effect theme is an example of what I love about WordPress. The community can see something that's working well, then rapidly create a theme or plugin to emulate that functionality for WordPress.</p> WordPress as a framework? 5 ways businesses can replace web apps with WordPresstag:www.techhui.com,2011-10-01:1702911:Topic:976262011-10-01T22:34:03.779ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>WordPress has been doing a decent job of shedding its reputation as being "just for blogging" and gaining more respect as a full-fledged content management system (CMS). </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some dedicated developers in the WP community are going further, building plugins that allow WordPress to offer the same functionality as popular web apps:<br></br><br></br><a href="http://wpmu.org/5-innovative-uses-of-wordpress-for-business-owners/" target="_blank">5 innovative uses of WordPress for business…</a></p>
<p>WordPress has been doing a decent job of shedding its reputation as being "just for blogging" and gaining more respect as a full-fledged content management system (CMS). </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some dedicated developers in the WP community are going further, building plugins that allow WordPress to offer the same functionality as popular web apps:<br/><br/><a href="http://wpmu.org/5-innovative-uses-of-wordpress-for-business-owners/" target="_blank">5 innovative uses of WordPress for business owners</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>One attraction would be greater integration with your website. Instead of juggling your WordPress site and a bunch of third-party apps, you could control them all from the WP dashboard. <br/><br/>I'd say these plugins are in their infancy, so people shouldn't expect the full features of more well-known programs. For example, CollabPress is far from being the next Basecamp.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In particular, I'd be wary of using WordPress for e-mail marketing. "Deliverability" is a full-time job in itself, best outsourced to professionals. E-mail providers are constantly updating their spam filters, and trying to get past them is a time-intensive endeavor. I'd still go with MailChimp or Aweber for managing e-mail newsletters.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Have you found any cool plugins that transform WordPress into a different kind of website? One thing I'm looking for is a theme or plugin that creates a Q&A website like Quora or Stack Overflow.<br/><br/>Share your favorites in the comments.</p> WordPress 911: Where to get helptag:www.techhui.com,2011-09-22:1702911:Topic:972492011-09-22T19:54:19.574ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>Whether you're a WordPress noob or ninja, sometimes you run into a problem and need to be rescued. There's a nice list up at this blog post: <a href="http://digwp.com/2011/09/where-to-get-help-with-wordpress" target="_blank">Where to get help with WordPress</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To add to that list, here are a few of my favorites:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wpbeginner.com/" target="_blank">WPBeginner</a> - This is my go-to resource for tutorials. Whenever I need to figure out how…</p>
<p>Whether you're a WordPress noob or ninja, sometimes you run into a problem and need to be rescued. There's a nice list up at this blog post: <a href="http://digwp.com/2011/09/where-to-get-help-with-wordpress" target="_blank">Where to get help with WordPress</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To add to that list, here are a few of my favorites:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.wpbeginner.com/" target="_blank">WPBeginner</a> - This is my go-to resource for tutorials. Whenever I need to figure out how to do something in WordPress, 90 percent of the time WPBeginner has written about it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Despite the name, they often explain advanced topics, such as how to connect your site to a content delivery network (CDN). They use screenshots, code snippets, and clear writing to take you step-by-step through common tasks. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://sucuri.net/" target="_blank">Sucuri.net</a> - They're a web security firm that specializes in fixing hacked WordPress sites. I haven't had to use them yet (knock on wood), but they were recommended to me by a top blogger. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They sell annual plans where they'll monitor your sites for malware. Sucuri also offers a free scan of your website, you just have to enter your URL on their site. It's worth subscribing to their blog's <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/SucuriSecurity" target="_blank">RSS feed</a> too, for updates on security threats.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What are your favorite sites for getting help with WordPress?</p> The Mother of All WordPress Plugin Liststag:www.techhui.com,2011-09-12:1702911:Topic:955652011-09-12T08:21:40.503ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>WPCandy, my favorite website for WordPress news, started a post series called, "Behind the Site." Pretty self-explanatory: they showcase a nice site built with WordPress, then talk about how it was made.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The highlight for me is when they reveal which plugins they use. It's fun to discover cool plugins I never knew about before. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>To kick things off, WPCandy did a <a href="http://wpcandy.com/presents/behind-the-site-wpcandy" target="_blank">profile of…</a></p>
<p>WPCandy, my favorite website for WordPress news, started a post series called, "Behind the Site." Pretty self-explanatory: they showcase a nice site built with WordPress, then talk about how it was made.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The highlight for me is when they reveal which plugins they use. It's fun to discover cool plugins I never knew about before. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>To kick things off, WPCandy did a <a href="http://wpcandy.com/presents/behind-the-site-wpcandy" target="_blank">profile of itself</a>. I have to say, that is the longest list of plugins I've seen anywhere. They have a good reason, though. WPCandy is actually 5 websites: a blog, a forum, a professional directory, a podcast, and a video site. Did I miss one? By taking on so many roles, WPCandy can't help but use a ton of plugins. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'm curious, what are your policies on installing plugins?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Some of my criteria:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>--A well-known developer, e.g. Yoast. Reputation goes a long way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>--Recommended by a WordPress blog I trust, e.g. WPCandy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>--100,000 downloads or more. The more widely it's used, the more likely it will keep being updated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>--Updated within the last year. Matt Mullenweg announced in his 2011 "State of the Word" that any plugins that haven't been updated in 2 years would be hidden from search results. An elegant, simple solution to what could have been a complex problem. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>--If the plugin page has a video tutorial of how to install and use it. This is a bonus, since it's not that common. A good example is <a href="http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/admin-management-xtended/" target="_blank">Admin Management Xtended</a>. The description doesn't capture how cool and useful it is, but the video does.</p> The Future of WordPress: Q&A w/ Founder Matt Mullenwegtag:www.techhui.com,2011-07-11:1702911:Topic:871652011-07-11T10:18:29.668ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>With WordPress 3.2 just released, people are already focusing on what's next. Here's a great interview with WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg: <a href="http://memeburn.com/2011/07/the-future-of-wordpress-qa-with-founder-matt-mullenweg/" target="_blank">The Future of WordPress</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I liked his quote about community being the "killer app" of open-source projects:</p>
<blockquote><p>The early mistake I made in WordPress development was trying to do it all myself, even though it…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With WordPress 3.2 just released, people are already focusing on what's next. Here's a great interview with WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg: <a href="http://memeburn.com/2011/07/the-future-of-wordpress-qa-with-founder-matt-mullenweg/" target="_blank">The Future of WordPress</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I liked his quote about community being the "killer app" of open-source projects:</p>
<blockquote><p>The early mistake I made in WordPress development was trying to do it all myself, even though it was an Open Source project. In the WordPress community a consistent theme has been that the more people contribute their best work the better the end product is, and my primary job is just to get out of the way. It took me a while to learn that, but now it’s ingrained.</p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>Another part that resonated with me was how having technical skills can be so empowering. My first website took me two months to build. The last one took me two days. It's a big confidence boost to know that you can have an idea and immediately create something that users can see:</p>
<blockquote><p>If you’re a developer you’re already five steps ahead of everyone else. Scripting is the new literacy, and the ability to learn and execute on your ideas without relying on anybody else is going to be invaluable as you iterate and experiment on building something. It’s good to build for yourself first, because in the worst-case scenario where no one else likes it, at least you will.</p>
</blockquote>
<p> </p>
<p>One answer that stood out was when Mullenweg named which rival content management systems he was watching. I'm sure there are web developers who are chomping at the bit to get a full-featured, easy-to-use CMS that's run on Ruby on Rails, Python, or Node.js. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I wouldn't get too concerned about which platform ends up winning. The big winner in the end is the user.</p> "Premium" WordPress web hosting: worth the money?tag:www.techhui.com,2011-07-07:1702911:Topic:870752011-07-07T21:15:50.681ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>Lately I've been curious about dedicated WordPress web hosting companies. They're too expensive for someone starting out. However, I thought they might be a good solution for someone with a high-traffic website, who doesn't want the hassle of managing their own VPS (Virtual Private Server).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here a few I've found:</p>
<p><br></br><a href="http://page.ly/" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://page.ly" target="_blank">Page.ly</a> - they seem to be the most well-known WP web…</p>
<p>Lately I've been curious about dedicated WordPress web hosting companies. They're too expensive for someone starting out. However, I thought they might be a good solution for someone with a high-traffic website, who doesn't want the hassle of managing their own VPS (Virtual Private Server).</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here a few I've found:</p>
<p><br/><a href="http://page.ly/" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://page.ly" target="_blank">Page.ly</a> - they seem to be the most well-known WP web host. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://wpengine.com/" target="_blank">WPEngine</a> - I was really impressed by their team and <a href="http://wpengine.com/our-infrastructure/" target="_blank">how they optimize WordPress</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If one of my websites ever struck it big (hope springs eternal), I'd be more willing to shell out the extra money for one of these web hosts. Great to let the experts worry about speed, performance, and scalability.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For now, I'll stick with my shared hosting plan. My current web host has given me great service at low prices, so no incentive to change at this time. I don't want to name them and look like I'm spamming, though. If you want the details, you can message me. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Have you used a WordPress web host? How was your experience? Is there another great web host that I missed? Let us know in a comment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>P.S. WordPress has a <a href="http://wordpress.org/hosting/" target="_blank">list of web hosting companies</a>. However, I don't think that list has ever been updated.</p>
<p> </p> Children of WordPress: How many are there?tag:www.techhui.com,2011-07-03:1702911:Topic:869342011-07-03T08:07:14.171ZMika Leuckhttp://www.techhui.com/profile/MikaLeuck
<p>Until very recently I only knew of BuddyPress. Now it seems like I'm constantly running into plugins that make cool variations of WordPress. I thought it would be handy to put a list together as a resource.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://buddypress.org/" target="_blank">BuddyPress</a>--turns WordPress into a social network. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://bbpress.org/" target="_blank">bbPress</a>--forum software. Now bundled into BuddyPress.</p>
<p> …</p>
<p></p>
<p>Until very recently I only knew of BuddyPress. Now it seems like I'm constantly running into plugins that make cool variations of WordPress. I thought it would be handy to put a list together as a resource.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://buddypress.org/" target="_blank">BuddyPress</a>--turns WordPress into a social network. </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://bbpress.org/" target="_blank">bbPress</a>--forum software. Now bundled into BuddyPress.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://collabpress.org/" target="_blank">CollabPress</a>--project management plugin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://videopress.com/" target="_blank">VideoPress</a>--as far as I know, you need to have a WordPress.com account to get this.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.mightyseek.com/podpress" target="_blank">PodPress</a>--adds features to make a WordPress site a broadcasting platform.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://backpress.org/" target="_blank">BackPress</a>--a PHP library of core functions that could be used to build prototype web apps. There's a video of a presentation called <a href="http://wordpress.tv/2011/05/03/nathaniel-taintor-rapidly-prototyping-web-applications-using-back-press/" target="_blank">Rapidly Prototyping Web Applications Using BackPress</a>. I was a bit underwhelmed, though. I think it would just be better to go straight to a web framework.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.billerickson.net/twentyten-crm/" target="_blank">TwentyTen CRM</a>--uses WordPress as a customer relationship management tool. Thanks to TechHui member Jon Brown for mentioning this in my last post about WordPress for collaboration.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Are there any other helpful variations of WordPress you know of? What was your experience using them?</p>