I took these notes about WordPress Network (Multisite) at our WordPress Grand Rapids (WPGR) meetup on March 15, 2012. Learn more about WordPress Grand Rapids on Meetup and WPGR.org. Presenters What’s a Network? A WordPress Network is a collection of sites that all share the same WordPress installation and database. They can also share plugins […]
A sticky footer is a footer that sticks to the bottom of the browser window regardless of the length of the page's content. If the footer isn't sticky, it will appear too high on short pages, which doesn't look good. The best instructions I've found for creating a sticky footer for WordPress are found in […]
WP101 has many high-quality WordPress training videos in their WP101 tutorial series. These are just a few of the topics covered: The Dashboard Creating a New Post Using Categories and Tags Creating and Editing Pages Add Photos and Images Managing Comments Adding Widgets
I refreshed my branding for 2012 because I converted OptimWise from an IT services business to a web design business. The branding refresh included a new logo and color scheme, so I redesigned my web design business site, OptimWise.com. Besides branding, the other impetus for the redesign was to use responsive web design, so the […]
I redesigned OptimWise.com to feature a new color scheme and a responsive design that adapts to fit your screen size, so it works on smartphones, tablets, and traditional computers. My friend Todd Karsemeyer of DESiGNTEK Graphics created the new logo which represents the Web and optimization, and hints at the letters "O" and "W" for […]
I like to replace the default search functionality in WordPress with Google Custom Search. While recently redesigning a site using a child theme of the Twenty Eleven theme for WordPress, I found that Google had discontinued the IFrame option for Google Custom Search. Fortunately, I found this post: Integrating a Google Custom Search Engine into […]
WordPress All-in-One For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson, Cory Miller, Kevin Palmer, Andrea Rennick, Michael Torbert My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the broadest, most comprehensive WordPress book I’ve read so far. It covers more than WordPress for Dummies, because it deals with everything from administration to design to development. I skimmed the first […]
WordPress Bible by Aaron Brazell My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a comprehensive WordPress book; topics include getting started, plugin development, theme development, content management, and maintenance. I’m a web designer who creates WordPress sites for small businesses, so I focused on SEO, plugin recommendations, and theme development, and skimmed plugin development. My […]
Head First WordPress by Jeff Siarto My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is short and very high-level, dedicating only 1 or 2 pages to most topics. It's best for beginners or intermediate WordPress users. It covers styling a theme, managing users, managing categories and tags, embedding video, podcasting, security, and performance. I liked […]
WordPress Theme Design by Tessa Blakeley Silver My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book does a decent job teaching WordPress theme design. It walks you through wireframing, writing the HTML and CSS, and creating graphics, then building a WordPress theme from those pieces. It’s mostly WordPress-specific, addressing the WordPress Loop, template files, template tags, […]
To keep improving my WordPress skills when I'm away from my computer, I listen to podcasts. It's difficult to teach the technical aspects of web design through audio, so many of these cover WordPress news and opinion, but a few have WordPress tips and tricks as well. These are the best WordPress podcasts I've found […]
WordPress In Depth by Bud E. Smith My rating: 3 of 5 stars Based on the title, I expected to be overwhelmed by the “in depth”, technical details of WordPress. Instead, I was bored by the first 3 parts, which are mainly aimed at novice WordPress.com bloggers, and explain posts, graphics, links, and content creation. […]
