Create an Options Page For Your WordPress Theme

CREATE AN ADVANCED OPTIONS PAGE IN WORDPRESS

How To: Create a Theme Options Page for Your WordPress Theme

A Look Into the WordPress Themes’ Options Pages

10+ RARE WORDPRESS THEME OPTIONS PAGE TUTORIALS TO GET YOU STARTED

The WordPress.org Codex describes a WordPress Widget as:

WordPress Widgets (WPW) is like a plugin, but designed to provide a simple way to arrange the various elements of your sidebar content (known as “widgets”) without having to change any code. The Widgets SubPanel explains how to use the various Widgets that come delivered with WordPress, and the Widgets page at Automattic explains how to ‘widgetize’ themes and plugins.

• Using Text Widgets
• Using RSS Widgets
• Widget-ready themes

Great How to Build a Widget Tutorial from LonewolfDesigns

How to make a WordPress Widget from Scratch

Resources

Have you ever Schedule a post in WordPress and then decided you need the post to be published immediately?

If so you may have experienced a rather frustrating result. Here’s a video tutorial from the guys at http://seehowtwo.com

<object width=”480″ height=”385″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/mkQT02YFOPc&hl=en_US&fs=1&”></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/mkQT02YFOPc&hl=en_US&fs=1&” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”480″ height=”385″></embed></object>

Author: Unknown from TechnoBuzz.net
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1. How to Display categories in horizontal Drop-Down menu

2. Create a Dynamic Sticky

3. How to Add a Print Button To Your Theme

4. How to Add an Email Button To Your Theme

5. How to Separate WordPress Comments and Trackbacks

6. Customize Your 404 Page

7. DiggProof your WordPress

8. Giving each WordPress post a thumbnail

9. How to Optimize Your WordPress Title

10. How to Format Images for Feed Readers

11. 4 Simple ways to Speed up WordPress

12. Add Gravatar for post author

13. How to Display recent post from specific category

14. How to Highlight author’s comments

15. Hiding Advertisements For Single Posts

16. Protect CSS Mods for ANY WordPress Theme

17. How to Open links in new windows

18. How to Embed Google Ad in first wordpress post

19. Creating an Archive Index

20. How to Display Twitter messages in WordPress

21. How to Add Stripe Ad in wordpress

22. Recover WordPress Password When You Have Forgotten It

23. How to embed YouTube Video in WordPress

24. How to Show Only a Post Excerpt

25. How To Add Numbers To Your Blog Comments

26. How to Create a Custom Page Template

27. How to Remove Ads from Select Categories

28. How to Separate Your Blogroll Categories

29. Make Your WordPress Blog Search Engine Friendly

30. WP: KeyBoard Shortcuts

http://www.technobuzz.net

Author: Abbas Suterwala from WPWebHost.com
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The three content types in WordPress by default are posts, pages, and comments. Each of these content types have their own unique features. Understanding their unique features will help you unleash the full power of WordPress and will give you a full featured blogging experience. There are other content types which can be added to WordPress via plugins.

Posts are the main content type of your WordPress blog. A post is one entry on you blog and is generally tied to one or more categories and a date. There could be five different posts on the same day with three different categories or there could be just one post in one category. The posts, by default, are shown on the home page of your blog chronologically.

The post is the content type which drives the content and direction of your blog as well as enables conversation by using comments on the post.

Template Tag To list post

The template tag query_posts ( $args ) is used to list WordPress posts.

There are a lot of arguments this template tags take in. To read a complete comprehensive list you can check the following link.

http://codex.WordPress.org/Template_Tags/query_posts

Generally the query_posts template tag is used in conjunction with what is called as The Loop

(http://codex.WordPress.org/The_Loop ) which is a simple loop going through each post which is returned as the output on query_posts . The code template is as below

A sample code from index.php is as below.

Some important tricks with query_posts

How to display posts on the index page from only a particular category?

Generally all the themes display all the posts in chronological order from your database. If you have to display posts from only one category (for example- Category ‘Projects’) you can do the following changes in the index.php file

And then use The Loop after that. This would display all the post under the category Project

How to display post on the index page which has a particular tag?

To display all the post which has a particular tag (for example- Programming) you can make the following change in index.php

This would display all the post which has the tag as Programming

Also if one has to display post of a particular Author he can use the following

How to display only sticky post on home page?

You can post a sticky post using the option shown below

The sticky post(s) are shown above the normal posts.

If one wants to show only the sticky posts (and no other posts) on the home page

then one should make the following change (in file index.php )

This would display post only which are marked as sticky on the home page

As WordPress grew as a blogging platform there was more and more need for it to have features like a CMS as people started using WordPress as a complete site making software. Hence the functionality of adding pages was added in WordPress.

Pages are just static posts. They are stored in the same way in the databases as posts.

They can have comments just like posts and can also register pingbacks and trackbacks.

They differ from the posts in that they are not displayed chronologically like posts but can be stored as a tree structure where pages would be placed under other pages.

One could also have custom templates for pages.

Template Tag To list pages

The template tag wp_list_pages( $args ); is used to list WordPress pages  as links .

There are a lot of arguments this template tags take in. To read a complete comprehensive list you can check the following link.

http://codex.WordPress.org/Template_Tags/wp_list_pages

Following is a code snippet from the file sidebar.php

Some important tricks with wp_list_pages

Here I am going to discuss some small tricks you can do with this template tag to customize your blog according to your needs.

How to change the title of page list to something like ‘documents’?

To do this find the template tag wp_list_pages  in your theme . In the default theme it in the file  sidebar.php  and there replace the following line

with

The argument title_li of the template tag  wp_list_pages  determines what will be the title of the group of pages displayed below it . The default is Pages. So by changing that parameter we can change the title to the group of pages.

How to change the order of list of pages displayed?

By default the list of the pages are sorted in ascending order on the page title as you see in the image below.

So if I want to make the list of pages in descending order of page title then use the argument sort_order of wp_list_pages . So changing the code for wp_list_pages   as follows will sort the page list in descending order (in sidebar.php).

The pages can also be sorted on some other column for e.g:- post_date

So if I want to sort the pages in descending order on their post date then I use the following parameters to the wp_list_pages

How to remove a particular page from of list of pages displayed?

If I want to remove a particular page from the list of pages for e.g:- The page ‘Projects Done’ with page id as 3 I should make the following change in sidebar.php

which would remove the page ‘Projects Done ‘ from the list of pages displayed.

Comments are the most exciting feature of WordPress. Comments when enabled build a community on the blog. Many times the most interesting content is in the comments rather than in the posts. WordPress has a robust commenting system, incorporating trackback, pingback and per-post commenting.

Template Tag To list Comments

The template tag wp_list_comments ( $args ); is used to list WordPress Comments .

There are a lot of arguments this template tags take in. To read a complete comprehensive list you can check the following link.

http://codex.WordPress.org/Template_Tags/wp_list_comments

This tag is found in the file comments.php following is the code snippet from it

Some important tricks with wp_list_comments

How to reverse the order of the comments displayed on a page?

By default the comments are displayed in ascending order of date. So the oldest comment is displayed first and then the newer comments below it as shown in the image below

But many times you want the latest comment on the post/page to display on the top which will help the reader to get the latest comment immediately.

This can be done by changing the template tag wp_list_comments which is generally in the file comments.php as follows

This reverses the comment order displaying the latest comment on top as shown below. By the way, WordPress dashboard also has option in dashboard-discussion settings to show new comments on top and break it in pages.

Template Tag To Show a Comment pop-up link

The template tag
comments_popup_link(’zero’,’one’,’more’,’CSSclass’,’none’);

is used to show the Comment pop-up link .

There are a lot of arguments this template tags take in. To read a complete comprehensive list you can check the following link.

http://codex.WordPress.org/Template_Tags/comments_popup_link

This tag is found in generally in index.php , following is a code snippet from it

How to change the text of the Comments Pop Up link when there are no Comments?

Suppose a post does not have any comments on it as yet. In that a link would still be displayed for comments pop up and would generally have the text as ‘No Comments’

Suppose I want to change the text ‘No Comments’ to something like ‘Be The First To Comment’. In that case I can make the following change to the call to template tag comments_popup_link as follows

This would change the text of the Comments pop up link to ‘’Be The First To Comment’

How to hide the Comments pop-up link if comments are closed on certain posts?

Sometimes on some post the comments are closed. Hence showing the Comments pop-up link next to it is not a good design for you blog ( as when that link would be clicked it would display on the next page that comments are closed on this post )

Hence if we have to show the Comments pop up link only if comments are open on a post make the following changes before comments_popup_link() in the index.php file

This would show the comments pop-up link on post which has comments open and wont show comments pop up link where comments are closed. See image below

Though this is not a content type this is a very important part of your WordPress blog. Categories help to organize your post. One way a person can read your post (and the way they are by default displayed on your blog ) is reading or surfing it chronologically. Category helps to organize your post not only in the sequence you post them but helps you to categorize logically similar post together. This would help a new reader of your blog who comes in late to your blog party to go through the post of different categories together.

Template Tag To list Categories

The template tag wp_list_categories( $args ); is used to list WordPress categories  as links .

There are a lot of arguments this template tags take in. To read a complete comprehensive list you can check the following link.

http://codex.WordPress.org/Template_Tags/wp_list_categories

Following is a code snippet from the file sidebar.php

Some important tricks with wp_list_categories

Here I am going to discuss some small tricks you can do with this template tag to customize your blog according to your needs.

How to show or hide the post counts under a category shown next to each category?

Whether to display the number of post under each category next to the category in the list is controlled by the parameter show_count to the template tag wp_list_categories .

If show_count=1 the number of post in each category are shown.

How can I limit the number of categories in wp_list_categories?

One can limit the number of categories as the output of wp_list_categories .

This is particularly helpful in case you have many categories but want to display a few in the sidebar.

The max number of categories displayed depends on the value of the argument ‘number’

of the template tag in wp_list_categories.

So if you want to set a max limit on the number of posts then you can use

This would display only 2 categories in the side bar.

How can I remove a particular category from the list of categories?

If I want to remove a particular page from the list of pages for e.g.- The page ‘Projects ‘with page id as 3 I should make the following change in sidebar.php

which would remove the page ‘Projects ‘ from the list of categories displayed.

These are the basic content types of WordPress and making small tweaks in how these are displayed to the user you blog can really stand out. These small changes can make the blog look good and ease your blog navigation. You do not have to use the WordPress default settings with the WordPress content types. You can make changes to how your blog looks and appears to your readers by making some changes as discussed in this post.

How to shut off Dreamweaver’s stubborn “design notes” feature.

I had one heck of a time finding how to kill Dreamweaver Notes messying up my folders.

I found out how and so I’m sharing.

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/338/91b33859.html

Ever made a list or navbar and only the text itself is clickable? Well I found an easy CSS fix and so I’m sharing.

http://v3.thewatchmakerproject.com/journal/154/simple-css-how-to-make-clickable-areas-bigger

So Here’s a delicious rant that I think is way long over due.

Hey Twitter! Why do you not yet understand that centered backgrounds would be nice?
I hate that my twitter site twitter.com/alteredstudio looks totally silly on every monitor except a 17″.
Who’s with me? I understand that lots of you have left aligned backgrounds set up for your clients and that’s fine. Twitter you could make everyone happy by just having both options.
What do you think? I’m I just nuts?

Welcome to the fast and furious return of a little thing called updates to AlteredAdvice.com

Sorry I’ve been very busy with web work and haven’t had much time to write but I’m going to try to write at least two post per week. So lost of new stuff rolling around my brain and one idea I’m super stoked about. Stay turned and as alway thanks for reading.

I took a trip to Virginia this week. Going up north of course I had a lot of time to reflect and here is a small list of tips and hints I came up with.

1. Don’t get stuck

| It’s super important to always stay a student, not just in formal classes but in all of life. Don’t get set on just one technology. More than ever before clients are looking for ways to add interactive web experiences to their projects. If all you know is PHP, then try learning: standards compliant HTML, jQuery, CSS, MySQL. Also learn WP or another content management system and find a shopping cart that you like and can feel comfortable skinning.

2. Keep your eyes open

| Inspiration is all around you. I’m always checking out road signs and billboards as I drive down the road and studying napkin logos and menus at restrants . You never know where a great idea will spring from.
The great outdoors is an amazing inspiration resource.

3. Learn from other people

| Study successful designers, artists, communicators and compare what they do verses what other designers do that are not successful. How do they present themselves? How do they reach their audience? Ask yourself does there message reinates with their respective audence? If so, why?

4. Work on your weaknesses

| Ask yourself where am I weakest? Am I a great designer that finds it hard to close leads because I can’t communicate well? If so rent or buy books or YouTube the subject of: communication, the art of speaking and writing. Am I great communicator that has problems delivering design solutions to fill my client’s needs? Do a search on the solutions you don’t feel confidant delivering and research to find the best technology and learn it inside out. What ever your gap is (and we all have them) work on it and keep pushing till that area is excellent.

5. Think for yourself

| There are times when imitation makes since like creating code from scratch on similar projects when you can just skin it differently. In design there are always going to be trends and many times clients aren’t always looking for great times design as much as they are looking to keep their look as current as their competitors.
However if all you do is imitate other designers trends you’ll very possibly end up lost in a sea of similar looking work and never acquire your own trademark design style.

6. Stay humble

| Nobody like a know it all and I know there are areas I need training and input from the design community. Get stuck up and you won’t be much fun to read or lookup to. Stay this way and soon your community will leave for higher pastures.

7. Brand thyself

| Make your company branding match. Make a nice looking Logo and website and create common size ads. For blogs 125 x 125 work well and also an old school signature ad will come in handy. Make sure all your marketing share a common message and color scheme \ style. If they don’t match people won’t recognize you and you’ll be waiting valuble time and money promoting yourself. I great way to grag some extra traffic is to submit your site to css galleries. Get a gravitar so people will recognize who you are when you comment on blogs and submit articles to blogs.

8. Go the extra mile

| I always do that little extra for my clients. The finishing touches are not always fun but they will set you apart. Many projects I’ve designed and they served the purpose and the customer was satisfied but I said that’s not up to my standards. For example rounded corners take extra time but if it’s what the project calls some an extra half hour and polish it till it shines.

9. Just do it

| Nike said it right when they made their slogan. Conversing, and drafting up a business model and design templates is great and a very necessary part of any successful design company but at some point you gotta put the pedal to the metal and make something. There are days I don’t feel creative but I have to just press through and finish something that needs to get done. It’s not easy sometimes, but then later when I’m in the grove I can clean up the rough edges.

10. Winning Attitude

| I’ve talked a lot about practical tips and how to’s, but what really sets successful designers apart is their attitude and that inner will to win. When I think of a competitive attitude I think of sports stars like Michel Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong. We as designers need to not have the attitude that we can just sit and wait for jobs to come to us. Imagine a basketball player that just waited for the ball to come to him or her. That player would never get the MVP award even if that player was very skilled. As designers some of us are our own bosses and developing self control can benefit us massively. By that I mean, being able to provoke yourself to action for the purpose of self development. Everybody’s saying this and it couldn’t be more true; you get out what you put in.