One other key observation was the addition that could change forever the way users get their plugins. WordPress 2.7 has a built-in feature to search, download and install the needed plugin straight from the plugin repository all from the WordPress admin panel, it has it’s plus points which includes the ease of use and the convenience of working from within the admin panel and eliminating the need for external FTP ware, but you are limiting the users options by exclusively searching a site.

Why is this a key observation? Since the new theme repository was modeled after the plugins directory, how far are we from a feature that will allow users to search, download and install themes from the new theme repository? Lookout for WordPress Version 3.0?

We released a new advanced WordPress theme called Gaia at HeadsetOptions. This is the very theme that inspired the redesign of WPPro.org. Check the screenshots and you can tell the similarities. But looks are all that is similar, the codes and CSS are nowhere near one another.

WPPro.org was built using Blueprint CSS Framework, the CSS tool that I have fallen in love with. What this allows me to do is include unique XHTML tags within a post to give it a different feel and look. With this set up, I could also change the looks of the site itself, without breaking any post customization. Also, the posts are not styled by in line CSS to derive the various post styles, but instead the CSS is all localized and detached from the Blueprint CSS.

Case in point is this very post; the text will float left divided by a border followed by two screen shots, one of the Gaia theme and the other of this site.

Gaia is based on a TextPattern template that was build around a grid too, but not Blueprint. But that should not stop you from using the theme and customizing it to fit your needs. As a matter of fact, this theme has built-in options to do just that for users of all level. You can move the content to float to the left (like WPPro.org) or center, change the background image and much more without learning to code. Do visit the theme page, demo, download and use away.

<?php echo wptexturize($post->post_content); ?>

Wonder what the East Enders think about this rather cool but lesser known WP function!

We believe that professionals who Power their sites with WordPress can better utilize their time by devoted to developing new market only when they are worry-free from managing their web sites. We plan on taking this worry out of bloggers and webmasters alike.

To learn more about our various services including Web Design, Web Development, WordPress, Hosting, Troubleshoot, Support and WordPress Consulting, please select the services page tab from the menu.

The most prolific of issues on wpSnap (and other multi-author sites) seem to have stemmed from a new feature that was rolled into WordPress version 2.6, which was the creation of a new database table “per edit” to allow the option to rollback in the event the edit was made accidentally. What this does is that it clutters your database and loses the continuity that one would hope with your post ID numbers.

The clean up was a hack of a sort since it is not (yet) an option within the WP Admin panel that lets one turn off the auto save feature, also, since it is not a security issue, there is no reason why this feature/function might ever be reverted.

Aside from that, the conditional tags used were outdated and numerous loose ends that were not tied together, especially in pagination and navigation.

wpSnap Old Design (Click to enlarge)

wpSnap New Design (Click to enlarge)

In all, there is no code on wpSnap now that existed per-reboot. We did recycle some graphics, logo, favicon and such. One major addition was the introduction of “OIO Publisher” advertisement management system to the main site and blog.

Also, wpSnap now sports a fresh new grid based visuals using the Blueprint CSS framework, which we have used on all commissioned work this year. Check the screenshot of the old design and compare it with the new look. Also, visit wpSnap and show some love, let them know what you think about the redesign while you are there!

¹We are a Richmond VA based web design studio and accept work online and in the Greater Richmond Metroplitan Area!

A site with poor navigation is just as bad as or worse than a site with poor content. Magazine style themes have overcome this barrier using JavaScript dropdown menus. But there is a simpler yet seldom used method that can be used and involves only the use of conditional WordPress tags.

Conditional Navigation

We will use the same demo theme we created during the previous tutorial. As you can see it has conditional page tags built in, just like many of our other new themes.

In our ongoing exercise to learn the nuts and bolts of a magazine style WordPress theme, we examine what has become by far the most ignored part of a theme design, the navigation menu.

As important as they are, they are often found floating in the header or worse the sidebar and almost never used to its fullest. Today we will attempt to change that. We are dedicating the next few sections just to discuss navigation menus, its varied uses, and the various methods of using it. So why wait, let’s get started.

Why are Navigation Menus Important?

There are three important roles of navigation menus, they are listed below in no particular order:

• It acts as the gateway to sections of the site you want your visitors/users to explore
• When designed correctly, it aids as a visual sitemap
• When used correctly, it enhances usability of your site and helps in SEO

How are Navigation Menus in Magazine Style Themes Different from Regular Themes?

If you notice closely, most regular themes have pages listed in blocks in the header or the sidebar and call it navigation. For all practical purpose, it works, and we are all complacent with it. In WordPress, there are numerous pages that are dynamically created like the archives, category pages, paginated pages, search pages and so on that are traditionally are not considered pages when you create a list using the template tag such as the one below:

1. <?php wp_list_pages(’sort_column=menu_order&depth=1&title_li=’); ?>

In fact, the above tag does not display any child pages! So how do overcome this limitation?

In continuing our efforts of slicing and dicing a Magazine style WordPress theme, we come to a very interesting juncture with Java interfaces. This probable is the most ubiquitous feature of most all magazine themes. If you think about it, it makes sense that magazine style themes use this non-obtrusive code to help manage content. These sidebar tabbed interface gives you the most bang for you buck in terms of digital real-estate.

Granted that it will not necessarily minimize bandwidth usage by loading the page any faster, but nonetheless provides an alternative to having the entire content load on each and every page (even where not needed).

From our last experiment, we have a layout constructed with featured post option and some borrowed styling. Now we will add the cool tabbed interface to the sidebar.

There are many Java options out there that can generate these tabbed interfaces, the more popular ones are DOMtab and Tabber. We will introduce one other simple tab JavaScript at the very end that has recently found its way into WP themes, but for most part, we will focus on DOMtab and Tabber.

Creating such category specific presentation on demand requires both PHP script manipulation within the WordPress Loop and some changes to the CSS stylesheet. In continuing with the series on dissecting magazine style themes, we will attempt three hacks that will allow you to do the following:

1. Create a featured post that is displayed at the very top of the page, followed by regular posts; all of which happens taking into consideration the pagination aspects of the site so as to not repeat the featured post on every paginated page.
2. Create a simple featured and non-featured posts distinction using minimal PHP hack, keeping it simple enough so as to not worry about pagination.
3. Create asides to highlight useful bits of information without hogging potentially critical presentation real-estate, or in other words, creating non-intrusive side posts without using a plugin.