WordPress

More WordPress 2.6 Issues – Check Your Plugins

Posted by Les Scammell on July 21, 2008
Posted in: WordPress. Tagged: .

WordPress 2.6 is not too bad although it still has some design issues that I don’t particularly like. I come to those a little later.

If you are using the Joost de Valk plugins Google Analytics, robots meta or RSS footer, then you may find there are issues. Your first step is to ensure you have the latest copies of these plugins. Your plugin option from the dashboard will help to auto update these plugins.

Once updated and activated, you will need to go to each of these plugins and reset the values. For me, the RSS footer plugin has lost all its information so I will need to re-enter it all. If you receive this via RSS or email you may notice the footer a little empty at present.

If, like me, you use your footer to carry messages, or for me to carry links to promotions for subscribers, losing that information can be embarrassing and lose you subscribers. The robots meta and Google Analytics will also create problems that you wont know about.

If you use those plugins then update and check the settings. Thanks to Joost de Valk from Yoast.com for letting everyone know through his blog. Sometimes it pays to subscribe to those who write your plugins or themes.

What I don’t like about WordPress 2.6

PJN July PromoWordPress 2.6 is not too bad, a tad better than 2.5. However the one thing that is really annoying me at present is in the widget control options. If you have created text boxes and want to switch them from say left to right side bars, there is no option to simple drag and drop from one to the other. In fact you have to remove it from one sidebar and as soon as you do, you lose all the script within the text box.

The only way to move a text box from one side bar to another is by copying the contents, removing the box from sidebar, saving, selecting the second sidebar, then adding a text box and pasting the code in. Don’t forget to save again. That is a lot of steps compared to WordPress 2.3 where you could drag – drop and save – job done.

Poor design WordPress – so far I am happy with the rest – if anything annoys me I will let you know.

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WordPress 2.6 Upgrade – Be Careful – It’s Not Right!

Posted by Les Scammell on July 16, 2008
Posted in: WordPress.

Well, having just updated my WordPress to 2.6 I must say it is not smooth sailing. If you have upgraded then i suggest you check your permalinks. Just click on any of your posts and make sure they open up in their own page.

A lot of blogs are finding that the permalinks are not working after the upgrade. If your blog is affected, you will need to go into the permalinks options – settings/permalinks from your dashboard – near the bottom of the page are two new additions – categories and tags. Just enter some text in each – the words categories and tags will do – save and if you have wp-cache enabled, clear the cache and try the links again. It should be fine.

Otherwise, the upgrade seems to be working fine – however your the reader so you can tell me if you notice anything unusual. A few neat things about 2.6 – you will see a bubble on the Plugins link telling you of any updates pending – that is handy. Before switching themes you can preview in private before sending it public – that is handy.

Let me know if you come across any problems with the update.

WordPress: Upgrading To A New Theme Is Not Fun

Posted by Les Scammell on July 13, 2008
Posted in: WordPress.

The upgrade to this new theme is almost complete – a couple of little quirks I need to iron first. At least WordPress makes it a little easier. If anyone knows how to get the comments activated on the static pages let me know. That is my biggest problem for now.

Upgrading to a new them is not just switching themes in your WordPress themes section. There is far more to it than that. I picked up a few tips from a post at Blog Marketing Journal titled WordPress Tips To Help With Site Maintenance.

If you have registered for third party entities like Feedburner, MyBlogLog, Google Analytics and so on, you have to be sure you transfer every snippet of code from one theme across to the next. There is at least one easy way to do it. Perhaps someone should create a plugin that handles all these snippets for you.

The easiest way I found to transfer from one theme to another is to have two WordPress theme editing windows open at the same time. One window with the current theme and the other window with the new theme. From there it is just a matter of checking each file and copying and pasting each snippet of code into the new themes files.

Make any other changes you need then send it live. Let me know what you think. There are still a few little tweaks I want to make – otherwise I am pretty happy with it. WordPress is still my preferred platform at present.

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Updating A Site Is Never Fun

Posted by Les Scammell on July 6, 2008
Posted in: Blogging, General, WordPress. Tagged: , , .

Updating a site is never much fun and I still haven’t finished. If you can recommend a good provider of WordPress themes let me know. I want something similar to this – a little lighter on code, faster to load, and perhaps lighter in color. The one thing I want most themes don’t seem to have and that is comments enabled on pages. If I have to pay – so be it.

As to upgrading – what is your opinion – dark themes such as this one, or the new look ‘white’ themes that seem to be cropping up everywhere? Please do let me know – I am in two minds.

While your here, check out the video – kinda how I feel after doing some updating that didn’t quite go well – ever notice it takes 1 minute to create chaos and hours to reverse it??????