Keep Up to Date With Your WordPress Version
WordPress is a great tool, but make sure you keep it up to date to avoid security vulnerabilities. I have fixed a number of outdated and hacked versions of WordPress over the past few years which could have easily been taken care of by keeping up to date with WordPress updates a few times a year. If you are using WordPress 2.5+ it is really easy to be notified when a plugin or WordPress has a new version available when you log in.
If you do not want to go through the process of using svn or ftp to update your files, WordPress even gives you the option to automatically update.
If you suspect you were hacked, feel free to contact us and we will update and clean your site.
WordPress 2.6.2 is Released
WordPress 2.6.2 has officially been released. The update is primarily a security update along with a few bug fixes (see full list). For more information on WordPress version 2.6.2, read the official WordPress version 2.6.2 documentation.
Download the latest versions of WordPress: WordPress 2.6.2
HTML to PDF
We recently finished a project where we had to create a PDF on the fly of the user’s filled out application (~12 pages of data) so they could keep a copy. To do this – I looked at a few libraries out there and then ended up using HTML_toPDF. I had used another script from the same guy who put together HTML_toPDF and thus prompted me to use this one as well. The script works great and our client is very happy. If you ever need this capability – check out HTML_toPDF!
WordPress 2.6.1 is Released
WordPress 2.6.1 has officially been released. The updated includes almost 60 bugfixes (see full list). For more information on WordPress version 2.6.1, read the official WordPress version 2.6.1 documentation.
Download the latest versions of WordPress: WordPress 2.6.1
Site Optimization
I have been busy the past three months working on a site optimization project for a startup company where the code had been written by 10+ programmers who had come and gone over the last year. That left a big site with lots of unused and crazy CSS, images, javascript, and nasty HTML structure. I approached this project with two stages in mind:
- Start clean with CSS and XHTML. The first thing I did was unlink the main 5 thousand line CSS file along with a handful of others which was wreaking all kinds of havoc. I then went into every view, standardized the overall HTML structure (so it could hold it’s own without any CSS), and then only added in the CSS that was used.
- Maximize HTTP requests. The next phase will involve spriting images and pairing down and combining javascript so the number of HTTP requests goes way down.
The initial results:
Total HTTP Requests: 192
Total Size: 1353141 bytes
After the first stage (finished today), the general results:
Total HTTP Requests: 67
Total Size: 693064 bytes
After stage two is completed – I think I can get those numbers down by another half.
From Yahoo!:
“80% of the end-user response time is spent on the front-end. Most of this time is tied up in downloading all the components in the page: images, stylesheets, scripts, Flash, etc. Reducing the number of components in turn reduces the number of HTTP requests required to render the page. This is the key to faster pages.”
Why does all this matter? Think of a big, busy site. Think about the number of users – and then multiply that by the number of requests as well as the size of each page load. If you want good performance from your site – the pay off from optimizing your site will really pay off. It is pretty easy to go through your site and cleanup small things that over time will really add up. Not using a javascript you once did? Remove it from the header. Redid the site but still have a link to the old CSS “just in case”? Get rid of it! Remember, a little goes a long way.
WordPress 2.6 is Released
WordPress 2.6 has officially been released. The new version includes almost 200 bugfixes (see full list) and now includes some of new features as well like post versioning, drag and drop sorting for galleries, word count, image captions, separation of active and inactive plugins, and more. For more information on WordPress version 2.6, read the official WordPress version 2.6 documentation.
Download the latest versions of WordPress: WordPress 2.6
Show Only Category (Not Subcategory) Content
If you ever wanted to only show the content of the category you were on in the category view of WordPress (instead of the category you are on plus all of it’s subcategories – you can easily do so by adding the code below to the template that is used to show your category content
You would start your loop with this:
Put your title, content functions here
and where you normally see the call, put to close the additional (in_category) if statement.
This code gets the current category and then only displays categories that are in that category (not sub category)
WordPress Import/Export Option
Not too long ago whenever I had to move clients from one server to another, I would make a backup of the files and the database and then use SSH or FTP to move the files and then import the SQL file into MySQL. Over the past few months – I have switched to using the Import/Export option(Manage > Import/Export) to move simple sites. If you are moving your site to/from WordPress.com or from another server, take a look at the Import/Export option in WordPress to easily move all your data and attachments.
The Import/Export Process
You first need to log into your current WordPress installation and export your existing site data so you can import it on your new host. To do this, go to the WordPress Admin > Manage > Export. WordPress will create an XML file that you will then use to import. This is a really quick and easy way to move from one host to another if you are not comfortable with MySQL or phpMyAdmin (or any other database tool).
Import all your data (Import posts, comments, custom fields, pages, and categories from a WordPress export file) into your new WordPress installation. You can even import all your attachments which makes this even easier to migrate from one host to another.
You will also need to move your plugins, theme files, and any other files you might have – but this is a really easy way for most to move their data from one site to another – and it works great!
SDAC Recommends: WP Plugin: NextGen Gallery
I get a lot of client requests for some sort of gallery plugin and it is clear to me now that the best gallery plugin for WordPress is: NextGen Gallery. The user interface is easy to use, the plugin is actively being developed, there are lots of options for the users, and it is a joy to work with. Out of the box it comes with a widget to load in recent or random images in your sidebar (or page) as well as an easy way to display single galleries or multiple galleries (albums). This is a must have for anyone who is looking for an elegant solution to display images.
WordPress Update: 2.5.1
WordPress 2.5.1 has officially been released. The new version includes over 70 bug fixes, performance enhancements, and an important security fix. For more information on WordPress version 2.5.1, read the official WordPress version 2.5.1 documentation.
Download the latest versions of WordPress: 2.5.1