Tag Archives: WordPress

Fluency Admin WordPress Theme

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Filed under WordPress

One of the most complained about features I’ve heard for the newer WordPress versions is the admin area. I actually liked that it looked different, because it was easier to look at. It just looks better.

I’ve checked out some WordPress admin themes before, but most of them seemed to be missing something, not working right, or just not that great looking. Just today I came across one that is just more appealing. Fluency Admin by Dean Robinson. It works with WordPress 2.6.

It’s not that I think the colors in the admin area are ugly, it’s that everything takes up so much space, when it all can fit into a smaller area.

This is what WordPress 2.6 Dashboard looks like:

Here is the Dashboard after:

A much needed improvement is the Other WordPress News box on the dashboard. It’s now a smaller list instead of these huge boxes for each post. Way too much space was wasted. In order to cut back on the space, I had to limit the boxes to showing only five, otherwise they got out of hand.

Write Post screen after:

Manage Posts screen after:

Sidebar after:

My favorite feature of Fluency Admin is that the sidebar stays put even while you scroll down the page. That was one annoyance about the menu that I had before. I’d have to scroll back up just to go to another screen.

You can check out more screenshots at Dean Robinson’s flickr page. If you want this awesome WordPress Admin theme, go download it!

Win a Premium WordPress Theme

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Filed under WordPress

UPDATE: It is now June 5th and the winner is… Vivian! And to quote her, “So I just HAVE to win, it’s in the cosmos…” She was right! This was completely random through Randomizer. I assigned all four participants a number and then let Randomizer pick the number randomly. Congratulations Vivian!

NOTE: Comments are now closed.

This isn’t going to be a huge giveaway like most are. But, since I have a premium WordPress theme that I don’t plan on using now, with Brian Gardner’s permission, I am giving it away! The theme I am giving away is the Revolution Theme. Here is a live demo if you would like to see it in action. If you need help with this theme, there is a support forum and tutorials.

UPDATE: I decided to change the rules, because I might be really busy and won’t be able to keep up. So, everything with a strikethrough does not apply.

To enter, subscribe to the RSS feed and then come back here and leave a comment on this post saying that you subscribed. Be sure when filling out your e-mail address that it is correct. It will be used to send you your new theme!

I will choose three people at random. I will ask the first person for a code. This code can only be found when subscribed. So be sure that you have subscribed! If the winner can’t give me the code, I will contact the second person and so on.

The code will not be the same code that is used for the free advertising, so please look out for the correct one!

You must leave a comment about subscribing before June 5th, 2008 EST. And yes, if you’re already subscribed, just leave a comment and you get an entry.

In summary, here are the steps to enter to win the theme:

  • Subscribe to the feed.
  • Leave a comment on this post saying you subscribed. This is important or you will not receive an entry!
  • Watch the feed for the correct code anytime between now and June 5th.
  • Wait until June 5th, 2008. I will announce the winner on this post!

The winner will be announced after one of the random three has given me the correct code.

Even if you don’t win, you can still purchase the Revolution Theme or several others. Or if you want something unique, maybe Brian can help you with that by creating a custom design.  I also hope when this ends, you will decide to stay subscribed subscribe!

Good luck to everyone who participates!

Buy Premium Themes, Don’t Steal Them

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Filed under WordPress

If it wasn’t for looking at my stats, I probably would not have known this. But apparently someone thinks my blog uses the NewsPress theme by Adii. My blog does not use the NewsPress theme. My blog is not a live demo of the theme.

I wanted to announce this because the forum I found this on doesn’t allow me to post; possibly would if I had an account, but I’m not creating an account just for that purpose. So, I am announcing it here on my blog in hopes that any visitors from that forum looking for a live demo of the NewsPress theme will see this.

I’m flattered someone would use my blog as a live demo, but not by someone who is trying to distribute copies of the theme illegally and obviously not wanting to point to the actual live demo in fear of getting caught. NewsPress is available to buy if you are interested. The theme looks really good though, so if you want it, please buy it instead of trying to steal it.

Premium themes are usually themes that people have worked hard on to provide you with a high quality theme for your blog. They deserve to be paid for their time. So, if you’re looking for a free theme, there are plenty of websites that offer free themes. You can search Google for quite a bit of websites offering free themes.

WordPress 2.5 New Security Feature

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Filed under WordPress

Chris Kasten from Solo Technology wrote about a new security feature found in WordPress 2.5 that a lot of you upgrading may have missed.

WP 2.5 introduced a “security key” that you add to your wp-config.php file. When I upgrade, I don’t touch that file, and there you go. Missed.

I usually check that file after an upgrade, but I didn’t this time. That’s what I get for being lazy! So, thanks to Chris, I was able to add the security key.

How do you add the security key? It’s easy, in fact even the updated wp-config.php file tells you where to go. Head to the WordPress site and it will generate one for you automatically.

What does it do?

Doing this will invalidate all your logins, so everybody on your site will have to relogin, but doing it will greatly increase the cookie strength of WordPress 2.5. This means that your login cookies, if intercepted, won’t be able to be reproduced as easily. It also means that somebody who gains read-only access to your database through some other means won’t be able to login to your site.

Chris says more about this on his blog. I recommended reading it so you don’t miss this important security feature!

A List of 25 Lists

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Filed under General

Lists seem to be very popular and attracts readers. (Not why I am writing this list.) I thought I would check out some lists with at least 50 or more to see what people have come up with. This was actually harder than I thought it would be. Here are 25 that I found:

  1. Top 50 ‘Sesame Street’ Moments
  2. Top 50 iPhone Applications
  3. Top 50 Eco Blogs
  4. 155 WordPress Resources, Tutorials, Plugins, Themes, AJAX, Podcasting…WP Monster List
  5. Top 50 Proprietary Programs that Drive You Crazy - and Their Open Source Alternatives
  6. Top 50 Free WordPress Themes
  7. Top 50 Resources for Getting a Cheap Flight
  8. Wide Open VoIP: Top 50 Open Source VoIP Apps
  9. Top Best 50 Blogger & WordPress Customization Tips (Hacks)
  10. Top 50 Worldwide Most Influential Blogs of April
  11. Top 50 Classical Blogs, Using 4 Different Methods
  12. Top 50 Pictures Taken at Just the Right Time
  13. Top 50 Graphic Design Blogs
  14. Top 50 Apps That Fit on a USB Drive
  15. 50 Most Popular Web Design Blog Posts, Resources & Cheat Sheets of 2007
  16. The Freeloader’s Toolbelt: 50 Tools to Help You Get Anything Free Online
  17. Top 50 Logo Design Tutorials
  18. Top 50 Productivity Blogs (most of which you haven’t heard about)
  19. 50 Tips, Tweaks and Hacks to Make the Most of Google Calendar
  20. The World’s 50 Most Powerful Blogs
  21. 50 Reasons to Switch from Microsoft Windows to Apple’s Mac OS X
  22. Web Design Toolbox: 50+ Tools for Web Design
  23. The Freelancer’s Toolset: 100 Web Apps for Everything You Will Possibly Need
  24. 50 Great Widgets For Your Blog
  25. INSTANT MESSAGING TOOLBOX: 90+ IM Tools

If you want to create a top 10, 20, 50, 100, etc. list, you need to be able to do your research and have plenty of time available. Here are five tips for creating captivating lists. Top 50 ‘Sesame Street’ Moments is one example of tip five for creating captivating lists:

Ever try Video? Lists are not only meant to be done in text so I suggest you add some flavor into your routine by putting out a list using video. Video is different, fun and allows you to share the inner actor in you.

I know there are a lot more lists than what I listed, but I wasn’t trying to include them all. If there’s one you like that I didn’t include, please leave a comment.