gainfully unemployed » wordpress

WordPress 2.9 Released: Get it Quick

chris — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:48:42 +0000

Well, it’s not really going anywhere, so the whole “get it quick” in the title is unnecessary I guess. But I guess what I mean to say is that if you use WordPress to publish content online you should upgrade as soon as possible. It’s the best thing for the security of your website.

I know I need to remind myself to upgrade–for some reason it’s something I tend to put it off for a few days, lest my plugins all go haywire. But the new year is upon us and it’s time I got more business like.

See the video from WordPress explaining the new features of WordPress 2.9 or “Carmen.” Don’t you just love WordPress?

16 Impressive Free Premium WordPress Themes

chris — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:59:51 +0000

Many WordPress bloggers love to check out and try new WordPress themes. One of the coolest things about WordPress blogging is that there are quite a few designers and coders who make some very cool plugins and themes for anyone to use for free.

You can spend hours or even days looking for a high quality theme to use on your blog. One of the best places to look is on WordPress’s Featured Theme page, which you can access directly from your blog’s dashboard. There are usually several really good-looking and highly-usable themes there.

There are countless lists of themes as well on design and WordPress blogs. Here’s a list of some Free Premium Themes at Hongkiat.com. I’ve been a fan of “The Morning After” (it’s third on this list) for a while now, but haven’t had a chance to use it yet. A couple of these themes would be great for an online magazine format, or really for any other online business idea you may have.

Let me know what you think of this list? Also, let me know what your favorite theme is.

Update 11/25/09

I found another great list called the Best Free WordPress Themes of 2009. Doesn’t “free” just have such a nice ring to it? Some of the themes on this list, like “Bueno” by Woo Themes, are really nice looking. If you’re looking for a theme, check out this list.

Also, see this post for a list of great WordPress resources.

Publish Your WordPress Posts at a Later Date

chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:07:55 +0000

WordPress.tv has a lot of great resources for anyone who uses WordPress to publish their websites. There is a great section called “how-to” which features a lot of very useful instructional videos that range from things beginning WordPress users may be interested in to more advanced tutorials.

When you have a problem with something in WordPress, search this site. You may find a concise video with the information you need to get you on track. The above video is about how to implement the very simple setting that allows you to publish your blog posts at a later date.

4 Excellent WordPress Resources for Beginners

chris — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:13:06 +0000

I know you’ve probably heard that WordPress is easy to use, which is true. But it’s easy to use like anything is easy to use–once you’ve learned how.

Getting started with a WordPress blog (especially a self-hosted one) can be a bit intimidating, and once you start to see everything that the best blogging software known to man can do for you and your content, you may get a little overwhelmed.

One great thing about WordPress is that it is open source, which means it is a combined effort from a community of software designers and bloggers. As such, there are hundreds–actually, probably thousands–of well-informed bloggers who maintain epic WordPress websites that tackle any problem you may encounter.

Here are four websites that will help you jump any hurdle that presents itself as you build your blog.

WordPress Beginner

Everyone starts as a beginner, and this is a great place for WordPress beginners to start. Built with a focus on novice bloggers, this site will help those who know nothing about building websites prosper in the rough early days.

Why this site is good for beginners: It is easy to get bogged down by terms and insider words when trying to learn about WP; this site is an unintimidating place to get started.

Yoast

Yoast is a website run by WordPress expert and plugin designer Joost de Valk. He writes about WordPress in a clear way and supplies some very high quality plugins like this one that imports Twitter chatter about your site right into your site.

Why this site is a good resource for beginners: Learn from someone who knows a ton about WordPress, wants to share his knowledge, and does it in layman’s terms. de Valk is not only a software designer, he’s a blogger as well.

WordPress.tv

If you’re looking for WordPress tips and tutorials, why not go directly to the source? And if you are more visual and prefer video tuts to written, WordPress.tv is the place for you.

This site is a very fun resource for people interested in blogging and building websites and there is a ton of video content from people who know what they’re doing. Learn from the community.

Why this site is a good resource for beginners: Find hands-on “how-to” videos for beginners ranging from how to install plugins on your blog to how to write and publish a blog post.

Smashing Magazine

Smashing Magazine is a designer-focused website which has some very good WordPress tutorials. Since the site is designer-focused, this blog has a very accessible feel and a great layout which makes using it as a resource that much more enjoyable.

You can read posts about WP hacks and 100 Free WordPress Themes.