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WordPress on Rackspace Cloud Sites

Posted on July 14, 2011 by in Articles, interesting, Tutorial, wordpress

Installing WordPress can be either an easy or difficult process, depending on which hosting company you’re working with. For people using Bluehost, Dreamhost, and Godaddy all you need to do is go into the control panel and do what is called a “one-click installation.” When running a “one-click installation” script you are basically telling the host where on the server you’d like the WordPress files to be placed, and creating a mysql database (with username and password) to house all the information that will be pulled in through the WordPress site. That is the quick and painless way to create a WordPress site, but not all hosting companies are created equal.

Recently, my colleague and I were in the market for a new company to host our client’s sites on. We were in search of a host that has great support, technology to accommodate database driven sites, respects the privacy of its clients, and has security measures in place which will prevent client sites from being hacked. After reviewing a slew of hosting companies we discovered Rackspace. Not only do sites (referred to as Cloud Sites) hosted on Rackspace run fast, but their chat support is informative and efficient. The only downfall to Rackspace is the arduous process required for doing a WordPress installation on a cloud site. Rackspace cloud sites do not have a “one-click installation” option, so to create a WordPress site you must start from scratch, and do it manually.

This post is split into four sections:
How to Create a Client
How to Add a Site
How to Create a Database
How to Install WordPress on the Server

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Ways to Backup Your WordPress Site

Posted on June 9, 2011 by in Articles, interesting, wordpress

Oh no! My dog ate my website! That is exactly what it feels like when you upgrade your WordPress site and your older plugins don’t exactly get along with the new software. When dealing with WordPress, it is not uncommon to run into a few bugs and hiccups. Sometimes you upgrade for security (like when a new version of WordPress is released). Or maybe the newer version of that plugin you love runs much faster or looks much sleeker than its crusty predecessor. Whatever reason you chose to modify your WordPress setup, it is imperative that you back everything up – just in case things go wrong (and they do).

So – without ado – here are a few options that will help (and most likely save) you or your client’s website.
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WordPress Plugins

Posted on June 20, 2010 by in Tutorial, wordpress

For the past two weeks, I’ve been leading a wordpress class at 3rdWard. During the first two classes, we covered how to setup hosting, how to use a feedburner account, and how to install plugins and themes.

During the 2nd class, I also listed out a few of my favorite themes and plugins. For a review of what we covered in our 2nd Class, download this document.

In this post, I’ve included a few favorite plugins. For a list of some my favorite themes, visit this post.

WordPress Plugins

Wordtube

This plugin manages the JW FLV MEDIA PLAYER 5.1 and makes it easy for you to put music, videos or flash movies onto your WordPress posts and pages. Various skins for the JW PLAYER are available via http://www.longtailvideo.com

wordTube supports the streaming video format (Format .flv or .swf), sound files as MP3 and JPG, GIF or PNG grafic files. With wordTube you can simply insert it into your blog with the tag [media id="media id"] or as playlist [playlist id="playlist id"].

Since Version 2.0 it supports LongTail’s AdSolution which allows you to run pre-roll, overlay mid-roll, and post-roll advertisements in your media player. Click here to sign up for LongTail.

You don’t need to change the WYSIWYG mode or special HTML knowledge to insert such a tag. You can show a simple media file (i.e. a flv Format) or a playlist of all your media files.

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Upcoming : WordPress Workshop @ 3rd Ward

Posted on June 11, 2010 by in wordpress

3rd Ward Logo

Here’s a freakin’ awesome deal from 3rd Ward : Sign up for the WordPress Workshop (section starting 6/13), Illustrator Intensive (6/13), OR Intro to After Effects (6/19) and get a FREE Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse.

Starting June 13th, I will be leading a 3 week workshop on WordPress. I’ve helped many organizations build their sites using WordPress and simply love the platform (in fact, this site is running on WordPress). It’s great for blogs, portfolio sites, and creative folks. You can even run ecommerce sites using WordPress.

Go on. Register for the class

A bit about the class :

You’ll learn the in’s and out’s of setting up, customizing and running your own website using WordPress, the most popular blogging platform.

WordPress is used for top blogs like CNN Money, all the New York Times blogs, and many non-profit arts websites. Simply put, WordPress makes publishing your website much easier.

We’ll start off with the basics (like setting up your own hosting) and then move to more advanced topics like customizing a theme (through the WordPress template engine), and inserting plugins for Twitter and Facebook. We will also set aside some time to review content strategy, site architecture, and look at popular plugins to help you sell your products online. This class will work well for both beginners and experts.

You can register for the class by clicking this link.

And to learn more about wordpress, visit my wordpress archives. Really. Click on that link. Or, you can take a look at some sites I’ve built using wordpress.

WordPress Resources

Posted on October 9, 2009 by in Food Coop, Tutorial, wordpress

This past September, I led a Blogging Workshop at the Brooklyn Food Coop. I covered lots of material and thought I would post a collection of wordpress resources.

Some of you are already blogging and are familiar, while others are just getting started.
Either way, I would encourage you to explore the resources below, and feel free to contact me with any questions.

Enjoy!

WordPress Themes

There are a whole host of wordpress theme respositories

Here are a few blogs that usually have good wordpress resources:
Smashing Magazine | http://www.smashingmagazine.com/tag/wordpress/
Noupe | http://www.noupe.com/category/wordpress
Blog Perfume | http://www.blogperfume.com/category/wordpress-theme/

Premium (paid) Themes

WooThemes | http://www.woothemes.com/themes
Elegant Themes | http://www.elegantthemes.com/
Graph Paper Press | http://graphpaperpress.com/

And my favorite and most recommended theme framwork | Thesis Theme

Portfolio Themes


If you are a designer, photographer, or want to showcase your portfolio, there are a whole host of good Portfolio themes
Here are a few good posts with nice pre-built portfolio themes

http://www.jeffhendricksondesign.com/portfolio-wordpress-themes/
http://designm.ag/freelance/wordpress-portfolio-themes/
http://www.themescloset.com/2009/03/15-best-premium-wordpress-portfolio-themes/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/04/29/ultimate-guide-to-using-wordpress-for-a-portfolio/

WordPress Video Tutorials

If you’re looking for good video tutorials, take a look here:

http://wordpress.tv

I’ve also posted wordpress resources here
http://www.arrowrootmedia.com/tag/wordpress/

Finally, you can take a look at wordpress’ resources.
They have great resources, tutorials, forums, and examples
http://wordpress.com (Setup your own wordpress site for free)
http://wordpress.org (Read more about wordpress)

If you have a great wordpress resource or find a great theme, please feel free to let me know if the comments below

How To | Writing and Publishing a Post in WordPress

Posted on May 7, 2009 by in interesting, Tutorial, wordpress

Writing and Editing in WordPress

Take a look at the video below to get a sense of how to publish posts + update content on wordpress

For other great wordpress tutorials, visit WordPress.tv

Inserting Media Into Your Post


view this video in a larger format

Best New WordPress Themes

Posted on April 10, 2009 by in wordpress

I was looking around for some new wordpress themes, and remembered the one I used for a recent site for Little Big Pictures. The theme was Oulipo and was designed by Andrea Mignolo. One of her themes was recently among the themes named “Best WordPress Theme for 2008″

Here’s bestwpthemes.com’s selection of the best themes of 2008. There are 45 themes in all, divided between free and premium themes. I’ve selected just a handful. For the full list, visit the bestwpthemes.com site.

The best free WordPress themes of 2008

Typebased

Andrea

Charade

Revolution White Canvas

Revolution Album

Elegant Grunge

Carrington

Sirup

Equilibrium

Blass2

Upstart Blogger Swiss

Vostok

See the rest of the themes at bestwpthemes.com

WordPress Tutorials, Video Mode

Posted on December 7, 2008 by in Tutorial, wordpress

I found a GREAT repository for video tutorials on wordpress – I’ve listed a few below, but make sure to visit SpeckyBoy for theFULL LIST of TUTORIALS.

WordPress 2.6 Video Collection 

via ithemes.com
Wordpress Video Collection· WordPress Overview › (Basic).
· How to edit Posts/Pages › (Basic).
· How widgets work › (Basic).
· How to Upgrade WordPress Using the Automatic Plugin › (Basic).
· How to Add new Users › (Basic).
· How to Change/Activate Themes › (Basic).
· WordPress Settings Overview › (Basic).
· How to login to WP Dashboard › (Basic).

WordPress Video Collection from siteground.com

Wordpress Video Collection· How to install WordPress › (Basic).
· Getting started with WordPress › (Basic).
· Arrange your blog posts in categories › (Basic).
· Manage comments in WordPress › (Basic).
· How to change the theme › (Basic).
· How to install WordPress plugins › (Basic).
· Create a backup of WordPress › (Advanced).
· How to upgrade the WordPress version (Basic).

WordPress Video Collection from killersites.com

Wordpress Video Collection· Installing WordPress › (Basic).
· Configuring WordPress Part 1-8 (Advanced).
· Customizing the WordPress Text Editor › (Basic).
· Introduction to building WordPress themes ›. (Advanced).
· Building a WordPress Template Part 1 of 3 ›. (Advanced).
· Building a WordPress Template Part 2 of 3 themes ›. (Advanced).
· Building a WordPress Template Part 3 of 3 ›. (Advanced).

Adding Images to your WordPress Pages and Posts

Posted on November 21, 2008 by in Tutorial, wordpress

This video tutorial will show you how to add, edit, and mange images within your posts.
Watch it below, or watch it here.


WordPress Tutorial (2.6.1): Image Upload, Edit, Align and Captio

You can find more great video tutorials at Likoma.

We’ve launched Daniel Gwirtzman’s site!

Posted on November 20, 2008 by in dance, Non-Profit, wordpress

I’m happy to say we’ve officially launched Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company’s new site!

Actually, I’m quite impressed with the final product we put together for the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company. With the help of great media all around, we were able to piece together a photo gallery, a video gallery, a new subscription system, and even an SMS delivery system for his audiences.

It’s really been great working with Daniel and his company. They really did a phenomenal job in gathering their assets, organizing their content, and creating compelling videos. Congratulations, Daniel! It’s exciting to know I’ll be able to continue to help you communicate your wonderful work!

If you like this, take a look at my other work.

[screenshots follow]

http://gwirtzmandance.org/

About Page | Features: Large Image on each page, drop-down navigation, links to video gallery, customizable sidebar navigation

http://gwirtzmandance.org/

Home Page | Features: Slide show, customizable footer area, drop-down navigation bar

While launching the site, I found this guide to be particularly useful:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Giving_WordPress_Its_Own_Directory

I initially setup this wordpress site in a subdirectory ( /wordpress ) so that I could develop things without affecting their active site. After the wordpress site was all setup, I needed to make the switch. The article above did the trick for me.

I’d love to hear your thoughts – share your ideas and leave a comment!

Great WordPress Themes

Posted on November 7, 2008 by in Tutorial, wordpress

Are you looking for great wordpress themes? Me too!

I’ve compiled the following places, where you can start your search for new wordpress themes. After you’ve found a theme you like, you’ll need to install onto your server. For help, follow these instructions.

And now – the list:

For beginners, I suggest starting out with K2.

Once you get a sense of things and become more familiar with wordpress, I suggest taking a look at the themes below.

The Thesis Theme : Flexible, modifiable, and manageable theme framework

WP Remix : A Full Blown Theme Save yourself the time and hassle of customizing a theme. This theme comes with pre-built templates, widgets, plugins, and other items, saving you time and effort. Get your site up and running with WP Remix!

The official WordPress Directory : WordPress.org has loads of resources, including a theme directory

Smashing Magazine : A great collection of resources, plugins, and themes. While you’re at it, take a look at their article, Strategic Design: Steps for Bulding Successful Websites

Graph Paper Press : Original wordpress themes, available for sale. Beautiful, elegant, customizable, flexible. In addition to the premium themes ($), there are free themes available as well.

Upstart Blogger : Free wordpress themes, for a solid wordpress themer.

Elegant WordPress Themes : Premium wordpress themes available here.

WP-Folio : A WordPress theme for artists. Developed in a residency at EyeBeam. Awesome!

If you find great themes, or theme directories please let me know by leaving a comment!

Setting up WordPress on your host

Posted on October 26, 2008 by in Tutorial, wordpress

 

For those who haven’t heard, I’m a big fan of WordPress. It’s a great content management system! It’ll help you keep your site updated, and help you get blogging. If you’ve already got hosting, great! You can now setup WordPress on your own host. In fact, many of the sites I setup run on WordPress

If you do not have your own domain or hosting yet, I personally recommend getting hosting on:

Bluehost or

Dreamhost

Many hosts, like Bluehost, have Fantastico, which help you setup great utilities on your own host. If you have Fantastico on your host, check these great tutorials on setting up WordPress on your domain.

If you don’t have Bluehost or other similar domains, there is also service that will install your WordPress blog FOR FREE – no strings attached. This is great! You must have your own domain and host already in order to use this service.
http://install4free.wordpress.net/

For those do-it-yourselfers, follow these instructions on how to install a wordpress blog on your own domain:

First, check to see if your host has a 1-click install. Bluehost and Dreamhost both have one-click installs. Check here for a list of other hosts with 1-click installs.

Otherwise, follow the steps below…

1. Download the WordPress Package (http://www.worpdress.org/download).
Once the file has finished downloading, Unzip the file.

2. Connect to your domain via FTP. If you don’t have an FTP program, download Filezilla. If you have trouble connecting to your site, you can contact your host for help setting up your FTP environment.

3. Create a database for WordPress on your web server. You will need to login to your host in order to do this. Make sure you keep ALL your database information in a safe place. If you do not know how to setup a database, contact your host directly.

4. Place the WordPress files in the desired location on your web server. For example, if you want to integrate WordPress into the root of your domain (e.g. http://example.com/), move or upload all contents of the unzipped WordPress directory (but excluding the directory itself) into the root directory of your web server.

If you want to have your WordPress installation in its own subdirectory on your web site (e.g. http://example.com/blog/), rename the folder you downloaded to “blog” and upload it to your web server. 

If you have no idea what the above means, you have a few options:

1. contact your hosting company
2. hire someone
3. have someone do it for free : http://install4free.wordpress.net/

For a nice visual tutorial on setting up WordPress, go here : http://www.cre8d-design.com/wordpress.html