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Creating WordPress & Genesis Websites Since 2010

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Feb 28 2011

Add the Genesis Author Box to Pages

The Genesis tutorials tells how to set up Author Boxes, how to style Author Boxes, and how to add Author Boxes to Author Archive Pages.

As it currently stands, the author box can only be added to the author archive pages and the single post pages. And from what I see, it doesn't appear on pages like http://domain.com/page-name but does appear on http://domain.com/category/post-name. However, what if I wanted to have the author box appear on all the pages or just some or not on some. Well, here's how to do it.

To insert the author box on ALL pages:
[php]/** Add Genesis Author Box on Single Pages**/
add_action('genesis_after_post', 'genesis_do_author_box_page');
function genesis_do_author_box_page() {
if ( !is_page() )
return;

if ( get_the_author_meta( 'genesis_author_box_single', get_the_author_meta('ID') ) ) {
genesis_author_box( 'single' );
}

}[/php]

To insert the author box on ALL pages except...
[php]/** Add Genesis Author Box on Single Pages**/
add_action('genesis_after_post', 'genesis_do_author_box_page');
function genesis_do_author_box_page() {
$page_exclusions = array(42,'about-me','Contact'); //edit these pages, can take slugs, page names, or page/post ID
if ( ( !is_page() ) || is_page($page_exclusions) )
return;

if ( get_the_author_meta( 'genesis_author_box_single', get_the_author_meta('ID') ) ) {
genesis_author_box( 'single' );
}

}[/php]

To insert the author box on only certain pages:
[php]/** Add Genesis Author Box on Single Pages**/
add_action('genesis_after_post', 'genesis_do_author_box_page');
function genesis_do_author_box_page() {
$page_inclusions = array(42,'about-me','Contact'); //edit these pages, can take slugs, page names, or page/post ID
if ( is_page($page_inclusions) ) {
if ( get_the_author_meta( 'genesis_author_box_single', get_the_author_meta('ID') ) ) {
genesis_author_box( 'single' );
}
}
else
return;

}[/php]

Written by Travis Smith · Categorized: Genesis, Tutorials

Feb 26 2011

Setting Up My WordPress Site with GoDaddy.com

First let it be known that I never encourage anyone to use GoDaddy. If you haven't purchased with GoDaddy already, please consider another host like Hostgator, whom I use. If you've only purchased your domain with GoDaddy, then you are still good. Check out Hostgator. That being said, some of us went ahead and purchased our original first year hosting with GoDaddy. So as not to waste that money (and again, I do not support GoDaddy for a variety of reasons, one being they are horrible for WordPress usage), let's see how to set up your site using GoDaddy.

1. Login to your account & Launch Hosting Control

Login into your account, click My Account, scroll down to Web Hosting and click the launch button to the far right of your domain name under Control Center. Or the much easier way is to the Hosting Control Center and login there. Then click on domain name, which should bring up the Hosting Dashboard.

Install WordPress in GoDaddy
Click Image for Larger Image

2. Install WordPress

There will be two ways to install WordPress. The first and easiest way is to use GoDaddy. The second method is a manual method, which I will not cover here.

  • You should see a button for Install Apps with WordPress under it. Click on WordPress and it will open a new window/tab.
  • Click Install Now.
  • Choose Domain, then click Next.
  • Fill in the database information, then click Next.
Install WordPress in GoDaddy
Click Image for Larger Image
  • Fill in the install directory, then click Next. If you want WordPress to control your whole site be sure to install in the root directory.
Install WordPress in GoDaddy
Click Image for Larger Image
  • Fill in the WordPress configuration information (however, pick a different username than root or admin), then click Finish
Install WordPress in GoDaddy
Click Image for Larger Image

Now this will take a few minutes to a few hours, maybe even days...well it feels that way. However, leave this window open as is.

3. Install FileZilla

Meanwhile, go and download FileZilla. Save the file (*.exe or *.zip). Unzip and then run or run *.exe file. Once installed, run it.

  • Now, your WordPress site should be installed. To check this, simply go back to the window you left open and click on My Applications. It should say Pending or Successfully Installed.

 

Install WordPress in GoDaddy
Click Image for Larger Image
  • For Host, enter your domain name. So if you own domain.com, then enter domain.com. No www is needed.
  • For Username, enter your GoDaddy username.
  • For Password, enter your GoDaddy password.
  • Leave Port empty.
  • Click QuickConnect.

You should see a bunch of words come up in the first box then a file structure appear in the Remote site area. While there may be other files in that folder, you want to navigate to the directory you installed wordpress. If you installed in the root directory, you will see three primary folders that are of interest: wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes. Below those folders will be some other WordPress files as signified by the wp- prefix.

4. Login to your Website

Now you should be able to go to domain.com/wp-admin or domain.com/directoryInstalled/wp-admin and login with your WordPress configuration information. Now you are all set to begin customizing, etc.

5. Install Your Theme in GoDaddy

Here's the main reason that you installed FileZilla. "Out of the box" GoDaddy requires you to upload one file at a time which is horrible if you need to install folders, etc. While most want to install a theme that's free, others may want to install premium themes like Genesis or Thesis. To do that, simply download those themes to your desktop and unzip them. Now need to be careful here and get the appropriate folder. When you download most of these premium themes, they typically look like themeName.Version.zip. So when you unzip, they will unzip to folder themeName.Version. Typically you want to go inside that folder and grab the theme folder that typically looks like themeName. To check, enter the folder and be sure you see files and multiple folders if necessary. Then drag the themeName folder to the Themes folder (wp-content/themes/) in FileZilla.

Installing WordPress Theme with GoDaddy
Click Image for Larger Image

Then go to domain.com/wp-admin/themes.php to Activate your theme. Now you are ready to Rock and Roll!

Written by Travis Smith · Categorized: Tutorials

Feb 25 2011

How to Change Genesis's Speak Your Mind Comments Heading

For one of my sites, I wanted a more generic, gentler comment heading, so I needed to remove and/or change "Speak Your Mind." Here's how I did that.

[php]add_filter('genesis_comment_form_args', 'custom_comment_form_args');
function custom_comment_form_args($args) {
$args['title_reply'] = 'Leave a Comment';    // $args['title_reply'] = ''; for total removal
return $args;
}[/php]

Written by Travis Smith · Categorized: Genesis, Tutorials

Feb 24 2011

9 Places to Go When I Need Help with My WordPress Site

Probably one of the best things about WordPress is its community. Yes, there are some in the community that are not so friendly, some that may treat a nobe or newbie as dumb or 1990's-ish, some that may simply ignore you. Those people exist in any community. However, for the most part, WordPress developers or designers are very friendly and very helpful. And most who use WordPress are self-taught and learned from someone(s) who took five or ten minutes to help someone with a very specific issue. Enough cannot be said for initiative and passion; however, sometimes we just don't know where to go to get help. So where do I go?

There are nine general places that I go. Here is what I do.

  1. Google & WordPress Forums/Codex <- Always First
  2. WordPress Books
  3. A friend
  4. WordPress.org Forums
  5. Specific WordPress Theme/Plugin Forums
  6. Social Media Sites (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
  7. WordPress IRC
  8. WordCamp
  9. WordPress.tv

Google & WordPress Forums/Codex

Always, always search Google, Bing or whatever your preferred search engine first. Most issues can be resolved fairly quickly by simply Googling issues. Sites like mine, WPBeginner.com, WPEngineer.com, etc, exist to help people with frequent problems, questions, and issues.

WordPress Books

Digging Into WordPress
Buy Me!

It is important to be reading, learning, and growing. I’ve learned so much from these books and they serve as a general reference about some things. Due to the rate that WordPress is growing, some of these topics in the books can become outdated fairly quickly. However, WordPress books that are core to one's development ability are from WebDevStudios. Brad Williams has co-authored two: Professional WordPress, Professional WordPress Plugin Development. And Lisa Sabin-Wilson has authored four: WordPress for Dummies, WordPress Design for Dummies, WordPress All-in-One for Dummies, and BuddyPress for Dummies.

So ebooks with free updates are always good. So Digging into WordPress is a fantastic book that promises lifetime updates via PDF, even if you purchase the actual book.

Ask a Friend

Do you know someone with a website or a WordPress blog? Why not ask them? Sometimes and over time, you will become that friend that people ask. I didn’t believe this at first, but now I do as it has happened to me.

WordPress.org Forums

First, if you have a site on WordPress.com, use the WordPress.com forums. However, if you have a self-hosted site, you must use the WordPress.org support forums. To register, simply click on the Register button. Fill in all the required fields (only two: name and email) and optional fields that you want. A funky password will be generated for you and emailed to you. Login with that password. To change your password to something you can remember (which I highly recommend), after login, simply click on View Your Profile. Then click Edit to the right. Scroll to the bottom and change your password. Then click update password.

Always search the forums before posting to the forums. Many times you will find your issue already discussed or being discussed. WordPress developers and moderators do watch these forums and reply fairly quickly (though for the impatient, not quick enough). Just remember there are probably a few hundred thousand users. Furthermore, forum posts can be marked as resolved by the original author of the post. This will add [resolved] to the front of the topic and helps users like you and me.

Specific WordPress Theme/Plugin Forums

For some issues, this should be the first place you go. Check your theme/plugin for a place for comments or discussion. For example, if you have a problem with Genesis, then StudioPress Support Forum has some great help. If you have a problem with Thesis, then DIY Forums. If you have an issue with Gravity Forms, then go to the Gravity Forms Support site. Etc. Etc. Most developers, if they haven’t stopped supporting their plugin for whatever reason, are very helpful and want their plugin to work on your site.

Social Media Sites

WordPress users and developers love to use Twitter. Many, and dare I say most, are on Twitter. While you should not expect them to follow you, do follow them. Ping them with questions. Use the #wordpress hashtag. While #wordpress is typically haunted by marketers as well, also consider using other hashtags. For example, Thesis uses #thesiswp, Genesis uses #genesiswp, PluginBuddy’s BackupBuddy plugin uses #backupbuddy, Gravity Forms uses #gravityforms, etc. So just search Twitter to find the hashtag.

WordPress IRC

IRC stands for Internet Relay Chat. It’s an old school method of communication but one that is alive and well. There are many that are downloadable and cost; however, there are also free options like Freenode IRC. Channels include:

  • #wordpress: Dedicated to all WordPress conversations
  • #wordpress-dev: Dedicated to WordPress Core development, not for general inquiries
  • #wpmu: Dedicated to all WordPress MU conversations
  • #buddypress-dev: Dedicated to BuddyPress conversations
  • #bbpress: Dedicated to all bbPress conversations

Be sure to read the Channel Guidelines. There are a couple things to note here. First, most of these guys are volunteers and freelancers. So if they are helping you be appreciative. Accept that some of them have no interpersonal skills and that chats are not the best at reading emotions and etc. So take what is said with a grain of salt and expect some degree of sarcasm and jest. However, that being said, the WordPress IRC Channel is a rich resource of immediate help.

WordCamp

WordCamp

You might not have even known there was such a thing; however, there are conferences all over the world that focus on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events open to any and all. And NO, this isn’t just for developers. Many who attend these WordCamps are power users, people who want to know how to integrate WordPress in their business as their social platform, business owners, even kids!

One of the great things about WordCamp is the use of the Genius Bar where anyone can ask a WordPress Expert; however, not every WordCamp has a Genius Bar. Regardless depending on the WordCamp there will be tracks for people to take which usually are some combination of Beginner, Power User, Designer, and Developer. Sometimes they have themes that determine the tracks and other times there aren’t any tracks. So look for a WordCamp near you.

WordPress.tv

WordPress.tv has a plethora of videosWordPress.tv and presentation slides from various WordCamps. So if you miss WordCamp, no problem. While it is not as social as I'd like it to be it's a great place for those who hate reading and would prefer to watch someone to learn. Other sites like WPTavern.com, BitWireMedia's WordCast, PluginsPodcast, and the WordPress Podcast offer WordPress podcasts that are very interesting.

Other

There are some other places that you may consider such as email lists (which are only one way) and News Sites like WPTavern.com, WPVibe.com, Planet WordPress and WordPress Planet (yes, the last two are two different places; the first is run and operated by Ozh Richard, @ozh which aggregates various WordPress feeds; the second is also an aggregated feed by WordPress.org of Core contributors and very active community members. The second appears on everyone's dashboard, unless you've removed it in Screen Options).

Written by Travis Smith · Categorized: Tutorials

Feb 23 2011

Creating Multiple Custom Menus in WordPress 3.1

Ever since WordPress Custom Menus were created and launched, I have been overly excited about it's potential. I have finally had some time where I could attempt to do something fun with them. However, it wasn't until the release of WordPress 3.1 that had the functionality that I was looking for. So I have developed a plugin that will allow you to filter out the custom menu instead of simply hiding portions of the menu through CSS {display:none;}.

This plugin can only be used in WordPress 3.0.5 if one change is made to a core WordPress file. However, I never advise making any changes or hacking to WordPress core on production environments. So if you make this change in production, do so at your own risk. That being said, in wp-includes folder, open the file nav-menu-template.php and add this line at line 199.

[php]$sorted_menu_items = apply_filters( 'wp_nav_menu_objects', $sorted_menu_items, $args );[/php]

This line of code is already in WordPress 3.1 at line 201 hence why I don't mind sharing this. This line of code needs to appear after:

[php] // Set up the $menu_item variables
_wp_menu_item_classes_by_context( $menu_items );

$sorted_menu_items = array();
foreach ( (array) $menu_items as $key => $menu_item )
$sorted_menu_items[$menu_item->menu_order] = $menu_item;

unset($menu_items);[/php]

And before:

[php] $items .= walk_nav_menu_tree( $sorted_menu_items, $args->depth, $args );
unset($sorted_menu_items);[/php]

Now you can access that filter via add_filter(); So,

[php]function wps_custom_nav_menu_items($args){
//do something
}
add_filter( 'wp_nav_menu_objects', 'wps_custom_nav_menu_items',10,3);[/php]

Written by Travis Smith · Categorized: Plugins, Tutorials

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