Author Archive
Configuring WordPress Settings: Miscellaneous
This video is a continuation in a series of videos detailing each of the WordPress Settings pages. This video will focus on Miscellaneous Settings.
The Miscellaneous Settings page is sort of a catchall configuration screen for various options that don’t fit anywhere else.
Configuring WordPress Settings: Privacy
This video is a continuation in a series of videos detailing each of the WordPress Settings pages. This video will focus on Privacy Settings.
Privacy Settings are fairly new and somewhat minimal at this point. They can be used to turn off update notifications in an effort to hide your blog from search engines. As noted in the video, this is far from a fool-proof solution, but it can be a useful feature in certain situations.
Configuring WordPress Settings: Discussion
This video is a continuation in a series of videos detailing each of the WordPress Settings pages. This video will focus on Discussion Settings.
Discussion Settings allow you to better control comments on your blog. Various settings allow you to easily define which comments should automatically require moderation, and what information commenters need to include in order to post a comment.
Configuring WordPress Settings: Reading
This video is a continuation in a series of videos detailing each of the WordPress Settings pages. This video will focus on Reading Settings.
Reading Settings control the number of posts that appear on a page, whether your RSS feed includes full or partial posts, default page encoding, and article compression.
Configuring WordPress Settings: Writing
This video is a continuation in a series of videos detailing each of the WordPress Settings pages. This video will focus on Writing Settings.
Writing Settings allow you to assign default categories for posts and the blogroll, setup a mail server for blogging by email, and define update services that should be notified whenever you add new content.
Configuring WordPress Settings: General
WordPress is an incredibly flexible and powerful blogging system. A great deal of that flexibility can be configured through the various Settings pages in the WordPress administrator.
This is the first in a series of videos detailing each of the WordPress Settings pages. This video will focus on General Settings.
General Settings include blog title, tagline, blog URL, and time settings, among other things.
The Blogroll: Managing Links in WordPress
It’s been said time and time again: links are the currency of the blogosphere. Once you start blogging you’ll probably want to setup a blogroll of links to blogs you read and recommend. Blogrolls help build community among bloggers, and they can also help new bloggers get noticed by peers (a good blogger will almost always follow a new incoming link and check out the site doing the linking).
This video provides an overview of the WordPress blogroll functionality.
With version 2.5, the blogroll functionality has been renamed “links”. Links have been promoted to a content type along with Pages and Posts, and are created and managed from the Write and Manage menus. These changes are demonstrated in the updated video below.
WordPress 2.3.2 Released - Be Sure to Upgrade
A not so minor upgrade to WordPress was released last week. I say “not so minor”, because version 2.3.2 addresses several urgent security vulnerabilities. As always, I advise that everyone upgrade their WordPress blogs as soon as possible. Since this round of changes focuses on fixing bugs and patching security, there should be no issues with theme or plugin compatibility.
If you need help with a manual upgrade, be sure to check out our video on the subject.
Also of interest, it was recently announced that the next point release of WordPress will be 2.5 instead of 2.4. The delay has been attributed to a large number of new features, as well as the holidays (even WordPress developers need a break around Christmas). Expect version 2.5 to arrive in late March.
Import and Export WordPress Data
This video details the WordPress Import and Export features. Export allows bloggers to migrate their blog content to another WordPress installation. Import allows bloggers to import content from other blogging systems such as Blogger, TypePad, Live Journal, and others.
The video also covers some overlooked Import features, including the ability to migrate tags from various tagging system plugins (like Ultimate Tag Warrior) to the native WordPress tagging system.
Managing WordPress Files
The WordPress blogging system is made up of hundreds of system files. Most bloggers will never have a need to edit these files directly. Those who do will likely edit the system files on a test server and upload the fully tested and modified files using an FTP program.
Regardless, WordPress provides a method for editing system directly from the Administrative interface. As I note in the video, this feature should be used with caution.