On the Blog Herald yesterday there was an article about preparing a checklist before upgrading to WordPress 2.5. Now you’re probably wondering, isn’t WordPress at version 2.3.3 now? What happened to 2.4? Well, it got canceled, or rather delayed and then skipped over. Read more about WordPress 2.4 skipped to WordPress 2.5. Anyway, this got me to thinking about troubles I’ve been having with a recent installation of WP 2.3.3. A quite frustrating experience. Nonetheless, It got me thinking about how important it is to due more testing and creating your own checklists before launching blogs or regular websites when using third party open source software even as popular as WordPress. Something to think about, I think.

One of many personal / business projects I have been working on is creating a business network for small business owners and self-employed individuals such as myself that works similar to BNI. I want this network to have an online presence, a members only secured area that requires password entry, and a home web page for anyone to view and learn about the network before requesting membership and access to the members only area. Initially I started with a Ning network account but wanted more control over what got displayed and how without too much hacking and also without hacking to pay for upgrades when otherwise Ning is free. Plus Ning has annoying adsense ads on the right (which I got rid of. ask me how). Well, I thought, WordPress is very extensible, I’m sure I can create my business network with WordPress by password protecting the WordPress blog installation and customizing the WordPress login screen.

Another fabulous WordPress development. In July of 2007 WordPress launched WordPress Jobs at jobs.wordpress.net. Here you can find WordPress specific blog design and development work and place your own WordPress design and development projects you would like a WordPress designer or developer to do for you. WordPress Jobs has a simple and attractive interface and is easy to navigate through, just like WP itself. You can also subscribe to job feeds for all jobs or specific job categories. The categories available are general positions, WordPress blogger positions,  WordPress designer positions and WordPress programmer positions. And posting a job, as far as I can tell, is FREE. Well, what are you waiting for, go find a job or get a job done at WordPress Jobs.

This is a lovely new WordPress Theme, The Wind Cries Mary (fabulous name too!!) I recently found on Weblog Tools Collection. See demo.

What can’t WordPress do??!! Scholar Press has a great WordPress Plugin that lets you manage a class using WordPress:

“ScholarPress Courseware enables you to manage a class with a WordPress blog. The plugin give you the ability to ad and edit a schedule, create a bibliography bibliography and assignments, and manage general course information. Designed primarily for use in higher ed courses, but could easily be adapted for other uses.”

Visit Scholar Press
Download the Scholar Press WordPress class management Plugin SP Courseware

Welcome back to Our Love Affair with WordPress. In last month’s Episode 3, we customized the Harmony WordPress theme for a fictitious bra-fitting business. In this final Episode of Part 4, before we move on to Part 5 in the series, I’ll cover how you can add a little finesse, searchability and optimization to your weblog once you have the blog design, layout and basic elements down. The following are a few enhancements to your WordPress blog (or blog-powered website) that will make your blog more dynamic, optimized and user-friendly.

When I signed up for my first WP blog years ago I hadn’t the vaguest notion that WordPress is a content management system (CMS) for all intents and purposes. I understood what a blog was, ’cause I’m a smart cookie, but never thought of blog and CMS together though it’s pretty bloody obvious now. Anyway, back then, I never thought of content management systems at all ’cause I was an exclusive Dreamweaver and notepad hand coder. Anyway, since I like tinkering with code, especially when I have no idea what I’m doing and where it will all lead, I started learning and figuring out how to use plugins, tips I learned on the web and all my web design and development knowledge to make WordPress do more, whatever “more” meant and continues to mean per project. I realize now that WordPress is just like another fabulous company whose services I use almost religiously, Netflix. WordPress is as useful and resourceful as you make it.

It takes a little bit more finesse to search engine optimize (SEO) your WordPress blog compared to a regular website. But fortunately, the web being a particularly wonderful place, there are answers out there to make it a less painful and inexpensive experience.