Entries Tagged 'wordpress' ↓

Before upgrading wordpress, it is always advisable to save a copy of your mysql database.

1. An easy way is to install WP automatica database backup - this saves going into phpMyadmin. Once installed just click link and backup a copy of database to computer. It can be uninstalled after backing up a database.
2. Wordpress automatic upgrade Just install and follow simple instructions. It has worked fine for me.

Improve Performance of Wordpress

• WP-cache Install and then activate. you can increase the expiration time from 3600 to 9993600 to make it more static.
• WP-Super Cache offers even better performance making pages static. It requires rewriting .htaccess. Though if the file is writable it will do it automatically. Wp-super cache also enables you to just run ordinary wp-cache

I have decided to switch my hosting provider from a UK provider to Hostican.

My UK provider – Heart Internet was fine, I had no complaints but I decided to switch Net Writing to my Host I Can reseller account

The reasons were:

1. It will save me money. I already have a Host i Can account so I can add another site at no extra cost.
2. UK web providers tend to be more expensive than US. This is because of the weak dollar and cheaper broadband in the US
3. It’s more convenient to have sites hosted on 1 account, rather than have them scattered on different hosts. (I actually have some other sites on another UK provider, but 2 is better than 3)
4. Host i Can has good features like fantastico and easy file / mySQL database.
5. Moving Hosts has provided me with the opportunity to make a long delayed upgrade of Wordpres 2.3.1 (which has some very nice features). I will also be bringing in a new theme soon.
6. Host i Can provides ‘unlimited bandwidth’ – I have yet to test it on a Digg homepage, but, it would be nice to find out how it does

I could have stayed with a different host for greater variety of IP addresses. This has a minor SEO benefit. (Google tend to discount links if they come from the same IP address). However, I don’t tend to link Net Writing to other sites like Mortgage guide, Cycling and my personal Blog. – There is not much in common.

New Theme Coming Soon! 

Moving hosts was not as bad as I feared. It took a while, but, I learned a few things on the way. I will write about moving hosts soon.

I used to have everything on 1 blog. The blog software wasn’t ideal (still in beta), and I found it a bit frustrating being limited by the blog software; but also the problem was that I was trying to do too much on one blog. (blogging on unrelated topics) A few weeks ago I asked at Problogger, whether it was a good idea to switch blog hosts. Soon after asking the question, I decided to start new blogs on specific themes. For example, I moved SEO / blogging to netwriting (here) and economics to Economics Essays. I use my personal blog as general entertainment. I don’t even bother to monetise that blog.

Advantages of Starting New Blog

• I got to choose a relevant domain name for the niche.
• It creates more authority to blog on a specific domain, rather than lump everything together.
• Saves the hassle of switching blog platforms and importing all the old content.

Disadvantages of Starting New Blog

• You lose the benefit of an established domain and in bound links
• More expensive
• Have to start from scratch in getting links, building traffic
• A little more time consuming to have more blogs
• Some people have said that switching domains and importing old content is not too difficult.

Continue reading →

Tip of the day: Before making any changes to sidebar or stylesheet. – Copy the code into a notepad file and save. This means that if things go awry, (and they can easily do) at least you have a back up and you can revert to the original. This is much easier than trying to alter code.

Whenever I make a successful improvement I save the new file before moving on. This will save a lot of wasted time.

Changes I made to sidebar:

1. Add RSS button.

It is crucial to encourage readers to sign upto RSS feeds. It is the easiest way to keep new readers.

• Sign up for Net Writing feed
• RSS Button Maker

2. Add Photo

I like the style of this wordpress theme, but it is dominanted by one colour which makes it a little austere / bland. A photo adds a little interest; the only suitable photo I can think of at the moment is one of myself. At least, it gives the blog more of a personal touch.

3. Recent Posts

I added this feature, because I found I liked to use it on other blogs; it saves scrolling down the blog and searching through archives. Rather than use a plugin I used some simple code:

Thanks to Erii for this code: eri’s wordpress blog

Continue reading →

Comment spam has plagued blogs, for almost as long as blogs have been in existence.

Basically spammers use comments as a mechanism to leave links to their sites The spammers gain in 2 ways:

1. Firstly the link counts towards their page rank / link popularity
2. Secondly they will get some click through to their sites. (even if the % is very small it can be worth doing if you can automate the spam comments.

In response to the real problem of comment and trackback spam, Google suggested implementing the no_follow tag. See Google blogspot. The no_follow tag is like an indicator to the search engines not to count this link when calculating P.R. and Link popularity of a site. The argument is that since the links may be spam, they don’t deserve to gain any credit from in boosting a site’s link popularity. – Which seems a good idea.

The hope was that if comment’s have no_follow then spammers will not have any incentive to leave automated comments and trackbacks in blogs. The no_follow tag soon caught on, and most major blog software use “no follow” as default. However, it didn’t quite work out as hoped.

Continue reading →

This post is primarily for my benefit. It is a list of wordpress plugins I either use or intend to get. Quite often I say a plugin I would like, but don’t have time to install it, then later I can’t find it. Therefore whenever I come across a plugin I would like to have I shall add it here. I would be grateful for any suggestions, which can be left in comments.

• Wordpress Plugins at Wordpress.org
• Wordpress Plugin Datatbase

Continue reading →