As a result, I often find some little known Free Downloadable or Online Features that could be of use to almost anyone to make their computing experience a little bit better and more productive.

This is just such a find…

As anyone who works online knows, when someone lands on your site you have a split second for them to make a decision if it’s where they want to be. That being the case, if your page loads slowly, they will be gone before they can see what you have to offer.

If you have a WordPress Blog then there is a solution (at least to page-load time).

WP Super Cache will increase page load times for your visitors and readers by generating html files that are served directly by Apache without processing comparatively heavy PHP scripts (especially useful if you are Dugg or Stumbled upon).

You can read more specifics about the plugin on the home page of the author of WP Super Cache or go directly to the Dowload Page to start using it right away.

Just so you know, I use the plugin on all my WordPress Blogs and highly recommend it for that just in case you’re Dugg moment.

I hope you find this tool to be something useful in your daily computing experience.

If you find something you think should be included, please use the comments below or use my Contact Form to let me know and I will be sure to check it out for inclusion in a future article.

As a result, I often find some little known Free Downloadable or Online Features that could be of use to almost anyone to make their computing experience a little bit better and more productive.

This is just such a find…

Maintenance Mode (WP Plugin)

Normally, when setting up a new blog or website I will use WampServer for testing new Themes and plugins. However, sometimes you need to do some type of maintenance or setup & testing on a Live Blog.

This tool lets you show visitors a Customized page instead of the normal error pages they get when visiting your site while you are doing something in the background.

As an added feature, you can still view your site while logged in while visitors get your customized message telling them when to return to see your updated page. 

I hope you find this tool to be something useful in your daily computing experience.

If you find something you think should be included, please use the comments below or use my Contact Form to let me know and I will be sure to check it out for inclusion in a future article.

Every WordPress Plugin I have ever installed always starts with downloading a .zip file. This should include ALL the information, folders, files and particular steps you will need to take in order to complete the installation.

Step by Step

• Download the .zip file…
  • to Your Computer in it’s entirety. Save it to any Folder you feel comfortable using ie. “downloads” or “zip files”. Confirm you received all the files. You can use your default expansion program if you are using an Operating System that has that function or something like Winzip for the next step.
• Unzip the .zip file…
  • to a folder on Your Computer where you can access everything in all the Folders and Files that have been expanded. [Keep the Expanded Folder separate from the Zip Folder, this will help avoid some confusion.] Normally these will default to the “Plugin Name Folder” and include the necessary files and folders you need to use the plugin, and a “readme” file which should have all the Special Instructions to ensure proper functionality of the Plugin (be sure to read it!).
• Log in…
  • to your Host Server and access your WordPress files for the Blog to which you are Uploading the Plugin for installation. This is ALWAYS in the public_html file. Make sure you keep track of where your expanded folders and files are stored on your computer for the next step.
• Navigate to wp_content/plugins…
  • If you need a Folder for the Plugin, Create the Folder with the Suggested Name in the “read me” text. Upload all the Files and Folders necessary (being sure to Create any Sub-folders ie. “image” or “features” and Upload any required files within those folders).
  • If No Separate Folder is needed, just Upload the File(s) making sure to create any Required Folders such as “cache” for storage of temporary information. (Folders like “cache” require the ability for the plugin to write to the folder for storage, be sure to open the folder so writing information is enabled).
• Save everything (as necessary) and Log Out of your Host Server
• Go to the WP-Admin of your Blog and sign in as Administrator
• Navigate to the Administration-Dashboard-Plugins Page of the Blog and ACTIVATE the Plugin
• If needed, ADD any code to the .php files as appropriate (you did read the “read me” right?) and SAVE any Changes

Your WordPress Plugin should function as promised as long as you followed ALL the necessary steps.

Well, I found a WordPress Plugin that fits the bill. As far as I can tell this is the third incarnation of this plugin, but it does what it says it will. Your readers can print an article or page including images in a very readable format.

Go to WP-Print 2.20 and download the zip file and unzip it

Upload everything in the Print folder to wp-content/plugins on your host

Activate the plugin

In your index/page/single post php 

Look for <?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>

Add <?php if(function_exists(‘wp_print’)) { print_link(); } ?> where you want the print option to show

 Go to WP-Admin -> Options -> Print to set your preferences

This is really important

Go to WP-Admin -> Options -> Permalinks -> Update Permalink Structure to re-generate the Permalink, DON’T change anything, just Update the Permalink. (I overlooked this step and nothing worked until I did the update)

So far I can see only 2 minor glitches

The images will only print in Black & White, it would be nice to have some color options

There is no way to get back to the Blog unless you hit the <– Back Arrow

Overall I think this is a very nice clean way to offer your readers a way to print any article or page on your WordPress Blog.

I have tried various ways to enhance the description but have always fallen short of what I wanted to give readers as a preview. Using a combination of 2 different plugins, I still could only come up with one excerpt for the newest post, but had to rely on the old fashioned Title for the rest of the current posts.

I finally found a plugin, SimplePie Plugin for WordPress, through the recommendation of a friend and thought I may as well try it because no combination of plugins would give me what I wanted.

It works really well, but they make it a little more complicated to get the download(s) than is necessary. When you get to the landing page, you download their .zip file, but it is only one of 2 that you need to run the php. You have to go to the “download” in the top navigation bar and download another .zip file separately in order for the plugin to work.

After unzipping both files (separately and in different folders) the one for the actual php file (simplepie_wordpress.php) is easy enough to find and upload from the 1.2.1 folder. The other file you need is the library of information to allow the whole thing to function. The file (simplepie.inc) in the 1.0.1 folder is a little more difficult to find because it is mixed in with a lot of files you don’t need for anything (unless you like to read). Once you find the .INC file, it is also easy to upload.

Then you have to create an empty folder, cache, to use as a holding place for the current information (new posts).

If they put everything you need in one download, it would be a lot simpler to install.

Once you get through the ordeal of this process, the rest is easy.

After you upload the 2 files and create the cache folder in your wp/plugin folder, activate the plugin on your WordPress Blog.

Go to the section you would like the excerpts to show and place the following code:

<?php echo SimplePieWP(‘http://example.com/feed.xml’, ‘items: 5, shortdesc: 200, showdate: j M Y’); ?>

You can adjust the “items”, “shortdesc” if you would like you can even remove the date.

The output will default to an Ordered List (numbered). If your want to change it to an unordered list, you need to be comfortable with changing the Plugin php. Don’t attempt it if you don’t know what you are doing, you might break it.