The Anatomy of Bit51 v2.0 – Tools and Services for Your Website (part 2)

June 17th, 2013 Leave a Comment

The Anatomy of Bit51Last week I talked about some of the must-have plugins I use on Bit51 as well as the theme the site is built on. In doing so I listed the plugins I use on every WordPress project I develop but didn’t get to all the ones that are unique to Bit51 nor did I get to the services that interact with Bit51 and help me deliver my content to folks in the most efficient way possible.

As we all know, every project is different and each requires a special set of parts to come together. That said, here are the rest of the parts including plugins and other services I’ve used to bring Bit51 together. [Continue Reading...]

Contributing to Better WP Security

June 15th, 2013 1 Comment

Better WP Security

The idea of Better WP Security from the very beginning was a community project. To date I frankly haven’t been the greatest at getting the word out. It’s time for that to change.

Do you want to be a part of one of the largest plugins in the WordPress.org repository? Better WP Security could use your help to continue to grow and be the leader in WordPress security. Whether your skills are in code, content, or something else I would love to add you as a contributor to a plugin with almost 750,000 downloads and growing. Here’s how you can get involved: [Continue Reading...]

Adding a Widget Area After Your Post In WordPress and Genesis

June 12th, 2013 2 Comments

Add a Widget Area After the Post in WordPress and GenesisThe space after your post on WordPress is a great place to display information to your audience for maximum exposure and, hopefully, high click-through rates. It can be a place to post advertising, link folks to other posts, or add just about anything else you want. For example, this site uses the area after the post to link to other relevant articles using the nRelate related content system. Just by adding this little section I was able to drop the bounce rate of this site almost 10% overnight. It really can be that effective.

So how do you add content after the post and, more importantly, how do you add content after the post that can be changed and updated as needed? If you’re using WordPress and the Genesis Framework (affiliate link) it’s easy. This tutorial will walk you through adding a widget area to your post right after the post content itself just as the related content section is used on this site. [Continue Reading...]

Safari 7: Will it Become Your Browser?

June 10th, 2013 10 Comments

Apple Safari LogoEarlier today Apple announced the latest version of their Safari browser at #WWDC. It includes better integration with password services thanks to iCloud Keychain and improved integration with iOS and other computers thanks to the new iWork for iCloud. Is this enough to make it a worthy alternative to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox? [Continue Reading...]

The Anatomy of Bit51 v2.0 – Tools and Services for Your Website (part 1)

June 8th, 2013 Leave a Comment

The Anatomy of Bit51 v2There’s no doubt in my mind that redesigning Bit51 was one of the most challenging projects I’ve taken on in a long time. This isn’t because it’s too technically complex, rather it was one of those projects where every single detail could take a week of worry and testing to make sure it wasn’t just right but that it was perfect. Plugins changed, the theme changed, content changed, and just about everything that could be seen by either a user or developer was put under a microscope in an effort to make sure it wasn’t just done, but that it was done right and would provide as much value to my users as I possibly could.

Throughout the project the biggest change was, without a doubt, the tools and services that make up Bit51 including everything from the subscription services to plugin choices. I’ve learned a lot along the way and hopefully my rationale can help some of you shopping for your own site. That said, here is what I’ve used to put Bit51 together and to keep it growing. [Continue Reading...]