Without further ado, let’s dive into the code for Mimbo’s index page and make some changes.

As mentioned in the first article of this series, one of my first requirements is to use category names to pull posts out of the DB instead of the default setup used by Mimbo.  This isn’t a complicated change, but when there is the possibility of category ID’s Changing over the course of a development cycle, it’s one worth making.  To make this modification, we first need to find the section of code that calls Lead Story and modify it to suit our new requirements.

Again, this is where Mimbo shines, since we find the first module right at line 6 of the index.php file:

Line 8 is the one we need to take note of.

This call uses the query_post() WordPress Template Tag to get 1 post from category number 3. What I want to do is get the category information by name, in this case, I want to display the latest post in the “Recipes” category, so we’ll change it to read as follows:

The next call to a category ID is at line 16, where the category title is displayed:

Unfortunately, wp_list_categories does not allow for calling categories by name, But since we’re already specifying the ctegory that we want by name, we can actually eliminate the need for a php call and simply print out the name using standard html, like so:

In the case of the project I’m working on I don’t think it’s necessary to print anything at all, since it’s going to be pretty obvious that what the reader is looking at is going to be a recipe, so I’ve made the following changes, starting at line 13:

Note: I’ve only commented these lines out in the example so that line numbering is not affected. In my production site, I removed them from the code altogether.

The second change needed to match my requirements is that all posts must show author information and date posted. This is required by several of my advertisers so that they can keep track of the dates that ads and reviews were posted. I really like to keep the people that make me money happy, so I’m going to add it in.

I want the author and date information directly under the title of the post, so I’ll start adding it in at line 19:

Original Code:

And we change it to:

What we end up with is this:

The layout works, but it's not pretty. It'll look better once images are added and a little css work is done

As you can see, we now have no category title and we’ve got author information posted below the post title using the <small> tag. It’s ugly as heck, but all that will be fixed later when I modify the stylesheet to fit the look that I want. What we’ve got is working, and I call that so-far so-good.

At this point we need to modify the second column to work in the same manner. Since we’ve already covered the changes needed in detail, I’ll just show you the code before and after modification, you should easily be able to spot the changes:

Original Featured Column:

Modified Featured Column:

The only real difference between the first examples is at line 36 of the modified code:

Take note of the offset parameter. Since we’re using this column as a continuation of the Recipes category and we’ve already displayed the first, or newest, post in the category, we use the offset parameter and set it to 1. This tells query_posts() to skip the newest post in this category and move on to the next, thus avoiding a duplicate entry.

The other main addition to the original Mimbo code is that I added post excerpts to the second column so that my readers get a glimpse, or teaser, of what the post contains. I’ve found that this can, at times, persuade a casual passerby to move a little deeper into the blog to find what he or she needs, and again adheres to the requirements of some of the companies that pay me to do what I do.

Modifying the third column is much the same as the first two. with just one exception. By default Mimbo uses an array of integers to get the first post in any number of categories specified and display them in that column:

I just switched the code up a bit to use category names so that all the sections matched:

all I did was change the array to hold category names instead of ID’s. After that, changing just the “cat=” parameter to “category_name=” was enough to let the theme do the rest. Easy Peasy!

I think that’s enough to digest for now. In the next article I’ll address modifying the way Mimbo handles images on the main page.

Have fun coding!

There are few WordPress themes that have garnered as much interest as Mimbo 2.2 by Darren Hoyt. Not only is the layout elegant and very functional, the code is commented well enough to allow anything from minor tweaks to major customizations without much trouble at all. This ease of customization is a major component to Mimbo’s success and in my opinion it is also Mimbo’s strongest point.

As with any theme modification, steps need to be taken in advance to know what your requirements are.  In this case, Mimbo’s layout is nearly everything that I want for the new look, but there are some very real changes that I need implemented.  Styling is almost always a more significant time investment, so it’s best to decide early on if the project will have to be switched to another theme. Before worrying about new header graphics of mucking with CSS styles, it’s necessary to map out the core functionality necessary for your specific needs and make sure that everything is functioning in the way that you need it to. This can save hours in development time.

With that in mind, let’s look at the way that Mimbo functions “out of the box”.

Darren Hoyt's Mimbo. As a theme, it's a work of art

Mimbo has four main “Modules” on the index page. (The sidebar has multiple modules, but I’ll focus on those in a later post) Each of these modules displays the latest information from different defined categories in whatever order the blog owner prefers. Let’s look at each in turn and see how the theme author has this laid out.

1. The Lead Story Module: Designed to handle important news, or the most relevant piece of “core content” of your blog.  It puts it right out there in front of the world at twice the width of anything else on the page.
2. The “Features” Module: a chronological listing from the “Featured” category.  Generally the column where important “bread and butter” articles would be featured.  Again this targets your core content, but it’s content of a less immediately relevant nature than the Lead Story.
3. The Right Column Module: The right column module displays the latest article posted in any number of assigned categories.  This is really the feature that puts Mimbo firmly in the “Magazine Style” WordPress theme category, and it is a very powerful tool which shows the casual visitor a brief overview of the topics you’ve been covering.
4. The Sidebar Module: Mimbo’s sidebar contains all of the usual suspects for a WordPress theme. It has Widget support, categories, and recent this-or-that in place right out of the box.  It also has a few custom pieces like another module for displaying very short snippets of site news and advertising space built in, which just ads another level of power to this theme.

If you’re just looking for a theme that looks great and works flawlessly, Mimbo is good right off the shelf.  Unfortunately, it’s almost never that simple. Every blog or website has its own special requirements and even as good as Mimbo is, it’s just not quite what I need at this point.

The first change I need to implement is in modules 1 and 2.  For my needs, both of these modules needs to display information from the same category. They also need to display the date the post was published and a few other bits of information, such as a spoiler (or excerpt) and author information.

Module 3 is already set up much the way I need it, so the basic functionality does not need to change, but there are some formatting issues that need to be addressed. As with Modules 1 and 2, I need the date published, a better excerpt and author information shown on the main page.

In addition, I want to change the way Mimbo handles some of it’s main display functions to better suit my work flow and the fact that I’ll be importing a live site into a test environment more than once during the build process. This could change the category ID’s on me while I’m testing, and that’s just not a great way to play.

In the next installment, I’ll dive into the code changes necessary to accomplish this first round of goals.  Hopefully it will give a better understanding of theme tweaks in general and allow those of you who have always wanted to mess with your theme files to take the leap into true customization.

For my more experienced readers, perhaps it will persuade you to play around with Mimbo and see if it suits your needs as well.

Until next time!

Enter the Loughlin/Michaels Group, a company with six years experience in the high tech public relations field. Their Jump Start Program is designed to help smaller businesses gain recognition and presence in the new marketplace, thus gaining your business the momentum it needs to succeed and grow in today’s world without having to risk the stability of your business with PR expenses.

You need to get your business off the ground and you need to do so with a company that has a rpoven track record of achieving results.  Make your choices based on past performance and go with an expert in the field.

Enter the Better Feed plugin from Ozh.  Not only does this bad boy return you to the stock behavior of earlier WordPress versions, but it allows you to add just about anything you ever thought of to the footer of your RSS feed. How about Post word counts, custom (Read More) text, number of comments, a nice little reminder that you’re running a contest?  You name it, this plugin will do it.

I’ve used several plugins over the past few years that added advertising to my RSS feeds, but none of those solutions was very elegant.  Better Feed makes this process simple.  Each time a new round of advertisements that I feel my readers would be interested in comes through my inbox, I simply append the best of them using the plugin interface, hit save and forget about it until next week.  No more worrying about whether I’ve fubar-ed the code for one of five rotating ad choices or mucking with a management script designed to handle far more than I will ever need on a C-list blog. (I’m working at hitting th A-List, but hey, it takes time!)

There is a bit of a learning curve to Better Feed, but It’s nothing that should send you into a fit.  The tags are pretty straightforward and the editor will be familiar to anyone who has ever edited their comments before.  Getting things to look just the way you’d like may take a bit of time, but you’ll get there, don’t worry.

In the end, I’m listing this as one of my “Must have” WordPress plugins.  I just don’t know what I’d do without it at this point!

For advertisers wanting to get a little buzz going on about their product, site or service, Snapbomb works in the same manner that all of these types of services do.  You pay for a post, bloggers take it and refer visitors to your site.  Simple and effective, especially if you’ve got good writers on your side.

The difference in the snapbomb service is from the blogger’s standpoint. Not only does the blogger’s dashboard show your current blog status, but also monitors the number of page views and the minimum and maximum estimated value per post for that blog.  And unlike other services, it tracks these numbers for each and every blog you have!

It’s also simple to find opportunities for paid reviews with snapbomb, because all opportunities that you are qualified for show up at the top of the list, rather than being scattered among a slew of other opportunity listings. Top that off with a list of what you’ll be paid for all the blogs that you have in their system and that means you’re never left guessing if you are eligible to take an opportunity, or what you’ll be paid for that opportunity on each blog that you run.  Believe me when I say I consider that to be a massive plus!

The only downside that I see is that because of the way snapbomb rates blogs, it may take a while before you’re to the point where you’re making a significant amount per post.  Your earnings potential at snapbomb is not calculated just by PageRank (or other proprietary rating system) or pageviews.  Snapbomb values high quality posts and blogs must be rated to earn more per post.  Of course, when you start, you won’t have a rating, so payouts will be at the botom end of the scale.

The simple answer to that of course, is to post a few reviews, do a very good job and get a great rating.  How much that stands to earn you is something that I can’t tell you at this point, having just investigated the service.

In the end, I’ll stand on record saying that this looks like a pretty good system to be involved with at this point.  I’ll get back later with more opinions, but for now, I’m pretty happy with what I see.  Whether you like it or not is a determination for you to make, so go over to snapbomb and sign up!

Grid Focus Public is definitely a theme tweaker’s dream.  The code for the template is so easy to get through that it’s almost like a vacation to modify.  It’s just that much fun. Want to add something to the sidebar?  No problem.  Change the colors, menus, layout options?  Easy. Change the header, footer or anything else about the template.  A sheer walk in the park. Unfortunately, that simplicity comes with a price.

The price is that Grid Focus Public, even though it’s been updated to work with the newest releases of WordPress without a hitch, does not have a lot of the modern features that one would expect in a theme of this type.  For example, there are no options that can be set via the admin panel. There is no widget support (Though I find this more of a blessing than a curse…  I despise widgets and almost never use them.) and things like automated menus simply don’t exist.  If you want to modify this theme, you’ll have to play with the code or hire someone that can do it for you.

That being said, this theme has gained some pretty avid supporters in the blogging world, and those who do use it are not only happy with it, they sing its praises. Among the evangelical masses are such sites as Skelliewag.org and Anywired, which at first glance appear to use slightly different themes, but the difference is only due to placement and coloration of the headers and a few sidebar items. There is also my site at ADHDFamilies.org, which is currently using a version that is far less modified than I would eventually like to see…  (I know, shameless plug for myself…  Sorry!)

My opinion currently…  If you like the look of the layout and you know your way around a theme.  DIVE IN!  You’ll be happy that you did.  Grid Focus makes life a lot easier.

It’s as simple as that (and yes, I’m using the plugin to show you how the plugin works!

The only drawback is that if you’re using the visual editor, you may have to go back and add your code at the end, then save the post from the code editor. This is only a minor annoyance, however, and I think that the pluses definitely outweigh the negatives.

If you’ve got code to share with your eaders, I think this little gem is more than worth the time and effort to use.

An answering machine or simple voice mail box might get you by for a while in a pinch, but this will brand you as “just one of those little companies”. If you want your customers and prospective customers to have the best possible experience while creating a simple way for your brand to stand above the other guys in your field, why not consider using an Answering Service? The benefits of this type of service are varied and include the fact that your customers or clients will be talking to a real person each and every time they pick up the phone. There is no chance of the dreaded “leave a message after the beep” that you get with voice mail.

Answering Services can also field common questions that your customers may have regarding your services or products, freeing up your time to do the work you love. Let’s face it, you started a home based business because you were passionate about what you were doing.An answering service might seem impersonal from your perspective, but from a callers perspective it is a much better experience all the way around.

Think about it from the customer’s perspective.  They get a live human being each and every time they call.  In todays world of computerized phone systems, there is simply nothing that compares to that. Think about it.  The solution may not be right for you, but in business you have to weigh every option available.

First, run a text editor as root.  In Gnome, type the following in a terminal:

gksudo gedit

In Kde, type the following:

sudo kate

Paste the following code into the editor of your choice:

Download the akadd.sh shell script and save it to your hard disk.

Download: akadd.sh

Open the code in your text editor as root.

The code listing for the script is as follows:

save this little script in /usr/bin/feeds, with the filename akadd, then close your editor and go back to the command prompt.  CD to /usr/bin/feeds and type:

sudo chmod 755 akadd

Now you have to tell firefox where to find this little gem.  To do this, just click on the RSS icon in the address bar and select /usr/bin/feeds/akadd.  You should be up and running!

NOTE:

The original akadd script was written by Mathew Gates, and can be found here.

The fix to make it useful with Firefox 3.0 Beta was written by a French student at Linux tips, and can be seen here.

The reason my version is longer is because i really did want podcasts to go straight to Amarock, and I like the dialogs ;)  Both versions work, I simply modified the longer version

Most of us will simply groan and bear it, Kaushal did something about it. He researched shared hosts from top ten lists all over the Internet and came up with his very own guide to the best web hosting companies. Each of these sites has a 99.9% uptime guarantee and redundant server facilities at extremely reasonable prices.

My hat is off to Kaushal. It takes a lot of wok to research hosting companies in today’s market. In fact, it was so much of a bother for me that I just went over to a VPS server, but that’s just me. If you’re still in the market for a shared hosting plan that has a radical transfer rate and a low cost, check out his list, I’m sure you’ll be happy you did.