Last week WordPress released ‘Thelonius’ or WordPress 3.0, the latest version of their popular CMS.

There are a number of new features and upgrades in this version of WordPress that make this blogging platform even more powerful and usable that previous versions.

Here are the highlights:

• WordPress and WordPress MU have merged, allowing the management of multiple sites (called Multisite) from one WordPress installation.
• New default theme “Twenty Ten” takes full advantage of the current features of WordPress.
• New custom menu management feature, allows creation of custom menus combining posts, pages, categories, tags, and links for use in theme menus or widgets.
• Custom header and background APIs.
• Contextual help text accessed under the Help tab of every screen in the WordPress administration.
• Ability to set the admin username and password during installation.
• Bulk updating of themes with an automatic maintenance mode during the process.
• Support for shortlinks.
• Improved Custom post types and custom taxonomies including hierarchical (category-style) support. (Try the Custom Post Type UI or GD Custom Posts And Taxonomies Tools plugins to see the possibilities.)
• A lighter admin color scheme to increase accessibility and put the focus more squarely on your content.

Here’s a short video discussing some of these highlights and an intro to the latest version.

If you have logged into your WordPress admin recently you will notice that at the top of the dashboard the following message “WordPress 3.0 is available! Please update now.”

Remember to completely backup your database and website files before performing an upgrade.

We’ve been quietly experimenting on some really amazing new sites including our own. Our work over the last six months is more focused on creating great custom designs using WordPress blog technology to allow our customers access to their content. It’s not just for blogs. That’s right, we’re teaching our clients how to make updates and we proudly admit it.

The money you save by learning how to update your site yourself or through an employee means you can use those funds for help with direct email marketing, print ads, social media areas, or adding new useful features to your site. It’s about looking at the big picture, not just your website.  We’ve put together a few questions put forth to us by some of our customers. We hope you find it useful.

1. 

   Screenshot of the admin used to create this article.

   What is WordPress?
   While initially created as blogging software, WordPress makes a great light version of a CMS (Content Management System). The software is free, and is supported by most good web hosting companies. It is also fairly straightforward in terms of installation and administration. WordPress has a large, active user community that provides forums for tips and support. When the code running your site is up to date it helps prevent security risks. Because the software that runs WordPress is open source, any amount of customization is possible and in fact, encouraged. If you really get into it, you can even blog by downloading an app for your iPhone.

2. Can I still have some bells & whistles?
   Absolutely.  Plugins can be installed directly in the WordPress admin and there are thousands to choose from. Some examples are site stats, e-commerce, image galleries and site security. By making use of plugins, users can customize the performance of a blog or site according to need. Some famous plugins are All in one SEO, Akismet, Robots meta, and the SEO friendly images plugin.
3. How does search engine optimization work in WordPress?
   Out of the box, WordPress is a pretty well optimized system, and does a far better job at allowing every single page to be indexed than some other CMS systems out there. It also allows you to put in keywords for pictures or blog entries so people can find you. At Rhizome we have seen a dramatic increase in site traffic for clients who move from a traditional website to a customized WordPress site.
4. Can I interact with my customers? What about social media?
   WordPress allows you to directly interact with your clients. By allowing comments, visitors have a voice on your site. By making an RSS feed available clients can easily see when the site has been updated. Social media applications like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn also tend to dovetail nicely with WordPress sites, for example, your blog postings can be set to automatically update your Twitter account.
5. How do I update my site to a WordPress site?
   Just ask us how. It doesn’t take us very long to take an existing site we may have done for you in the past and upgrade it. Chances are we can get it done within a week or two depending on the complexity of the site, as long as there are no other major design modifications. We set everything up and then arrange a time to tutor our customers on how to use it.
6. But what if I mess up my site?
   Trust us, you won’t mess up your site. We’ve already put this through the “Emily-Corey-fear-of-html” test. Emily is a writer who wanted to be able to put in articles and posts for clients.  After we talked her through how to do it, she is zipping right along, fear-free. What we call the “shell” of the site is hard-coded and will not be affected by any of the content text you wish to publish.

Below are some examples of our latest sites employing great custom design with WordPress technology. Feel free to peruse them and get some ideas for yourself.

Bill Nye the Science Guy
A site worth experimenting on, I challenge you to take the POP Quiz. It’s really tough! Find your favorite episode guides and see what’s brewing inside Nye Labs. This customized WordPress theme allows for video, a database, custom PHP scripts, and flash elements. In the first month this site received over 15,000 visitors. The stats have steadily climbed to over 72,000 a month.

Valley Cultural Center
VCC provides one of the largest outdoor Summer concerts and movies in the park in Southern California with over 50,000 visitors in a season. Being a non-profit does not always mean no profit, and better online functionality proved to be a prudent decision. New event features, and an online marketplace directory for those businesses in the San Fernando Valley that support the arts through VCC were included. This provided an alternative revenue flow for VCC, making it possible to bring their site to the next level and fundraise with firepower.

NBIS
James recently updated the entire Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability website in two weeks. We had originally created the site in standard HTML, but because NBIS needed multiple admins for different events, and pages, we needed to make it easy. In the course of upgrading the site, we now have featured company profiles automatically available on home page, as well as feeds for Ecozome Journal articles. We kept our news feed powered by Google AJAX and databases for the Resources and Members pages.

The Gear Works
One of the largest industrial gear manufacturers in North America, we helped TGW reinvent their brand through a new logo and matching communication materials. As part of the scope of this project, we were asked to work closely with an employee there who would be managing updates and content for the site. Their new site brought back to life old newsletters through an online WordPress blog area. A Flash showcase allows the users to take a tour of their facility complete with captions and thumbnails.

Robert Loe and Associates
As Robert Loe, our CPA likes to say, “accounting is boring, but important.” But there’s nothing boring about this website. In fact, the look is quite fun. We used nostalgic ledger-style art with new-fangled technology to create a contrast between old-fashioned common sense and a modern way to communicate to clients. BTW, there’s lots of love in this site, because Robert has been my accountant since I moved to Seattle 16 years ago.

Kenyon Homecare Consulting
We just launched this very elegant site about two weeks ago. This Homecare Consulting agency needs to add content frequently to its news section, and WordPress allows them the flexibility of having staff add content directly into the site.

Interested in finding out more? Call Jen at 206.937-9911

The font settings in Apple’s Safari browser, in particular can cause formatting issues if not set correctly. If you are having issues in Safari please follow the instructions below. They should help.

• Click on Safari in the top tool bar
• Click on Preferences
• Go to Advanced
• Make sure that the “Never use font sizes smaller than” is unchecked

Often we’ll make changes to a Web site but clients can’t see these changes. It’s because computers temporarily “remember” what they see and hold those images in something called a “cache.” In order to see the “new and improved” Web site, you have to clear your computer’s cache.

To do this in Internet Explorer 7:

• Open Internet Explorer
• In the top right menu click Tools
• Click Delete Browsing History
• Temporary Internet Files – Click on Delete Files
• Click OK
• Press F5 on your keyboard to refresh

To do this in Internet Explorer 6:

• Open Internet Explorer
• In the top menu click Tools
• Click Internet Options
• General
• Temporary Internet Files
• Click on Delete Files
• Click OK
• Click the Refresh button (Two green arrows)

To do this in Mozilla Firefox:

• Open Firefox
• In the top menu click Tools
• Click Clear Private Data
• Check the Cache option (uncheck everything else)
• Click Clear Private Data Now
• Click Refresh

To do this in Safari:

In the top menu bar, hold the mouse over the word “Safari” and scroll down so the words “Empty Cache” are highlighted. Let go of the mouse. A message will ask you if you’re sure you want to empty your cache. Click “Empty.” Then, go back to the menu and click the refresh button (a small curved arrow in the top menu bar).

An Expanding or Expand/Collapse site allows users to expand or collapse the corners of their browsers and shifts the way text can be viewed on screen. Often developed for customers who have a great deal of content or product to be sold online.

In a perfect world everyone’s computer would be the same, we would all use the same hardware, operating system and software. Unfortunately this is not the case so when we create a Web site there are a number of things we must consider. Some of these are:

What Platform/Operating System is the person using? For example, Microsoft Windows XP or Apple OS X.

• Which browser is the person using? For example, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or Apple’s Safari.
• What is the size of person’s monitor and at what resolution are they viewing at? For example, there is big difference between what you would see on a 15″ CRT monitor at 800 x 600 to a 19″ LCD monitor at 1152 x 864.
• What is the person’s Internet connection speed?

Each person has a somewhat different combination of the above and that means that each person may see a client’s Web site slight differently. Or if not coded correctly very differently, if at all. So when we create a Web site we must consider all the above so that a client’s Web site is viewable to a many people as possible.

At Rhizome we pride ourselves on creating sites that are not platform or browser specific. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee that someone on a PC from 1995 using the Browser that came with the PC will be able to view your site. Our goal is to create sites with technology that is usable today and still relevant tomorrow.

If you have any specific requirements for your site please let us know as soon as possible.

Knowing the difference between an ISP, a domain name, a Web host, and an email server, can bolster clear communication. Below is a brief explanation of how each of these names function in relation to a Web site.

ISP – Internet Service Provider: An ISP is how you receive your Internet functionality on your computer. This may be provided by a phone company or another 3rd party company. Your ISP has nothing to do with who hosts your Web site. If your ISP goes down, you will not be able to access anyone’s Web site, including your own. When your ISP is down you often receive the annoying, “Server can’t be found” message.

Domain Name – This is the Web site name you have registered as your own. Your domain name is NOT your Web host. Generally, you or your Web developer will purchase your domain name, online, and you will be listed as the owner of that domain name. Always keep this information in a safe place and make a note of when your domain name expires and the DNS (Domain Name Server’s IP address). If you let your domain expire, it automatically comes up for sale and anyone, including your competition, can purchase it. Also, you need this information to be readily available if you decide to switch Web hosts.

Web Host – This is the company who actually hosts your Web site and, in most cases, the emails associated with your domain name. When you or your Web master sets up a new account with a Web hosting company, they will use the DNS information provided from the Domain Name registration to “point” the name in the direction of the server. For most companies, your Web site and email are generally on different servers. Because of this, it is possible for your email to go down but your Web site to still be working, and vice versa. If this happens, your best bet is to call your Web hosting service – not your Web designer. Down servers are almost always a Web hosting issue. Your Web host should be able to tell you if they are making repairs or upgrades to the servers, or if they are experiencing any problems.