Solostream - Wordpress Themes. Blog Design. Wordpress Blog Design. » WordPress http://www.solostream.com Fri, 18 Jul 2008 12:55:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 en How to Add a Header Image to the Simplicity WordPress Theme http://www.solostream.com/2007/10/09/how-to-add-a-header-image-to-the-simplicity-wordpress-theme/ http://www.solostream.com/2007/10/09/how-to-add-a-header-image-to-the-simplicity-wordpress-theme/#comments Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:18:24 +0000 Michael Pollock header theme simplicity figured tutorial folks graphic write http://www.solostream.com/2007/10/09/how-to-add-a-header-image-to-the-simplicity-wordpress-theme/ Simplicity WordPress theme, so I figured it was time to just write a tutorial on it. It's really pretty simple to do.]]> I get a lot of folks who want to add a header graphic to my Simplicity WordPress theme, so I figured it was time to just write a tutorial on it. It’s really pretty simple to do.

Step 1: Understand the Dimensions

The header of Simplicity is the wide, blue area at the top where you see the blog name and description. The width of the header is 940px wide. That means any header image you place there needs to be no wider than that. As for the height, well that doesn’t really matter. The header height will expand to fit.

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]]> http://www.solostream.com/2007/10/09/how-to-add-a-header-image-to-the-simplicity-wordpress-theme/feed/ Popular WordPress Sites Say “No” to Ad-Sponsored Themes http://www.solostream.com/2007/07/12/popular-wordpress-sites-say-no-to-sponsored-themes/ http://www.solostream.com/2007/07/12/popular-wordpress-sites-say-no-to-sponsored-themes/#comments Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:36:20 +0000 Michael Pollock http://www.solostream.com/2007/07/12/popular-wordpress-sites-say-no-to-sponsored-themes/ Weblog Tools Collection declared that he would no longer promote sponsored WordPress themes on his site. Shortly thereafter, WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg stated that all sponsored themes "should" be removed from the Wordpres Theme Viewer site.]]> Recently, two popular WordPress-related sites took a stand against ad-sponsored WordPress themes. Mark Ghosh, publisher of Weblog Tools Collection declared that he would no longer promote sponsored WordPress themes on his site. Shortly thereafter, WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg stated that all sponsored themes “should” be removed from the Wordpres Theme Viewer site. As for Matt’s comments, I’ve requested clarification from him, but I assume he means there’s currently a project underway to actually remove sponsored themes from the site.

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]]> http://www.solostream.com/2007/07/12/popular-wordpress-sites-say-no-to-sponsored-themes/feed/ How to Install WordPress on Your Own Server + Video Tutorial http://www.solostream.com/2007/02/25/lesson-12-download-and-install-wordpress-on-your-server/ http://www.solostream.com/2007/02/25/lesson-12-download-and-install-wordpress-on-your-server/#comments Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:03:49 +0000 Michael Pollock wordpress video install tutorial http://www.solostream.com/2006/01/17/lesson-12-download-and-install-wordpress-on-your-server/ wp-20-button-trans.gifView the video tutorial:

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]]> http://www.solostream.com/2007/02/25/lesson-12-download-and-install-wordpress-on-your-server/feed/ Video: Introduction to WordPress http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/30/video-introduction-to-wordpress/ http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/30/video-introduction-to-wordpress/#comments Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:32:21 +0000 Michael Pollock video wordpress blog design flash http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/30/video-introduction-to-wordpress/ I’m doing a little experimentation with streaming video on a WordPress site. As part of that experimentation, I created a brief video introduction to WordPress. I think it’s like 15 minutes long. I’d like to know if you have any problems viewing the video, so please share via the comments link. Thanks! (more…)

]]> http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/30/video-introduction-to-wordpress/feed/ Blog Design 101: WordPress Theme/Template Design (Part 2) http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/30/blog-design-101-wordpress-themetemplate-design-part-2/ http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/30/blog-design-101-wordpress-themetemplate-design-part-2/#comments Mon, 30 Oct 2006 11:41:31 +0000 Michael Pollock blog design wordpress themes solostream wordpress tutorial design http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/30/blog-design-101-wordpress-themetemplate-design-part-2/ In part 1 of this series, we talked a little bit about database driven publishing platforms, such as WordPress. The key point of that discussion was that your blog data is separate from your blog design (the look and layout of your site). The data - such as blog posts, blog comments, blog categories, etc. - reside in a database on your web server/web host (you establish your database during the WordPress install process). ]]> In part 1 of this series, we talked a little bit about database driven publishing platforms, such as WordPress. The key point of that discussion was that your blog data is separate from your blog design (the look and layout of your site). The data - such as blog posts, blog comments, blog categories, etc. - reside in a database on your web server/web host (you establish your database during the WordPress install process).

The template files (theme) tell WordPress and the various web browsers how to organize and present your blog data to your website/blog visitor. You may hear people refer to the blog theme as a “blog skin” because it determines the look and feel - or design - of your blog. At a basic level, that’s true, but a WordPress theme can - and usually does - do more than just determine the design style of your blog. (more…)

]]> http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/30/blog-design-101-wordpress-themetemplate-design-part-2/feed/ Blog Design 101: WordPress Theme/Template Design (Part 1) http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/29/blog-design-101-wordpress-themetemplate-design-part-1/ http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/29/blog-design-101-wordpress-themetemplate-design-part-1/#comments Sun, 29 Oct 2006 18:04:16 +0000 Michael Pollock wordpress themes blog design wordpress tutorial design solostream http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/29/blog-design-101-wordpress-themetemplate-design-part-1/ There are probably over 1000 free WordPress blog themes/templates out there. Yet, I still get people who write and ask me to help them design their own. And that's cool. After all, it's a great way to express one's creativity. This post marks the first in a series to help you do just that: create your own WordPress blog theme. Before we get into WordPress blog/theme design, however, we need to talk a little bit about WordPress itself. ]]> There are probably over 1000 free WordPress blog themes/templates out there. Yet, I still get people who write and ask me to help them design their own. And that’s cool. After all, it’s a great way to express one’s creativity. This post marks the first in a series to help you do just that: create your own WordPress blog theme. Before we get into WordPress blog/theme design, however, we need to talk a little bit about WordPress itself.

Database-Driven Websites (AKA Push-Button Publishing)

WordPress, like most blogging platforms, is a “database-driven” web publishing platform. In other words, all of your blog’s content is stored in a database in the form of, well, data. The database merely acts as a repository for all the information you add to your WordPress site. That includes blog posts, blog comments, blog categories, the title of your blog and a whole slew of other information. Most people, me included, would say that database driven websites are a key characteristic of Web 2.0 websites. (more…)

]]> http://www.solostream.com/2006/10/29/blog-design-101-wordpress-themetemplate-design-part-1/feed/ Set up a VideoBlog Part Deux (Or How to Easily Add Quicktime Video to Your WordPress Site http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/20/set-up-a-videoblog-part-deux-or-how-to-easily-add-quicktime-video-to-your-wordpress-site/ http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/20/set-up-a-videoblog-part-deux-or-how-to-easily-add-quicktime-video-to-your-wordpress-site/#comments Wed, 20 Sep 2006 23:33:12 +0000 Michael Pollock quicktime videos flash tutorial quicktags wordpress howto http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/20/set-up-a-videoblog-part-deux-or-how-to-easily-add-quicktime-video-to-your-wordpress-site/ tutorial on adding Flash video to your Worpdress site was pretty popular ... this tutorial is designed to make it easy for you to add Quicktime video to your WordPress site.]]> vidblogs.gifMy tutorial on adding Flash video to your Worpdress site was pretty popular. The only problem is Flash video tends to be lower quality than Quicktime video. So this tutorial is designed to make it easy for you to add Quicktime video to your WordPress site.

Besides the quality issue, there are other benefits to using Quicktime over Flash. First of all, Quicktime video is the file-format-of-choice for video blogs. In other words, people with video iPods and Quicktime-compatible, portable video players can download the video automatically, just like you would a regular podcast. And from what I understand, that’s not the case with Flash video (correct me if I’m wrong). (more…)

]]> http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/20/set-up-a-videoblog-part-deux-or-how-to-easily-add-quicktime-video-to-your-wordpress-site/feed/ Tubetorial: Why WordPress and How it Works http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/16/tubetorial-why-wordpress-and-how-it-works/ http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/16/tubetorial-why-wordpress-and-how-it-works/#comments Sat, 16 Sep 2006 13:02:42 +0000 Michael Pollock tubetorial copyblogger brian chris pearson extolling videoblogging clark http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/16/tubetorial-why-wordpress-and-how-it-works/ tubetorial.jpgFirst of all, I have to say, Tubetorial is hot. Tubetorial is the latest videoblogging project by Chris Pearson (a fellow blog designer and a damn good one at that) and Brian Clark of Copyblogger fame.]]> tubetorial.jpgFirst of all, I have to say, Tubetorial is hot. Tubetorial is the latest videoblogging project by Chris Pearson (a fellow blog designer and a damn good one at that) and Brian Clark of Copyblogger fame.
tubetorial.jpg
What I like most about Tubetorial, beyond the site design, is the videos themselves. They’re relatively short (most are 2-5 minutes in length), and the quality is excellent. Take for example, their latest offering, Why WordPress and How it Works, a 5 minute video extolling the virtues of WordPress. If you’re not already a WordPress fan, this may convince you to make the switch. If so, you can find a couple of tutorials to help you install WordPress here and here. You can also find out a little more about WordPress by listening to my interview with Denise and Patsi on Conversations with Experts.

In the meantime, keep an eye on Tubetorial. Brian and Chris have certainly raised the bar a bit with this one.

]]> http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/16/tubetorial-why-wordpress-and-how-it-works/feed/ Join Me for a Discussion About WordPress http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/12/join-me-for-a-discussion-about-wordpress/ http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/12/join-me-for-a-discussion-about-wordpress/#comments Tue, 12 Sep 2006 12:32:13 +0000 Michael Pollock http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/12/join-me-for-a-discussion-about-wordpress/ Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff invited me to be a guest on their Conversations With Experts series. We’ll be talking about WordPress, and you’re all invited. Here’s the intro for the show:

Conversations with Experts: How to Build Your Business On and Off-line

WordPress 2.0: The Ultimate Small Business Publishing Platform

Wednesday, September 13, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET (no charge, registration required)

Guest Expert: Michael Pollock, Solostream Web Studio

Register Here

In the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion of what have been called “push button publishing services;” also known as blogs. Because they’re so easy to use, hosted services such as Typepad, Blogger and LiveJournal have been the dominant players in this market.

More recently, however, a stand-alone publishing platform named WordPress has been steadily growing in popularity. Recent estimates suggest there are currently more than 1 million WordPress users across the planet. And a lot of them are small business owners just like you. During this discussion, Michael will talk about some of the reasons why the WordPress user base is growing so quickly. In particular, he’ll talk about:

  • Limitations and drawbacks of hosted services like Typepad and Blogger.
  • What you CAN do with WordPress that you CAN’T do with hosted services.
  • 5 reasons you may want to switch to WordPress.
  • 5 reasons you may not want to switch to WordPress.
  • Questions and concerns addressed.
]]> http://www.solostream.com/2006/09/12/join-me-for-a-discussion-about-wordpress/feed/ How to Add eBay Listings to Your WordPress Site http://www.solostream.com/2006/08/12/how-to-add-ebay-listings-to-your-wordpress-site/ http://www.solostream.com/2006/08/12/how-to-add-ebay-listings-to-your-wordpress-site/#comments Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:33:04 +0000 Michael Pollock http://www.solostream.com/2006/08/12/how-to-add-ebay-listings-to-your-wordpress-site/ One of my clients, Hi-Way Campers, has started listing some of their RVs for sale on eBay. Naturally, I had to figure out a way to integrate it into their website, which is build on a WordPress platform. First I looked around for a WP plugin, but there none to be found. And there’s probably a really good reason there’s no plugin. It’s too easy for a plugin. (more…)

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