/theme folder

–page-contact.php

–page-about.php

With the new structure that will look like this:

/theme-directory

index.php
—-/pages
——–/page-about.php
——–/page-contact.php

And the best part? You don’t have to tell WordPress to go looking in the folder, ( as long as you only go one layer deep), it will look automatically for the file!

So all in all a great addition to an already stellar suite of plugins…

The site got a very recent facelift and looks better than ever, and in no small part due to the fact that our friend Andrea and Ron Rennick’s presentation from last years WordCamp Toronto is on the front page!!!

The new layout looks great and if you have some time, or want to learn more about using WoprdPress, I strongly suggest you head on over and check it out!

http://mcm.polldaddy.com/s/best-wordcamp-speakers

Now, in my opinion there is no right or wrong as to when or where to turn comments on, but I do have a few guidelines I follow:

Turn comments on when:

1. You want the readers of the post to comment on the material written ( seems kind of obvious doesn’t it?)
2. You are asking a question or soliciting some form of feedback
3. You are trying to build your audience for a new blog…let them comment and help you form your editorial direction

Turn comments off when:

1. You have written a static page. There really shouldn’t be any need to comment on your ‘About me’ page, other than your mother correcting any factual errors, but thats better handled offline.
2. Your comments have turned into a spam farm, filled with ads for cheap mortgages, fake rolexes and male sexual enhancement pills…unless of course those are the topics of your site…

So how do you turn comments off and on?

it’s very simple once you know, but frustrating until you do…and the good news is it is the same for both pages and posts

1.Make sure your the discussion box is displayed in the visual editor…

When you are writing a new page or post, make sure the discussion box is visible right below the main writing box.

If you don’t see the section labelled Discussion under the visual editor, then you need to click on the ‘Screen Options’ button located in the upper right hand corner of the page you are on.

This will open up a new section where you can pick and choose what is shown on the screen. For this example we want to make sure Discussion is checked. Once you have checked that box, you’ll now see the Discussion section right below your visual editor.

Now you can turn on and off comments on a per page or post basis. ( Note: I always leave the ‘ Allow trackbacks and pingbacks on this page’ box checked. )

And there you have it…comments where and when you want them.!

Once you get past the inevitable moment of panic that happens when your website disappears, here is how you can recover from what is now known as the “White Screen of Death”.

Step 1. Log into your account via an FTP client

I work on a Mac and use Coda as my FTP client, but whatever platform you’re on and whatever FTP client you’re using, the process doesn’t change.

Step 2. Navigate to your plugins folder

You’ll find this folder inside the wp-content folder along with the folder for your themes and uploads

Open up the plugins folder and you will find a folder for all of the plugins you have installed.

Step 3. Delete the offender!

Now simply delete the folder for the plugin you just tried installing/updating.

Go back to your sites main page and all should be right in your website world again!

This works for both the aforementioned white screen of death and the error message you get when you try to update a plugin and the  update fails because of an error about the folder already existing.

Now just take a deep breath and get back to regularly scheduled programming ( or blogging in this case)!

In the Media Settings page in your dashboard (Settings > Media), make sure the checkbox for Auto-Embeds is checked. It is by default, so this may not be a problem, but make sure from the start.

After you have ensured that the box is checked, simply grab the embed code from your video sharing site. For our example, we will use a clip from YouTube. If you click on the ‘Share’ button found under the video you want to use, the section will expand, and you will see a box with the embed code.

Copy and paste that code into your visual editor and…voila!…you have embedded video!  (I’m using a video from the new Harley Davidson campaign as the weather is very Spring-like, and I was out on my bike yesterday. Hope you enjoy it!)

For example, we could do a session or series of sessions in the “regular” WordCamp on things like photoblogging or real estate  using WordPress as a result of having more rooms and slots to use for presentation. Conversely, we could focus WordCamp:Developers more on helping people get into designing and development using WordPress while also appeasing the more seasoned designer and developer with sessions that would draw them to the event. And this focus also allows us another advantage: the ability to include more presenters,and that means you…yes you…we want you to present at one (or both if you have the killer chops for it) WordCamps.

I’ll be taking the lead on this one in an effort to spread out the workload amongst us, which means this is going to be a very exciting (and busy) year for us WordPress users/designers/developers and all.

What we can tell you so far is that both WordCamps will take place again at George Brown College here in Toronto, as they have once again stepped up to the plate and offered to host us!

We’ll be giving out more details as we finalize them, so stay tuned!!

 So what makes WPTeach qualified to teach you? 

Well, I already teach a college course called Introduction to WordPress and am developing the curriculum for a theme and plugin development course that will be taught this Fall. I am also one of the organizers of WordCamp Toronto and the Toronto WordPress Developers meetup group. I have given seminars on WordPress and other technology topics at various events across Canada and the US–all with great feedback. So I am confident, comfortable, and experienced enough to teach you what you want to learn when it comes to WordPress.

Keep an eye on the site for news about the training. We’ll let you know when the sessions will officially launch. In the meantime,  sign up for our newsletter to receive a discount code when registration opens!!