A couple weeks back I released BlogStarter, a free WordPress theme, actually two themes in one created as a starting point for easily building custom WordPress themes. After putting it to the test with my last couple WordPress sites, I was able to make a few quick improvements. You can find all the details about the BlogStarter theme for WordPress developers. Or just get the newest version here: DOWNLOAD Both Themes (.zip) Changes: Version 1.1 (released 5/27/09): Fixed and cleaned up some CSS Added a theme settings page to the admin area (easily taken out or edited to fit your new theme). For now it is only a couple links, eventually I will add a message about whether there is a new version available. Dropdown menu in the OneColumn version works better - lists archive in a dropdown, categories in a drop down, and the blogroll in a dropdown.

iPhone Version

WPJumpStart is a collection of tools and instructions that will drastically speed up your WordPress theme development or blog design. WPJumpStart is: A system of tools that will improve theme design workflow. Built especially for designers and developers with experience building themes for WordPress. A helping hand for those with intermediate knowledge of WordPress themes. WPJumpStart is not: Meant for those new to HTML or completely new to WordPress. A complete guide or manual to the inner workings of WordPress. What Exactly is it? WPJumpStart is a compilation of resources that will improve your workflow and allow you to create cleaner designs, build themes faster and optimize WordPress itself. Bring your WordPress projects to a more professional level and decrease the time you spend on projects. BlogStarter - An emptied out blog theme, ready to be quickly styled into a custom theme. BlogStarter is now actually two themes - a Two-Column simple blog layout, and a wide One-Column layout complete with View / Edit Comments

This is a list of WordPress Plugins that I use and recommend for almost every WordPress site I work on. I will try to keep it up to date with the best that I can find in each category. There are plenty of great plugins out there, but I find myself using these ones over and over again. If anyone knows of better options or can add ones that I missed, please leave a comment below and I will try to add them in. Best Plugins for Spam: Askimet - One of the default plugins. It has been all I have needed for spam so far. Activate this right away. Best  Plugins for SEO: All in one SEO Pack - Lets you control metadata on everypage and post. Google XML Sitemaps - Automically generates a sitemap and submits it to Google, MSN, and Ask.com. KB Robots.txt - Easily control your robots.txt file and help search engines 3 Comments »

WordPress has become one of the most powerful and most-used blogging and Content Management Systems in the world in part due to its incredible flexibility and ability to be customized. So it is surprising to learn that the default installation is lacking in a few ways. But because of the great flexibility of WordPress, this is easy to fix in just a few minutes. After any WordPress installation, there is a series of steps that I take in order to optimize the site, before I even think about what it will look like. Remove or edit the Placeholder Content There is a placeholder post titled 'Hello World'. DELETE that, or edit it to be your actual first post. There is a placeholder page called 'About'. DELETE it or edit it to say what you want it to say. Delete the user 'admin' If you used a one-click installation or had someone do it for you, you 3 Comments »

WARNING: If you're not a CSS or WordPress geek, this post could be a little boring and tech-heavy to you. You can read the quick and easy version here. Or... VIEW LIVE DEMO DOWNLOAD (.zip) Why yet another Free WordPress Theme? As I have developed more and more sites, I have found myself repeating a lot of steps just to get started. I tried a few themes that other designers have made available with the promise of being a good starting point but was never happy with any of them. The Problem with other starting point themes The inspiration for this theme came because I saw others attempting to offer emptied out, basic themes as a starting point, or complex theme frameworks. Some were out of date and needed updating to be compatible with the latest versions of WordPress. Some were packed with options and settings within the admin area. These are great for someone with out View / Edit Comments

With this post I am announcing my very first WordPress theme. It is called 'BlogStarter' and is made specifically for WordPress developers (like myself) who are looking for a quick and easy way to get a new blog theme going. It is actually two seperate themes, a two-column verion with a widget-ready sidebar and a one column verison, complete with working dropdown menu at the top. VIEW LIVE DEMO - BlogStarter Two Column Version VIEW LIVE DEMO - BlogStarter One Column Version DOWNLOAD Both Themes (.zip) If you are interested in reading about why and how I created the theme you can go here: BlogStarter - Behind the Scenes. The Basic Features: Two Column Version has a Basic Two-Column blog layout One Column Version is ideal for quickly making photography blogs, with lots of space for photos. 960px wide (easily adjusted) no background colors or images (so you can quickly add your own) Highlights: WordPress 2.7.1 compatible (including threaded comments) Includes wp_head() 2 Comments »

GridStarter is a Photoshop template used to make the initial layout of a new website easier and more efficient. Through a series of grid overlays, it is possible to very quickly and easily line up page elements and make view them the way they will be seen in a browser. I personally use this on any original design I do and can not remember the time before I used it. It truly transformed the way I approach web design, sped up my design time, and improved my designs in ways that I did not predict. Download GridStarter (.zip) GridStarter ScreenCasts THE BASIC CONCEPT: The idea is to base everything on a 960px wide layout which is considered the safe maximum width in order to be visible on the majority of screens. Sure there are widescreens 1920px wide, but most people will not be viewing your site on that big of a screen. The 960px layouts uses 1 Comment »

I recently worked with Horizon Intertainment as 1st AD (First Assistant Director) on the another installment in the 'Straight Talk' series of educational videos. The first episode was shot last August and covered the topic of STD education and prevention. The latest one is about Teen Pregnancy. These are difficult subjects to cover, requiring that a great deal of factual information comes across without being seen as a joke by a teenage audience and without losing their interest by being too dry. Director Jared Bentley and the producers at Horizon Intertainment, JC Pohl and Erahm Christopher, have developed a take on the traditional educational video that worked really well the first time around and going by what I saw on the set, I expect the second to be even better. They have a knack for finding and casting talented young actors and combine that with an experienced crew that has worked 1 Comment »

Has anyone else been hearing the controversy over the new DiggBar? Digg has been one of the biggest names in blog and website listing sites for years. Most sites now have the share buttons or even a specific link to 'Digg This', allowing visitors to vote on a sitIf your article or site was 'Dugg' enough, it could result in a flood of traffic to your site. Recently, they unveiled a new DiggBar feature, which looks and sounds great. It provides a bar at the top of the browser allowing you to share content, 'Digg' the page your on, even create the all popular shortened url. The problem is that when your site is visited from a link on the Digg site, it is now hidden within this bar as if the visitor is on Digg. There is no record of the visit to your site, because it was actually a View / Edit Comments