New Feature: Custom Theme Options

Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 August 2011 03:17 Written by Theresa Wednesday, 17 August 2011 03:14

Holy moly, has it really been over 3 months since I last posted? I’ve had a very busy summer (school’s back next week, yeah!), so it seems to have gone by REALLY fast. Aside from all the fun summer activities, I’ve also been working on MY NEXT NEW BIG THING. What’s that you ask? Custom theme options are where it’s at now. With the WordPress framework getting more and more robust, developers have been working on add-ons that make my job easier, but also make it easier for you as well. A lot of my clients hate (admit it, you’re one of them) to come to me when they just want to change the background color or pattern, or the font size/color. Believe me, I’m busy enough not to want to do that for everyone. So how about this: I can set up a custom Theme Options panel for you that allows you do that easily without messing up code or anything!

Here’s a screenshot of what I’m talking about:

So how can you get one for your theme you ask? Well for now, they’re not available just yet because I still need to work out some programming issues, but for anyone who signs up for a Blog/Blogsite package this month, I will be adding one to the theme I build for you so that I can practice and test it out. For now, these are the options that are definitely available:

Main Options:

• Background color and pattern
• Blog column background color

Header:

• Logo pattern and size
• Logo Text and size/color
• Header and Logo background color

Menu:

• Menu background color
• Menu headings color
• Menu home text
• Menu home text link

etc….

There are also options for the Post and Footer sections, but you get the idea. I’ll most likely be practicing and testing for the next month and will probably offer Options panel add-ons by the end of September for a pretty minimal cost. The process of adding it should work for nearly all themes, although some themes are already built-in with options. The beauty of this system is that you can request what options you want, to a certain extent. Some blog builds can get pretty complicated so some changes can’t be included in the Options panel simply because the layouts would break (custom scripting is an example) or just look messy (i.e.custom borders and edges). But if you want some pretty straightforward, simple options that you can have control over any time you want, then you now have that luxury!

So remember, if you’re looking to sign up for a blog or blogsite package, this month would be the time to do it because they will come with a built-in Theme Options panel!

Lower Prices and More

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 May 2011 06:13 Written by Theresa Thursday, 19 May 2011 02:36

Could that be right? In today’s economy, there’s actually someone lowering their prices? That’s right kids, it’s true…to an extent. The prices I’ve decided to lower are outlined below, including some new developments you might be interested in reading. First though, I’d like to apologize to anyone trying to contact me through my contact page and finding there was no form to do so. I had disabled the plugin and forgot to change it on that page. All fixed now!

Lower Prices on Tune-Up Package!
With WordPress upgrades getting easier and easier to maintain, I’ve decided to lower the price on the Tune-Up package by $25. Tune-ups for existing clients is now $125 and $150 for new clients. You’ll still get 5 customizations and WordPress and active plugins upgraded.

New Maintenance Package! $150 for 4 months
Available to existing clients who previously signed up for a Complete Blog or Blogsite Package, this maintenance package gives you peace of mind that your blog is working smoothly. Need a customization? No problem. For a 4 month service period, customizations are included as long as you stick with the same theme and layout. Have a problem with a plugin not working? Also included, as well as any WordPress version upgrades. Exclusions: blogsite upgrades (i.e. custom gallery pages info template pages). If you are looking for complete theme re-build, see the next option….

Theme Re-builds $260
Also only available to existing Complete Blog and Blogsite package clients. Want a completely different look and layout? A brand spanking new theme re-build is what you want. Same support service period and unlimited customizations are included as the other blog packages, just less expensive for my devoted clients!

Horizontal Blogs $800 $600 for a limited time
This at-first strange layout has slowly gained popularity in the blog world. Never one to back down from a challenge, I came up with my own theme, which can be customized with your logo and branding. Note: there are some limitations because of the nature of horizontal layouts. It’s been tested on multiple browsers, but not all mobile devices (not compatible with the Facebook mobile browser).
For a demo of the horizontal theme, view the Blogs for Photogs Horizontal Theme. Contact me if you are interested and want to find out more information.

Become an Affiliate and earn free customizations!
Are you a photographer or photography service provider? Do you have a banner link section or page and interested in bartering for advertising? Contact me if you’d like to become an affiliate and earn free customizations for your blog or blogsite.

A fix for the inline comment form error

Last Updated on Wednesday, 15 June 2011 01:18 Written by Theresa Thursday, 7 April 2011 02:32

If you recall a few weeks ago I blogged about the error message that comes up when submitting an inline comment form: http://blogsforphotogs.com/2011/03/04/broken-inline-comment-forms-with-wordpress-3-1/
Well, I’ve figured out a way around it and designed my own system. You can test it out by going to the front page of my blog: http://blogsforphotogs.com and clicking on any of the “add comment” links at the bottom of a post. The comment form is the default WordPress comment form (vs. the one built into the Ajaxed WordPress plugin), but it loads inline like the one in the plugin. Go ahead and send a comment and you’ll see that it works without errors! I also upgraded to WordPress 3.1.1 (as should everyone) so this system works with the newest version.

I’ll be fixing this issue for clients who still fall within their support period, but if you want to hire me to do it, it’s just $50 or included for free if you sign up for a Tune-Up package.