I know, I know, Wordpress 2.6 has been out for a couple weeks and you’re probably wondering if it’s worth it.  Well, if you’re like some people who have had their blog hacked into recently, then upgrading to this latest version is definitely a must.  Apparently the security patches are pretty extensive, as the developers are constantly trying to update the source code to deal with new hacking techniques.  I haven’t had a chance to test the new version fully yet, but so far so good.  I have still had to modify the source code in the wp-includes/media.php file to properly insert images at sizes larger than 500 pixels, but it’s a pretty easy fix.  If you’d like to read more on the features of the new version, you can read it here.

Along with the new version comes updated services.  If you turn to the Pricing and Sign-Up page, you’ll notice a few changes.  I’ve added the “Ground-Up” custom blog package to the list, which includes 3 months free support and customizations, as well as having added the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade plugin and a Statistics plugin to the basic installation package.  All packages will have these plugins included with your new blog now!  If you have a current blog and would like these plugins installed, they will be charged at the basic customizations price.

As the list of completed blogs grows (100+!!), I’ve needed to find help from an assistant, which I have in the way of Pam Biasotti.  Not only is she a very good friend, she’s got mad skills in the customer service department from her networking days.  If/when you sign up for one of the installed packages, she will be the first person to respond to your request.  Because of this additional help, I have changed my payment policy to include a $45 up front payment for her technical services in installing your blog.  The remainder will still be charged to you after customizations are complete.

All in all, I’m really excited about the changes and have really come to enjoy my “second” job since its fruition in the beginning of this year.  Stay tuned for some awesome featured custom blogs that I’ve been working on!

I just wanted to mention a few things that were on my mind before I forget. First of all, the waiting list for blogs at the moment is 7-10 business days, so if you are wanting something done right away, please be aware that I will not be able to provide a product for you that fast. I am a “one woman show” so to speak, and with the photography season in full swing, I’m getting busier and busier with proofing, etc… I’m working on getting an assistant and have made efforts to make my blog design workflow more efficient, with the implementation of the design-questionnaire. It puts all your design requirements all in one place so I don’t have to go fishing around in your e-mails for everything that you want me to do. Hopefully it helps!

Secondly, if any of you are having trouble inserting images into your post using Firefox, make sure to have your admin panel open in its own separate window, rather than a tab with other tabs open. So far I haven’t found a fix for this bug, but this work-around is nearly painless. I’ve only had one client complain of this issue happening in IE, and unfortunately I’ve had to recommend using the separate-window-in-Firefox method to her. I’ll keep you posted if I found out anything new.

Thirdly, someone has informed me of a plugin to automatically upgrade Wordpress (thanks Mohammad!) and if you’re interested in doing it yourself, just go here to download the plugin: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-automatic-upgrade/
I have not tested this plugin yet, so do so at your own risk and please contact the developer if you have any problems. One issue that you may need me to resolve once you upgrade it yourself is the maximum image size issue. You can go ahead and fix it yourself as well by reading the documentation I mentioned in that post, but it would be a pretty quick fix for me to do it if you contact me.

LOL…I know…I just realized I title this “couple updates” but it’s actually 3.

Yes, I know, ALREADY! It’s making my life a very busy one, what with all the releases and plugin upgrades to keep up with the releases. If only there was just ONE BUTTON they could design that would upgrade everything for you. IF ONLY.

Ok, so you’re probably wondering, is it worth it? Well…yes and no. If you have 2.5 and have had no problems with the uploading media and posting them on your blog at the size you want them to be, you’re probably ok. 2.5.1 has fixed some bugs in the media script (although I still had to edit some stuff out for the size thing to work) and supposedly there are some security issues that are fixed too. From what I’ve read, the security fixes are for those people with registered users, and I’m pretty sure 99% of my clients either don’t have registered users or only have admin users.

With the upgrade though, you get a pretty slick media upload tool that pretty much does away with the Flexible Upload plugin that I normally install for the same purpose. Now, with just one upload, you have the choice of inserting a thumbnail, medium size, or original full size version of the same file into your posts. You do have to specify under Settings–>Miscellaneous what sizes you want for your thumbnails and medium size photos first though. After that, it’s pretty easy and pretty slick. You’ll have to be sure to edit the maximum size allowed setting also though, whether it’s something you did yourself or if I did it for you, it’s important to make the changes to the media.php if you’re going to be posting large image sizes in your blog.

If you are one of my clients and currently have 2.5 installed but are having trouble with uploading image files and getting them to post at the correct size, contact me and I’ll upgrade you for free.

One quick post about the new maximum image size settings in Wordpress 2.5. There’s a bug with it, basically rendering the setting useless. Supposedly you are able to change the dimensions for the maximum size that an image can be shown in a post. The setting can be found in Settings—>MIscellaneous under your admin panel. By default it’s set to 300 x300 pixels, which is awfully small for any photographer. If you try to change it to a size larger than 500 pixels wide, it won’t let you. Even if you delete the numbers, hoping to force Wordpress to allow you to post ANY size image in a post, it will still default to 500 pixels.

I found out where to override the default, so the newest installs I’ve been doing won’t have to deal with that setting. I’ve set it to 900 pixels to allow for posting on the wider format themes.

If I’ve installed 2.5 for you and you’ve been having trouble with the maximum image size, please contact me to get that fixed for free. It’s a simple 1 minute fix, so it’s no trouble for me (I just need to find that one minute to do it LOL).

If you’d like to attempt to fix it yourself, here’s the documentation: http://wordpress.org/support/topic/164667#post-721341

Wordpress version 2.5 has been released, and the final word on whether or not it’s worth to upgrade isn’t out yet though. I have been installing this newest stable release for all my new blog clients, but along the way I have discovered a bug or two. I’ve so far been able to figure out some work-arounds, so I think in general you should be happy with the new version.

For those first-time Wordpress users, you won’t see the differences, but old bloggers will notice right away a big change. The interface is much cleaner and more organized. Some buttons and and features are in different locations on the page though, so it’s confusing at first. Heck, I have yet to upgrade my Design Focus Studio Blog because this dog just isn’t quite ready to learn the new tricks 100%, although this new brand-spanking new blog is 2.5 compliant.

I’ll be posting about the bugs and fixes as I find them, so stay tuned!