Enterprise Mastermind » wordpress

Top 10 WordPress Plugins – August 2009

Ant Harper — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:34:50 +0000

Another month, another line-up of fantastic plugins all tested by Enterprise Mastermind so you don’t have to! Some plugins are the same as previous months, and this is because they can’t be bettered and so must remain. I would recommend that you try these plugins for yourselves but do emphasise that you read all documentation and that I take no responsibility for any problems caused by the installation or use of these plugins. For more great plugins please see my last Top WordPress Plugin post Top 10 WordPress Plugins – July 2009.

If you think there is a plugin worth a mention here or you have developed a plugin and would like it reviewed please comment or contact admin@enterprisemastermind.com. This monthly post does get a lot of traffic so if you are a plugin developer it might be in your best interest to get your latest work reviewed here! I don’t charge a penny…

1. Dynamic Content Gallery

Go to download page
This plugin creates a dynamic gallery of images for your latest and featured posts. By linking your gallery images with individual posts, using custom fields, the plugin dynamically creates the gallery from your latest and featured posts. If there are none assigned then you can set default links. An Admin Settings page enables you to select which categories and posts are linked to the gallery images.

2. The Excerpt Reloaded

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A great little plugin that displays an excerpt of a post on your home page which can be customised to vary the length and content to suit.

3. WP-SpamFree Anti-Spam

Go to download page
I have always been a fan of Akismet and in the past it has graced my Top 10 for quite a few months. I have noticed of late that just too much spam is getting through Akismet, no matter how much I tell Akismet it’s spam, it doesnt seem to learn like it should. So I decided to try out another plugin and I am glad I did. This fully featured anti-spam plugin not only stops comment spam, trackback spam and pingback spam but it also includes its own spam-free contact form. Update: 3 months of use and this plugin is working perfectly. A must-have plugin.

4. Ad-Minister

Go to download page
Ad-minister is a plugin that adds a easy to use WordPress management system for adverts and other static content. It supports ad-rotation (with content having different page-view percentages), schedueling (including multiple time periods) and is fully widget compatible.

5. Plugin Manager

Go to download page
Plugin Manager lets you to view, download and install plugins from wordpress.org from an AJAX’ed interface, instead of manually downloading, extracting and uploading each plugin. Doesn’t do anything you couldnt’ do yourself manually but it is a great timesaver.

6. LJ Custom Menu Links

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LJ Custom Menu Links is a plugin that allows you to put extra links in the menus of most WordPress Themes. The really great thing about this is that it doesn’t require any code changes to your theme because the extra links are added within WordPress core functionality. Ideal if you were going to hack your WordPress theme to add custom links or if you just want certain navigation items or links to appear when a user is logged in. This plugin does all this and more.

7. Easy Adsenser

Go to download page
Easy AdSenser manages all aspects of Google AdSense for a blog: insert ads into posts and sidebar, and add a Google Search box.

8. Post Google Map

Go to download page
Fantastic plugin (although I haven’t personally found a use for it yet!) that allows you to enter addresses into a custom field on a blog post and have it display in a Google map in your sidebar. In addition to this, the addresses are listed below the map with a description/or exerpt from the post it is from.

9. Random Pages Widget

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Allows you to place a useful widget in your sidebar that shows random posts from your blog. Useful if you have a lot of old content that is still relevant but won’t now show on your homepage.

10. Vipers Video Quicktags

Go to download page
Use lots of embedded video on your blog from the likes of Vimeo or Youtube? Well, this useful plugin makes your life easier by simplifying the process adding buttons to the write page which when clicked allow you to enter the URL of the video you want added. You can also specify size and colours etc. An added bonus to this plugin is that it allows your site posts to remain XHTML valid, which they certainly wouldn’t be if you used the supplied embed code.

Check back next month to see which plugins I’m recommending!

Top 10 WordPress Plugins – July 2009

Ant Harper — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:46:32 +0000

Another sparkling line-up of fantastic plugins all tested by Enterprise Mastermind so you don’t have to! Some plugins are the same as previous months, and this is because they can’t be bettered and so must remain. I would recommend that you try these plugins for yourselves but do emphasise that you read all documentation and that I take no responsibility for any problems caused by the installation or use of these plugins. For more great plugins please see my last Top WordPress Plugin post Top 20 WordPress Plugins – June 2009.

1. Referrer Detector

Go to download page
Last month I showcased WP Greet Box, a great plugin that greeted each visitor to your site with a custom message according to the referrer. One thing that particular plugin lacked in my opinion was a way of tracking how many clicks you got from each referrer, always useful to know if you want to keep tabs on what marketing methods are working and which aren’t… You have probably guessed by now that this plugin not only greets you with the custom message but also tracks how many have been referred and by who. Super stuff.

2. WP Easy Paypal Payment Accept

Go to download page
A stayer from last month…here is a great WordPress plugin to accept paypal payments for a services, products or donations in multiple currencies with just one click. Can be used in the sidebar, posts and pages of your WordPress install.

3. WP Simple Paypal Shopping Cart

Go to download page
Written by the same author as the plugin above (Ruhul Amin), this one allows you to put shopping cart interactivity and ‘Add to Cart’ buttons on any post or page within your WordPress installation. An excellent alternative to the hassle of a fully blown e-commerce website if you don’t have a large product range.

4. Twitter Follow Badge

Go to download page
Unless you are using Explorer 6 (get another browser!) you should be able to see a nice Twitter follow button on the left hand side of this screen. Now be warned, this isn’t exactly a plugin as such – the website above lets you enter details and then generates a block of code for you to manually add to your WordPress Theme or regular website. The button is a great way of getting followers as it stays on-screen in the same position even after scrolling the window.

5. Plugin Manager

6. LJ Custom Menu Links

7. Easy Adsenser

Go to download page
Easy AdSenser manages all aspects of Google AdSense for a blog: insert ads into posts and sidebar, and add a Google Search box.

8. WP-SpamFree Anti-Spam

Go to download page
I have always been a fan of Akismet and in the past it has graced my Top 10 for quite a few months. I have noticed of late that just too much spam is getting through Akismet, no matter how much I tell Akismet it’s spam, it doesnt seem to learn like it should. So I decided to try out another plugin and I am glad I did. This fully featured anti-spam plugin not only stops comment spam, trackback spam and pingback spam but it also includes its own spam-free contact form. Over the 2 months or so I have been using this plugin it has worked impeccably. A must-have for any WordPress user.

9. WP PhotoNav

Go to download page
Simple little plugin that once installed and activated allows you to use a snippet of shortcode in your post to display an interactive panoramic photo (see below).

10. Pauls Latest Posts

Go to download page
Pauls Latest Posts displays a list of your latest posts and comments in the sidebar with excerpts. Excerpts length can be modified or left out completely. Useful for sites that display one post on the main page, and want to link to previous posts.

Check back next month to see which plugins I’m recommending!

Top 20 WordPress Plugins – June 2009

Ant Harper — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 13:46:30 +0000

Back once again with the Enterprise Master… er …mind. Neglect. Thats all I can call it and I have to hold my hands up and admit that I have neglected this blog completely in the last few months. So in a small gesture of recompense my Top 10 WordPress Plugin roundup for June is a Top 20. Some plugins are the same as previous months, and this is because they can’t be bettered and so must remain. I would recommend that you try these plugins for yourselves but do emphasise that you read all documentation and that I take no responsibility for any problems caused by the installation or use of these plugins. For more great plugins please see my now ancient post Top 10 WordPress Plugins – February 2009.

If you think there is a plugin worth a mention here or you have developed a plugin and would like it reviewed please comment or contact admin@enterprisemastermind.com. This monthly (…excuse me?) post does get a lot of traffic so if you are a plugin developer it might be in your best interest to get your latest work reviewed here! I don’t charge a penny…

1. WP Ban

Go to download page
Ban users by IP, IP Range, host name or referer URL from visiting your WordPress Blog. When a banned user attempts a visit they will be greeted by a custom ban message. Statistics are also recorded on how many times they attempt to visit.

2. WP Security Scan

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You can never take the subject of your sites security too lightly. Use this plugin to scan your WordPress installation for security vulnerabilities and get a list of suggested corrective actions to take.

3. WP Greet Box

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A plugin to show a greeting message to your new visitors that is dependant upon their referrer URL. For instance, when a user clicks through a link from a particular referrer (example Digg, Twitter) they will be shown a message suggesting that they Digg or Tweet your post. You can also set a default greeting message for new visitors suggesting that they subscribe to your RSS Feed. Brilliant.

4. WP Easy Paypal Payment Accept

Go to download page
Here is a great WordPress plugin to accept paypal payments for a services, products or donations in multiple currencies with just one click. Can be used in the sidebar, posts and pages of your WordPress install.

5. WP Simple Paypal Shopping Cart

6. WP Thickbox Integration

Go to download page
Want a simple but elegant way of displaying larger images without having to open a new window? This nifty little plugin utilises jquery to open gallery images in a ‘Lightbox’ style once you have added them via the ‘Add an image’ button. Simply tick the extra ‘Open in the same window’ field and away you go!

7. Contact Form 7

Go to download page
Not the most fully featured contact form plugin out there, but I find this the easiest to implement. Supports Ajax-powered submitting, multiple languages but for captcha to work it now requires installation of the plugin ‘Really Simple Captcha’ (see below).

8. Really Simple Captcha

Go to download page
Designed to work with other plugins and not as a standalone form Captcha. By the author’s own admission its does not provide much security but does work seamlessly with the plugins that support it. It avoids any conflicts by using temporary files instead of using PHP for sessions.

9. MobilePress

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With so many of us using mobile platforms (phones/PDAs) to browse the web now it is essential that your web pages are rendered correctly. MobilePress is a WordPress plugin that will render your WordPress blog on mobile handsets, with the ability to use customized themes. The plugin also allows specific themes for specific devices / mobile browsers, such as iPhone, Opera Mini, Windows CE Mobile and other generic handset browsers. Excellent!

10. Flipping Book WordPress Gallery

See demo
Go to download page
Ever wanted one of those galleries where your users turn the pages like in a book? This great plugin lets you do exactly that. Please note that there is a paid for version of this plugin if you wish to remove the authors branding.

11. Google XML Sitemaps

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If you don’t know how beneficial Google Sitemaps can be to your blog then read my articles on SEO. Once set up this plugin will inform Google of any changes or additions made to your site automatically. I find this plugin indispensable.

12. Quotes Collection

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I was recommended this by a friend whilst trying to source something that would display a set of testimonial quotes on a client’s website in the sidebar. This does the job magnificently.

13. Google Translator

Go to download page
A blog knows no boundaries or borders and no doubt if you have a large readership, a sizeable proportion of that readership will not speak English (or whatever you speak) as a first language. You can set the base language and supports multiple languages. Remember, this translator may help but as with all machine translators it’s not perfect and is no substitute for a correctly translated page.

14. PageMash

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If like me you use WP as a CMS to build regular websites then you will no doubt use a lot of pages instead of posts. The WordPress interface basically sucks when it comes to having to re-order your pages and this plugin rectifies that suckiness. The Ajax interface allows you to drag-and-drop the pages into the order you like, modify the page structure by dragging a page to become a child or parent and toggle the page to be hidden from output. Just what we were looking for!

15. AX Sidebar

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Gives you an extra couple of fields within your post admin. Input a title and some content (this can be HTML or plain text) and the content added will then show in the sidebar whenever that particular post is opened. A great idea.

16. Theme Changer & Showcase Plugin

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If you are a theme designer or just want to give your visitors a choice of themes to choose from when visiting your site, this plugin is for you. Not only can you list the themes in a simple dropdown menu but you can also add a preview thumbnail to make choosing easier. Excellent in its simplicity.

17. WP-SpamFree Anti-Spam

Go to download page
I have always been a fan of Akismet and in the past it has graced my Top 10 lists almost every month. I have noticed of late that just too much spam is getting through Akismet, no matter how much I tell Akismet it’s spam, it doesnt seem to learn like it should. So I decided to try out another plugin and I am glad I did. This fully featured anti-spam plugin not only stops comment spam, trackback spam and pingback spam but it also includes its own spam-free contact form. Give it a try.

18. Pageear Page Peel Plugin

Go to download page
Not a massive fan of page peels, I think they are OK if they aren’t too obtrusive, which they all too often are. Nevertheless they are a tried and tested means of marketing and they are proven to work so I thought I would trial one for WordPress. I found this one to be best, you can see it in action up in the top left hand corner of the screen (if you haven’t already clicked it!). Simple to set up with clear and comprehensive features. A great plugin.

19. WP-Cumulus

Go to download page
OK, I’ve succumbed to form over function (very unlike me!). Never been a big fan of Tag Clouds let alone spinny, swirly, pretty ones – but if you like that sort of thing then this is probably your cup of tea. The Author even admits that clicking the tags is a little hard (!?)… I despair.

20. Twitter Widget Pro

Go to download page
A widget that properly handles twitter feeds, including @username, #hashtag, and link parsing. It supports displaying profiles images, and even lets you control whether to display the time and date of a tweet or how long ago it happened (about 5 hours ago, etc). Requires PHP5.

Check back next month to see which plugins I’m recommending!

Top 10 WordPress Plugins – February 2009

Ant Harper — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:33:58 +0000

I’m not managing much in the way of blogging lately due to a sudden explosion of interest in my Website Design and Development business which is not leaving me with a lot of time spare. Nevertheless, I think I should make the effort to at least keep this, one of my most popular monthly posts, alive and kicking. So here’s my Top 10 WordPress Plugin roundup for February. Some plugins are the same as previous months, and this is because they can’t be bettered and so must remain. I would recommend that you try these plugins for yourselves but do emphasise that you read all documentation and that I take no responsibility for any problems caused by the installation or use of these plugins. For more great plugins please see Top 10 WordPress Plugins – January 2009.

1. WP Easy Paypal Payment Accept

2. WP Simple Paypal Shopping Cart

3. WP Thickbox Integration

4. Contact Form 7

Go to download page
Not the most fully featured contact form plugin out there, but I find this the easiest to implement. Supports Ajax-powered submitting, multiple languages and has its own Captcha to filter out non-human sp@mbots.

5. Google Translator

6. Flipping Book WordPress Gallery

7. Google XML Sitemaps

8. Theme Changer & Showcase Plugin

9. AX Sidebar

10. Pageear Page Peel Plugin

Check back next month to see which plugins I’m recommending!

Top 10 WordPress Plugins – January 2009

Ant Harper — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:34:29 +0000

Well here’s the first of my monthly Top 10 WordPress Plugin roundups of 2009. Some plugins are the same as previous months, and this is because they can’t be bettered and so must remain. I would recommend that you try these plugins for yourselves but do emphasise that you read all documentation and that I take no responsibility for any problems caused by the installation or use of these plugins. For more great plugins please see Top 10 WordPress Plugins – November 2008.

If you think there is a plugin worth a mention here or you have developed a plugin and would like it reviewed please comment or contact admin@enterprisemastermind.com

1. ‘Branded Admin’ Plugin

Go to download page
If you are a web designer like myself, you will no doubt have set up a few WordPress based websites for some of your clients. This plugin enables you to rebrand the /wp-admin pages to follow your own styles. Great if you want to remind your client just who put in all that hard work re-skinning and hacking that theme as they set about trashing your lovely site.

2. ‘Branded Login Screen’ Plugin

Go to download page
Completely hide the fact that your site is a WordPress Installation (or at least make it less obvious) with this plugin and the plugin listed previously. Does what it says, allows you to rebrand the login page with your own graphics.

3. GD Star Rating

Go to download page
Want to put a rating systems on your post content? How about your comments? This nifty plugin allows you to do that and much more. Have statistics generated and displayed in your sidebar by using the GD Star rating widget and have full control over the look and feel of your stars (or whatever graphic you choose!) Looks great too! The author has even put together different star sets for you to upload.

4. Old Post Promoter

Go to download page
Allows you to promote old posts back to the top position on your home page and back into your RSS feed. The Old Post Promoter randomly chooses a post from posts in your blog and updates the timestamp. When the timestamp on the post is updated, the post will appear to be the latest post on your WordPress blog, returning it to the front page of your blog. Ideal if your blog sin’t going to get updated for a while but has planty of content to keep new visitors interested. **IMPORTANT – DO NOT USE IF YOUR PERMALINK STRUCTURE INCLUDES DATES – UPDATE YOUR PERMALINK STRUCTURE FIRST!**

5. WordPress Backup

Go to download page
Something we should all do on a regular basis – backup. This handy plugin backs up your upload (images), current theme, and plugin directories. You can specify a regular scheduled backup that can be then sent to an email address of your choice. PLEASE NOTE: You will still need to make sure your database is backed up seperately!

6. Akismet

Bundled with WordPress and for good reason. Without a spam blocker such as this your comment queue would be full of trash in no time at all. Requires a WordPress API key to function. If you haven’t got this plugin activated already, do it now!

7. Google XML Sitemaps

8. My Adsense

Go to download page
Great plugin that helps you manage the Google Adsense ads that you wish to display on your blog posts or sidebars. Easy to use and fully featured.

9. In the Loop

Go to download page
Ever needed to add things to the end of every post or page but had to hack the theme to do it? Well if you don’t want the bother or don’t know how then this plugin may be for you. With this plugin you can add any code you like to your posts and pages without ever having to mess with templates or theme files. The plugin provides an options panel with two input boxes. One is for content you want to appear before your post, the other for after it. Each box comes with a set of options to control whether to show it on Teasers, Single Posts, Pages, The Feed and whether or not to execute PHP. Genius.

10. RSS Includes Pages

Go to download page
And this is STILL at number 10 because I just can’t dispense with this simple plugin. If like me you use WordPress as a CMS to build websites as well as blogs you will no doubt have found that Pages are not included in the RSS feed. Well, with this plugin your problems are over. Simply install, activate and voila, your pages will appear within the feed.

Check back next month to see which plugins I’m recommending!

Top 10 WordPress Plugins – October 2008

Ant Harper — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:54:49 +0000

Here’s my monthly roundup of the best new (or old!) plugins available for WordPress. There will be some plugins the same as last month’s list, purely because they can’t be beaten and must remain as essential WordPress add-ons. I would recommend that you try these plugins for yourselves but do emphasise that you read all documentation and that I take no responsibility for any problems caused by the installation or use of these plugins. For more great plugins please see Top 10 WordPress Plugins – September 2008.

If you think there is a plugin worth a mention here or you have developed a plugin and would like it reviewed please comment or contact admin@enterprisemastermind.com.

1. All in One SEO Pack Plugin

Go to download page
I found this plugin and found it so good I just had to write a review. Read all about this plugin here. This plugin will optimise your WordPress blog so that your posts and pages are indexed more efficiently by the search engines. It is fully featured and lets you single out individual pages for optimisation. Great stuff. Read more here.

2. WordPress Database Backup

Go to download page
This one is a survivor from the last list because of its importance. As a Web Developer I have learned the hard way in the past of the importance of regular backups, not only of your website data itself but also the database. The plugin itself is easy to use with simple backup options including the ability to schedule an email that includes your database backup as an attachment. Genius.

3. Akismet

4. Subscribe to Comments

Go to download page
Get more return visits to your blog posts by letting your users subscribe to the comments. Once subscribed the user will be notified via email each time anyone posts a further comment. This in turn encourages participation and a higher number of return visitors.

5. Google XML Sitemaps

Go to download page
If you don’t know how beneficial Google Sitemaps can be to your blog then read my article on SEO. Once set up this plugin will inform Google of any changes or additions made to your site automatically.

6. Twitter Tools

Go to download page
Complete integration of Twitter and your blog. Enables you to post Tweets directly from your blog page (once logged in) and also displays Tweets on your blog you have made elsewhere. A real time-saver.

7. Redirection

Go to download page
Redirection is a WordPress plugin to manage 301 redirections, keep track of 404 errors, and generally tidy up any loose ends your site may have. This is particularly useful if you are migrating pages from an old website, or are changing the directory of your WordPress installation.

8. Business Directory

Go to download page
One of the best plugins I have ever used ‘out of the box’. Set up your own business directory simply with the use of only 2 shortcode tags, one for the directory itself and one for the signup form. Its own control panel lets you approve, review or delete any entries made. I’m looking forward to the premium version (to be released shortly).

9. Event Calendar

Go to download page
A highly configurable Event Calendar for your website. Allows you to place a large standalone calendar on page has sidebar widgets and also has the ability to make a post from an entry on the calendar.

10. RSS Includes Pages

Go to download page
Still at number 10 because nothing else does this (as far as I’m aware). If like me you use WordPress as a CMS to build websites as well as blogs you will no doubt have found that Pages are not included in the RSS feed. Well, with this plugin your problems are over. Simply install, activate and voila, your pages will appear within the feed.

Check back next month to see which plugins I’m recommending!

Review – All in One SEO Pack plugin for WordPress

Ant Harper — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:31:35 +0000

Download page
Official Installation instructions
Official FAQs

Installing All in One SEO Pack plugin for WordPress

Its as easy as it gets with WordPress – upload to your plugins folder, activate the plugin via the plugins menu within your WordPress Dashboard and then edit the options to your liking.

What does it do?

This plugin will optimise your WordPress blog so that your posts and pages are indexed more efficiently by the search engines.

Amongst the things this plugin does

Lets you independently define your homepage title, description and keywords
Lets you define your post, page, category, archive, tag and search title formats
Avoids the indexing of duplicate content (so often a problem with blogs when an archive page will contain the same information as a post for example).
Auto-generates descriptions
Gives you the option to set ‘noindex’ for archives and categories
Lets you define the Meta description, keywords and title of a post or page

The comprehensive options menu

The in-post options

Using the plugin

I found the plugin to be extremely well thought out and the options were easy to understand and well laid out. If anything there were more options than I was expecting and everything did exactly what it said it would do.

One recommendation that I would make is that you don’t use the default settings as the post, page, category, archive and tag title are all set to contain the blog title. Instead, try removing the blog title to give more importance to your keyword-rich titles.

Conclusion

A great addition to a WordPress bloggers arsenal, consolidating the job of 3 or 4 current plugins which can now be deactivated for good.

Want your plugin reviewed? Please note not all reviews will be favourable! Contact me: admin@enterprisemastermind.com

Better WordPress SEO in 3 steps

Ant Harper — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:26:50 +0000

Wordpress is pretty much search engine friendly ‘out of the box’ but there are a couple of things that can be easily done to make it even more visible to the search engines.

1. Change your permalink structure

If you have just installed WordPress and look at your post titles you may see something like this: www.yourblog.com/?page_id=2. Now from a search engine point of view thats not doing you any favours at all. Unless someone is searching for “page_id=2″ anyway, which is unlikely I think.
Wouldn’t it be better if you saw www.yourblog.com/your-post-title?

Here’s how:

Log in to your WordPress dashboard (version 2.6.2 at time of writing)
Click on ‘Settings’ (top right hand side)
Click on ‘Permalinks’
Click on the ‘Custom Structure’ radio button and type the following into the field:

/%postname%/

Click ‘Save Changes’

If you now look at your blog within a browser you will see your post titles within the URL, a significant step towards getting you seen by the search engines.

2. Change your TITLE tag

As it stands unaltered WordPress displays your title thus: Your Blog Title >> Your Post Title. It would be much better from a SEO perspective if it saw your post title first, before the blog title or better still (in some cases) without the blog title at all.

Here’s how:

Log in to your WordPress dashboard (version 2.6.2 at time of writing)
Click on ‘Design’
Click on ‘Theme Editor’
Click on ‘Header (header.php)’ in the list on the right hand side
Find the following code:

<?php bloginfo('name'); ?> <?php if ( is_single() ) { ?> » Blog Archive <?php } ?> <?php wp_title(); ?>

and replace with:

<?php wp_title(); ?>

or if you want to include your blog title:

<?php wp_title(); ?> - <?php bloginfo('name'); ?>

Now your title should show as Your Post Title or Your Post Title – Your Blog Title.

3. Make a sitemap

I use an excellent and highly configurable plugin called Google XML Sitemaps (download here) which generates a sitemaps.org compatible sitemap.

Make sure you do steps 1 and 2 before activating your XML-Sitemap plugin.
Install the plugin and activate.
Click on ‘Settings’
Click on ‘XML-Sitemap’
Click the link to build your sitemap for the first time.

This sitemap can now be specified within Webmaster Tools in your Google Account.

Top 10 WordPress Plugins – September 2008

Ant Harper — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:36:38 +0000

I will be posting my top 10 WordPress Plugins monthly to let you know which ones I am currently finding most useful. They are in order of which I feel are most important to my blogs with number 1 being most important. I would recommend that you try these plugins for yourselves but do emphasise that you read all documentation and that I take no responsibility for any problems caused by the installation or use of these plugins.

If you think there is a plugin worth a mention here or you have developed a plugin and would like it reviewed please comment or contact admin@enterprisemastermind.com.

1. WordPress Database Backup

Go to download page
As a Web Developer I have learnt the hard way in the past of the importance of regular backups, not only of your website data itself but also the database. The plugin itself is easy to use with simple backup options including the ability to schedule an email that includes your database backup as an attachment. Genius.

2. Akismet

3. ShareThis

Go to download page
A great and unobtrusive plugin that lets your readers email or share a page with others via Social Bookmarking. Get your blog noticed.

4. Google XML Sitemaps

5. WP-Ads

Go to download page
A brilliant tool this – enabling you to serve multiple ads within the same post or from postions within your template. Once a banner or other ad has been set up, you simply place the supplied tag where you wish the ad or ads to serve.

6. CodeBanter’s Optin Box

Go to download page
Lets you easily place a GetResonse or Aweber Optin form within your blog. You can alter the forms appearance within its own admin settings page.

7. Audio Player

Go to download page
This plugin lets you add a nifty little audio player within your blog pages or posts. You can specify seperate files for the lead-in and lead-out and the appearance of the player itself can be altered to fit your blog’s colour theme.

8. WordPress.com Stats

Go to download page
This plugin allows you to track views, post/page views, referrers and clicks. It requires a WordPress API key to enable the plugin.

9. Nextgen Gallery and Nextgen Gallery Widget

Go to download page
A highly configurable Web 2.0 gallery and slideshow plugin using jQuery to good effect. Also comes with a widget to allow you to have slideshows of your galleries within your sidebar.

10. RSS Includes Pages

Go to download page
If like me you use WordPress as a CMS to build websites as well as blogs you will no doubt have found that Pages are not included in the RSS feed. Well, with this plugin your problems are over. Simply install, activate and voila, your pages will appear within the feed.

Check back next month to see which plugins I’m recommending!

Site security loophole – is your ISP leaving your site open to prying eyes?

Ant Harper — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:38:47 +0000

I was busy amending this WordPress blog a few evenings back and trying out a few nice new WordPress plugins when I got a Skype Call from a friend asking me to browse to www.myblog.com/wp-content/plugins.

I had read about this problem before (I forget where now) and whether it had slipped my mind or not, I was still shocked to find an index listing of my plugin files on the screen. I don’t need to tell you what sort of security issues this raises. If anyone can see how your site is structured and what files are where it will always make you more susceptible to a hacking attempt. Its like having a house party and inviting burglars.

Does this apply to your site?

This security loophole doesnt just apply to WordPress blogs, it applies to any site. And it’s a problem with quite a few providers not just mine. Do a quick test now. If you have a WordPress blog just type in www.yourdomain.com/wp-content/plugins. If you have any other site just point you browser at a directory folder (not file) you know doesn’t contain an index.htm or index.php file. If it lists your file structure like the example above then you will have to fix it, but luckily it’s quite simple.

2 ways to fix the problem

1. .htaccess file

In order to fix the problem you need to alter your .htaccess file. This file sits in the root folder of your webspace and is responsible for telling your webserver how you want it to behave. To fix the problem just add the following line of code to the file:

Options All -Indexes

2. cPanel

If you are lucky enough to have a host that provides you with cPanel then its also a very simple procedure.

Login to your cPanel
Click on ‘IndexManager’ in the ‘Advanced’ section
Choose the Web Root option in the popup window and hit Go
Click on /public_html/
on the next window choose ‘No Indexing’ and save

Now go and check that your file structure is hidden from those prying eyes!