Obox Themes attempts to solve complex theme setup process with color-coded widgets

By 8 days agoFebruary 14, 2012

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Commercial themes are sometimes a bit on the complex side. WordPress theme shop Obox is attempting to improve their own theme setup process, or what David Perel calls “a nightmare“. Perel says Obox is working on a number of different ideas now, but their first is just recently out the door: color-coded widgets.

He explains:

Since our theme home pages use widgets for flexibility we have decided that that is where we should focus our attention. The result is color coding our widgets. […]

This way we can explain items in their simplest form. No longer do we have to come up with documentation to fix a fundamental problem in theme design. We can now say, “Put blue in the blue box.”

Perel and his team hope that color-coding their widgets (pictured above, larger version at Obox) will help reduce the documentation and steps needed to set up their themes. Right now they are available in their selecta, Casual, Handmade, and Handmade eCommerce themes.

Personally I’m not sold on the usefulness of this yet, but I’m intrigued by the idea. What do you think?

BuddyPress and bbPress Codexes see big updates

By 8 days agoFebruary 14, 2012

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Last weekend, when everyone else was taking a break, John James Jacoby took the time out to refresh the BuddyPress Codex along with creating the new bbPress Codex too. Both are running on WordPress.

In the announcement made on the BuddyPress.org blog Jacoby said:

You may not know it but we’ve had a codex here at BuddyPress.org since the early days. It’s mostly made life really difficult and forced everyone into the forums or to other sites for help. Today, I’m really happy to report that the core team has spent some time this weekend to finally refresh the BuddyPress Codex.

No official announcement was posted on the bbPress blog, but it was mentioned on Twitter.

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PliablePress closes its doors

By 8 days agoFebruary 14, 2012

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Michael Martin, founder of PliablePress, announced that they’ve closed their doors. Martin didn’t provide a reason why they are closing their doors, but said:

I’m sorry to say that PliablePress is now closed. If you’ve been with us for a while, this likely comes as little surprise. It’s been a long time since I was able to put a lot of time into our themes, and lately, even the support has suffered badly.

I think that’s the clearest sign that it’s just not fair to keep accepting new signups, so PliablePress is closing down for good now.

Martin has offered up some “lite” support for any users that are having major issues. Additionally, he is refunding anyone that made a purchase in 2012. Lastly, he’s also made all affiliate payments to make right with them.

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WordCamp Seattle 2012 date and location announced

By 8 days agoFebruary 14, 2012

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It's official, Seattle WordCamp 2012 will be May 19th at the Seattle Art Museum @, registration, etc. coming soon!
February 11, 2012 2:10 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite
@wordcampseattle
WordCamp Seattle

Are you in Seattle, or looking to travel there anytime soon? If so, you’ll want to plan to be there in the month of May to attend WordCamp Seattle. The event is officially confirmed to take place on May 19th at the Seattle Art Museum. Keep a watch on the WordCamp Seattle 2012 website for further details on this year’s event.

Who’s planning to go geek out for a day with others just as obsessed with WordPress as you?

Aftertaste #2: After the Interview with Lance Willett

By 9 days agoFebruary 13, 2012

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After recording the Community Interview with Lance Willett, Lance stuck around and we chatted further about pronunciations, upcoming WordCamps, and how to talk about themes with users. This clip runs about ten minutes.

Remember, we’re chatting about WordPress and recording awesome stuff live over on the WPCandy Stream pretty much every day. That’s where this clip was recorded, in fact. If you’re looking for some solid background noise while working on that next WordPress project, do check it out.

See the various listening options below, or have a listen right now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes (coming soon), or directly to the RSS feed.  If you would like to download the podcast in MP3 format directly, you can do so here.

Community Interview with Lance Willett about commercial themes on WordPress.com

By 9 days agoFebruary 13, 2012

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February makes 12 months since commercial (or “premium”) themes were introduced on WordPress.com. I spoke with Lance Willett last year about the announcement, and thought it only proper to sit down and speak with him about it again.

This interview was included, edited for time, in the second half of WPCandy Podcast #31. The full interview is just under an hour long.

See the various listening options below, or have a listen right now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

You can subscribe to WPCandy Interviews on iTunes (coming soon), or directly via the RSS feed. Or you can download the MP3 file directly.

Pressbits 006: How to evaluate plugins in the directory

By 9 days agoFebruary 13, 2012

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Pressbits episode 006 awaits you. This time was slightly different, as Ryan and I were both on this episode. We held a very brief conversation about how we look for and decide to use a plugin in the repository.

You can listen to it here:

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If you would rather download it directly you can do that, or subscribe to this show via RSS or on iTunes. If you would prefer a written summary, you can also read that just after the jump.

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Aftertaste #1: After WPCandy Podcast 31 Discussion with Brian Richards

By 9 days agoFebruary 13, 2012

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Aftertaste is a new podcast/show/extravaganza featuring the conversations that take place once the other WPCandy shows end. I’m taking the idea straight from Dan Benjamin at 5by5 (where so many great podcasts live, by the way) because it’s a great idea, and the podcast equivalent of making products out of your byproducts.

That said, in this very first episode of Aftertaste, listen to Brian Richards and I chatting after recording the first half of WPCandy Podcast #31. There’s a bit of our conversation before the recording to, but it flows together pretty well. If you ever wanted to hear more about meetups and events in Michigan, Canadian band Our Lady Peace, and musings about another future WPCandy podcast, you’re in for a real treat today.

See the various listening options below, or have a listen right now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes (coming soon), or directly to the RSS feed.  If you would like to download the podcast in MP3 format directly, you can do so here.

Download a sample article from The WPCandy Quarterly

By 9 days agoFebruary 13, 2012

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The first issue of The WPCandy Quarterly magazine is just around the corner. In anticipation of its release (I’m eagerly awaiting it too!) I’ve put together a sample of the first issue for you. It’s  Andy Stratton’s article, SEO, Diet Pills and Theme Frameworks.

I could easily say that Andy’s article is one of my favorites within this first issue, but that wouldn’t be entirely true. This magazine is, in fact, filled to the brim with my favorite articles. I’ve linked the PDF up just after the jump.

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WPCandy Podcast 31: Moar commercial themes edition

By 10 days agoFebruary 12, 2012

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In this week’s episode of the WPCandy Podcast I chat with both Startbox’s Brian Richards and Automattic’s Lance Willett. Brian and I discussed the WordPress news of the last week, and Lance recapped the last year of commercial themes on WordPress.com with me.

See the various listening options below, or have a listen right now:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

This week’s episode went a little on the long side, and clocks in at 1 hour and 15 minutes. If you’d like to jump ahead:

The interview with Lance Willett was edited for time, but keep an eye on the blog for the full, unedited interview to be posted soon.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, or directly to the RSS feed. As always you can send any emails you would like to have included on the show to podcast@wpcandy.com. The download link is just after the jump.

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