For example if you wanted to add a contact form to your site you wouldn’t change the theme you would install a contact form plugin.

However there are Themes available that not only change the look and feel of the website they also add additional functionality.

For example. Lets say you wanted to create an auction website then you have two options.

You could add an auction plugin to your existing wordpress theme (e.g. WordPress Auctions Plugin) or you could install an auction theme like the WordPress Auction Theme. See Sitemile website.

Which is the best option? Well if the site is a general site and the auction is a part of it then the plugin will do. If the site is going to be a dedicated auction site then the theme would be best.

There are many theme designers creating themes based on a particular function like directory site, classified ads, shops/ecommerce etc.

Most tend to be premium themes but the cost of the themes is trivial when compared to what it would cost you to develop that kind of functionality yourself.

Resources:

• WordPress 3 site blueprints from Amazon UK
  or Amazon USA
  .
• Sitemile website.
• Premium Press

Take a look at the short FAQ for configuration and troubleshooting information.

If you are using an iPhone/iPad then there is an App for that as well- WordPress for iOS.

Again Take a look at the FAQ for configuration and troubleshooting information.

When trying an automatic update to WordPress 3.2.1. However I have other sites on 1and 1, and have successfully upgraded without problem.

I found this useful post about the problem.

However before I tried the solution offered I deactivated all the active plugins (as you should anyway), which I hadn’t done previously as it had worked ok before.

The good news was that it worked with the plugins deactivated.

So before you try changing the memory allocations try deactivating the plugins even though you may have done a successful upgrade in the past without having to deactivate them.

So if the primary navigation was on the right and the content on the left, then it stayed that way unless you manually edited the template files.

However it is becoming increasing common for newer templates to be more flexible . Even the default 2011 template has several layout options (see below):

Not only do many modern themes have different layout options they also have additional widget areas and the ability to change the colours,fonts, hide portions like the header graphic, and much more; all without having to resort to editing the template files.
When choosing your theme take a look to see how flexible it is as the more flexible it is the less chance you will need to change it for a new one in the future.

Although I have participated on forums and do read some from time to time I have never installed or configured one.

Because the reader was just starting with website building and I recommend WordPress for all new sites then it would be ideal if I could find a WordPress froum plugin.

A quick search on Google and I found several. I also found lots of good reviews for bbpress which seemed to be the most popular solution.

However most of the bbpress articles I read said bbpress integrated with WordPress but wasn’t a plugin.

However when I searched the WordPress plugins I found bbpress, and installed it on a test site.

I haven’t come any further with it. I may do in the future, but I just wanted to point out for those looking at wordpress forums that bbpress is now released as a plugin and not as a separate application.

Here are some of the useful forum articles I found

• http://chasesagum.com/5-best-choices-for-wordpress-forum-plugins
• http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2010/05/wordpress-forum-plugins/

The 2010 theme is the old theme and the one currently used if you are doing the wordpress course.

The newer theme called simply weaver is much more powerful and flexible and allows you to create a magazine styled layout which I will be covering in a upcoming article.

Here is the description of the theme taken from WordPress theme directory.

The Easiest Way to Customize Your Theme! Weaver 2.2 puts you in control. Start with one of over 20 attractive predefined themes, then make it your own. Use the simple “check-box” interface to easily change colors, fonts, header and footer, menus, sidebars, theme width, and much more. Then, take control of your content using powerful Per Page and Per Post options, including unlimited custom widget areas. Over 15 page templates, including “Page with Posts” to show posts and content where and how you want. Easy for the newcomer, comprehensive for the expert. Context sensitive help; translations available for nearly every language; IE support; WP Multisite features; PageNavi plugin supported; active support forum.

I have installed the theme using the magazine sub theme on a few sites (e.g. http://www.niche-website-guide.com/) scroll to the bottom and see how the posts are placed below the main content.

If you want to incorporate posts on your home page then this theme is an excellent way of doing it.

I will be covering page layout and templates and particularly this theme in a future article so please check back.

This video takes you through this process using PHPmysqladmin tool on 1and1 uk but is applicable to most hosts as they all provide the PHPMysqladmin tool/interface.

The default WordPress 2010 theme displays the Proudly powered by WordPress link.

However many site owners prefer to add their own copyright notice or other business related data like contact phone,address etc or even a bottom menu.

In the early days of WordPress if you wanted to change the contents of the footer you needed to edit the footer.php template file for the theme you were using.

Editing theme files is easily done through the control panel Appearance>editor but is not recommeded due to the fact that:

• You need knowledge of php
• Have problems when upgrading or changing themes

Fortunately today many of the newer themes give you control over the footer without having to resort to editing template files.

Twenty Ten Default Theme Footer

The 2010 default theme doesn’t allow you to change the footer other than via template file edits or by using a child theme.

You can create your own child theme that just modifies the footer which means again that you will need a basic understanding of HTML and child themes.

See Child theme Basics which shows you how to create a child theme.

However rather than create your own child theme the 2010 weaver theme is designed as a child theme for the default 2010  and it lets you make changes to the footer from the control panel without the need to edit php files.

You will find it the the Appearance>2010 Weaver>advanced options section.

Here is an example of a footer from one of my sites. Notice you can use HTML code in the text.

Related Posts/Pages

To disable comments on all new posts/pages go to settings>discussion and disable the Allow people to post comments on new articles box.

You will need to disable any existing posts/page comments by going to the page (can use quick edit) and unticking the allow comments box.

All of the wordPress settings and data are stored in a database table/tables with the prefix of wp_ .

This prefix can be change in the wpconfig.php file.

It is possible and quite common to support multiple wordpress installs by using a different prefix for each install. So for example
wp1_ is used for the first install and
wp2_ is used for the second install.

Here is a screenshot from the backup screen clearly showing the wordpress tables with the prefixes.

This doesn’t mean however that you can/should have lots of installs using the same database.

I tend to use it for test installs, and don’t mix WordPress with other applications in the same database.