So, my blog customization is finished. Wordpress is a very straightforward code. It was shocking to see plain language embedded right into the core files. IMHO, it limits the global attraction of Wordpress. Everytime you have to edit the source code to change the heading of a box, it increases the possibility that errors are going to be made. Using a language file which defines variables in relation to plain language is a safer way to create content. Even then…not everyone knows PHP and one missed single quote could frustrate an administrator or noob. I’ll step off my soapbox now.

I have used these plugins:

• breadcrumb navigation-xt 1.6
• hide dashboard 1.0
• social bookmarks
• ultimate tag warrior

I have also modified it with my own code:

• webdezine menu system (the drop menu appearing above)
• webdezine side menu - visible on single post pages in the sidebar (pretty tricky css there!)
• amendments to breadcrumb navigation to include crumbs on the “weekly” archive format, login, registration, lost password and profile pages
• a “week_heading” function to allow proper “from - to” archive headings for the weekly archive format
• webdezine bookmark menu and category modification to allow bookmarks to be placed in categories with individual bookmark “posts” dedicated to the bookmark (allows for info and comments on the sites bookmarked)
• post modification to allow a different template to be used for bookmark posts, including posting a screenshot or other image, link and link text - all pulled from the database
• modification to the hide dashboard 1.0 script to redirect the user to a “users” admin, thereby completely separating the administrators and users.
• modification of the login.php file to blend in with the template used on this blog as well as the redirection upon “action”. The member is now redirected to the login.php page to receive a message, rather than be redirected to their profile page (which was usesless IMHO).
• integration of the MB Montessori design presentation/template to make the transition between the two sites seemless
• modification to the social bookmark script to use additional social bookmark sites as well as images as external links
• integration of Greybox V. 5.4 in order to keep YOU HERE! and not send you somewhere else
• and last but not least I’ve added a calendar image created in Photoshop with a rearranged Wordress date function to display the post date of the article

And that’s about it. I didn’t want to put a lot of work into this blog as I am itching to continue with the shopping cart.

The drop menu script is available as a download. It is NOT a plugin. I have no time to create that. But, it is a complete stand alone script - - no core files were harmed in the creation of the menu.

Sheri

This entry was posted on Friday, February 16th, 2007 at 8:02 pm and is filed under Tenterhooks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.