How you can get involved

Our new online web design community needs your help. Right now we would like to ask everyone to submit your website(s) to our online gallery so we can get the site populated with content. This is a great opportunity for a SEO boost and exposure to your site(s). Plus, who doesn’t like bragging rights because their site is hanging in a gallery?

On the horizon

Down the road we are planning to open up a CSS award section. We are currently looking for potential judges that are willing to donate 1 – 3 hours monthly to reviewing sites. This could turn into a paid position long term. Also, being a judge is quite credible for your credentials. Please contact ash@cssformula.com for more information.

In addition to judges, we need authors who are willing to write very, very, very simple articles on CSS. We want to explain the core fundamentals of CSS in very simple blog articles, published weekly. We are currently looking for about 5 writers. If you think you’ve got a good understanding of CSS and want to take the next step, please contact ash@cssformula.com

Need a website for your church? We have worked with churches, ministries, and would love to help build yours. Check out our church service page for more information.

I liked the simplicity of this site. The white background, gray and single color highlight made for a cohesive look. Navigation feels a bit overwhelming though, don’t be deceived my its seemingly simple navigationess.

Good use of color, layout was full of information and links.

Coffee shop feel was interesting, though potentially confusing. Their interactive coffee cup was an amazing idea.

This churches image slider catches your attention once you open the page. The black background and turquoise highlight color stay true to their logo and branding.

Their ministry page is clean with muted colors. Some of the smaller text was faint and difficult to read, but all the headings were clear.

The main idea here was to help the user simply navigate throughout their website. They pulled it off quite well (although the home page is by far the best page, others don’t measure up as well). I guess all you really need is the home page to hook someone though.

Interesting texture on the background and good use of icons for links. Great example of using photos to grab interest instead of relying on the website itself to pull people in.

Two clear calls to action on the right side of the image make navigating this website as simple as pie… Mmmm, pie.

They have a great interactive calender and three clear calls to action right beneath the header slider image.

This church website has the navigation, slider, and two calls to action. Very simple, very direct.

Great header and lots of information on this church’s home page, but it would have been nice to have a proper footer to polish off the look.

Graphics were not over done and the interactive directions search utilizing Google maps was a great step up from simply posting their address.  The only problem with that feature is that it takes users away from the page to a different site.

Great open space and the use of peoples faces is engaging and attention grabbing. This church’s website is quite ideal for what other sites should be like.

A very clean and straightforward design for their ministries and sub projects. One of my favorites. Content is the best part of the site.

Concise and intuitive navigation. The images on the bottom three buttons a re a little distracting, but the general layout is very clear.

Looks like a really well laid out site. Unfortunately, some of the website was broken when we took a look at it. This is a long standing great church website that has been featured in many top church lists over the years.

The website branding was wonderfully consistent between this page and the four other campuses.

This page is all about the navigation, and really, that’s all there is. Creatively done interactive navigation though. This being said the rest of the pages don’t keep up aesthetically with the home page.

The sites graphics were done extraordinarily well, they do not clutter or detract attention from the information on the page. It should be added that the calendar lacked somewhat, didn’t really looked like it belonged to the site. Never good to have a break in a site’s branding consistency.

The black background with white text is on the home page only, every other page is white background with black text. But its well organized.

Love the large text navigation at the top of the page. This site is consistently updated and its constantly looking better. One of our top church website picks.

The icons combined with text on the right hand side of the page work well. They combined the call to action with the navigation too.  If you locked yourself in a room and watched the home page, the “I’m New” button jumping up and down might drive you to do something terrible.

Three calls to action on the bottom of the slider, interestingly a nondescript navigation is hidden below that. Layout changes significantly after the home page, which could significantly confuse users.

Interactive sections in the footer were interesting and gave the page a finished, tied together feel. Great use of type too.

Great clean site, love the logo, but I wish there was more of a footer. Footers are important for websites because they give the readers eyes a clear location to stop. It is there, but it isn’t a very strong presence.

Large navigation, contrasted a little oddly with three simultaneous sliders beneath the main image.  They made the page seem a good bit busier even though the layout was spacious.

A church website with consistent and clean design. The location page has google map integration where you can search for directions without leaving the page. The only problem with that was it only gave driving directions, not public transportation (currently you can’t choose public transportation for the Google Maps API).

Good layout and spacing. Instead of  drop down navigation they put a site map near the top right corner.

The dynamic and simple to navigate interface for Brainerd Baptist Church makes it fun to navigate. Lots of great content thats consistently updated too.

For the most part simple and straightforward with a slider. The menu on the bottom of the page can get a bit complex but it does have a lot of good and browse-able information.

Custom search functions

I create complex WordPress builds for small and large companies. While many web designers and developers tell you to ditch WordPress’s search capabilities for an off site engine like Google’s. Others suggest using bloated plugins that play with your WordPress code. I personally suggest using WordPress’s search with some simple tips. Here I’ll show you how to alter your WordPress theme to make it much more powerful.

Exclude custom post types

With the introduction of custom post types to WordPress 3.0 you might need to exclude your new items from the built in search engine. There are some extremely complicated methods we could use to do this, but the simplest method is to use the exclude_from_search property when you create the custom post type. For more information check out the WordPress codex on creating custom post types.

This is a quick, simple, and problem free WordPress tip that will make your life much easier. Although this is the simplest way to exclude custom post types, I’ve listed an alternative method below.

// Here we create our custom post type for a feeds
add_action('init', 'my_custom_init');

// This is where we set our variables
function my_custom_init() {
  $labels = array(
    'name' => _x('Feeds', 'post type general name'),
    'singular_name' => _x('Feed', 'post type singular name'),
    'add_new' => _x('Add Feed', 'Feed Item'),
    'add_new_item' => __('Add New Feed'),
    'edit_item' => __('Edit Feed'),
    'edit' => _x('Edit', 'feed'),
    'new_item' => __('New Feed'),
    'view_item' => __('View Feed Information'),
    'search_items' => __('Search Feeds'),
    'not_found' =>  __('No feeds were found with that criteria'),
    'not_found_in_trash' => __('No feed found in Trash'),
    'view' =>  __('View Feed')
  );

  // Additional arguments (where we place our search exclusion)
  $args = array(
    'labels' => $labels,
    // This is where we set whether the new post type gets included in a search or not
    // Defaults to false, but you'll want to set it to true to exclude the item
    'exclude_from_search' => true,
    'public' => true,
    'publicly_queryable' => true,
    'show_ui' => true,
    'query_var' => true,
    'rewrite' => true,
    'capability_type' => 'post',
    'hierarchical' => true,
    'menu_position' => null,
    'supports' => array('title', 'editor', 'author', 'custom-fields', 'revisions', 'page-attributes')
  );

  register_post_type('feeds',$args);
}

Search a specific post type

WordPress gives you the ability to target specific post types. Place this at the bottom of your functions.php file and you’re good to go! This is a slightly modified version of the ingenious category search exclude script that has been floating around web design blogs for a while. I’d love to give credit for this, but so many designers are claiming it that I don’t know who the original author is.

function SearchFilter($query) {
  if ($query->is_search) {
    // Insert the specific post type you want to search
    $query->set('post_type', 'feeds');
  }
  return $query;
}

// This filter will jump into the loop and arrange our results before they're returned
add_filter('pre_get_posts','SearchFilter');

We can modify this a bit to search two custom post types or more such as podcasts along with our feeds category. This is done by inserting our items into an array so WordPress can swallow the data without choking on our awesome request.

function SearchFilter($query) {
  if ($query->is_search) {
    // Insert the specific post types you want to search
    $query->set('post_type', array('feeds', 'podcasts'));
  }
  return $query;
}

add_filter('pre_get_posts','SearchFilter');

Search posts only

On the occasion I need to shut off all of my pages search posts only. Since WordPress can take any post_type query information we throw at it, why not just tell it to search posts only?

function SearchFilter($query) {
  if ($query->is_search) {
    $query->set('post_type', 'post');
  }
  return $query;
}

add_filter('pre_get_posts','SearchFilter');

Search specific categories only

You can search specific categories using the same logic for the custom post type search used above. Just plug in your categories and WordPress will take care of everything you need. To get your category IDs, you’ll need to go to  “Your Post’s Name” -> Categories (or chosen taxonomy name) and look for the id in the link such as http://www.ashbluewebdesign.com/wp-admin/categories.php?action=edit&cat_ID=125. If you need a more detailed explanation check out this simple post on WordPress IDs. Once again just shove this into the bottom of your functions.php file.

function SearchFilter($query) {
  if ($query->is_search) {
    // Insert the specific categories you want to search
    $query->set('cat', '8,9,12');
  }
  return $query;
}

add_filter('pre_get_posts','SearchFilter');

Search pages only

Sometimes what you really need is to serach pages only. This can be easily done by setting your post type to page.

function SearchFilter($query) {
  if ($query->is_search) {
    $query->set('post_type','page');
  }
  return $query;
}

add_filter('pre_get_posts','SearchFilter');

Putting it all together

Taking what we’ve done with these functions, you can shove them into an array and force out some really unique search results. For instance, why not search only pages and feeds, while excluding posts?

function SearchFilter($query) {
  if ($query->is_search) {
    $query->set('post_type', array('page', 'feeds'));
  }
  return $query;
}

add_filter('pre_get_posts','SearchFilter');

Shutting off WordPress’s search

A really good tip I can give you is to completely shut off the search when you don’t need it. I’ve personally used the search on websites against their will by simply plugging in http://www.yoursite.com/?s=yoursearchtermshere. Feed the user a 404 error page with no results. Do so by telling your functions.php file to direct all searches to it. This code originally comes from WPEngineer. Check out the article for a more thorough explanation.

function fb_filter_query( $query, $error = true ) {
  if ( is_search() ) {
  $query->is_search = false;
  $query->query_vars[s] = false;
  $query->query[s] = false;

// to error
  if ( $error == true )
    $query->is_404 = true;
  }
}

add_action( 'parse_query', 'fb_filter_query' );
add_filter( 'get_search_form', create_function( '$a', "return null;" )  );

Security Flaw – Private Page Excerpt Tip

If you set a page in WordPress to password protected you’ll notice that it won’t display an excerpt for people searching. Problem is that private pages still display an excerpt, leaving sensitive data open to potential hackers. The best thing you can do here is set the pages to password protected if the information is extremely important. The alternative would be to delete the excerpt in your WordPress search loop. Making it so no excerpt whatsoever appears when somebody searches. Either method is not necessarily ideal. Currently I’m searching for a method to strip private pages from the search, but I’m having trouble finding out how to do so. Please let me know if you have any leads that don’t involve a plugin.

How you win

To win a business card credit you’ll just need to retweet this Twitter item here. Winners will be contacted via direct message on your Twitter account or by email. You must claim your prize within 72 hours. Check back Monday (May 31) to see who the winners are.

As a quick side note, CARDERIZER told me that they’ve opened up a flyer printing service that prints all their business card services. This is a big deal since embossed, silk, foil stamp, and UV spot flyers are extremely difficult to find online.

Winners

Congratulations to Hannah F. and David Quigley for winning the contest. If you haven’t gotten back in contact with us and you’ve won. Please do so as soon as possible to claim your prize.

The best Android business applications

WordPress for Android

Ever shown off your blog and found a typo that you were dieing to fix? WordPress for Android gives you the ability edit/write new posts, moderate comments, and even modify your page structure. This is an extremely powerful piece of software that appears to be evolving weekly. Updates are very frequent and they keep on adding more features. This is the quality of a paid application without having to pay anything. Can be a little tricky to initially setup, but well worth the effort when everything is in motion.

Price: Free.

Remember The Milk

Remember The Milk’s mobile version syncs with their database so you don’t have to leave your task list at the computer. I’ve been using the free version on my computer for quite a while and I’m quite pleased. Lately I’ve been living off this program like an IV.  The application does cost money, but it goes straight towards development costs for Remember The Milk. You can try it out free for 15 days, be warned though, you’ll probably get hooked. It also integrates with item locations to make traveling easier. For more on Remember The Milk check out the in depth article I wrote.

Price: 1 year subscription $25.

Skype Mobile

Skype’s Google Android application is phenomenal. You can check your address book (or combine it with your existing phone’s contacts), voicemail, and missed calls. What makes this application shine for business use is its ability to route calls from Skype to your mobile phone.  This solution is significantly better than using Google Voice due to Skype’s larger number of call features. This way you can shut off your Skype account and control the flow of phone calls.

Price: Free… kind of… might require a yearly subscription if you want to make calls outside your country through Skype for free.

Dropbox

If you’re running a business then you probably have hundreds of files that require organization and sharing. Sometimes clients even ask if you remember particular obscure data from project documents and materials when you’re computerless. Usually you’ll have to respond with a guess, but not anymore! Dropbox’s mobile version allows you to look up and save items to their server via your Google Android Phone. This is quite a big deal, especially if you’re collecting pictures of an event since you can drop them into your account and instantly access them on a home computer. Now you can have access to all of your important documents without being locked in front of your computer.

Price: A 2GB Dropbox account is free, anything above that has a monthly fee attached to it. That amount of space should be more than sufficient as long as you aren’t hording pictures on your account.

AK Notepad

At the core of every good phone OS is the ability to create notes about important meetings, passwords, and other data. I searched around the Android Marketplace for hours trying to find a good notepad application, then I found AK Notepad. This application blows every text program out of the water for the Android. It takes great notes, auto saves, has themes, allows text size adjustment, and a boat load of other options for complete customization. If that isn’t enough, you can export notes with the share function to Twitter, Gmail, and a slew of other programs. A must have for everyone.

Price: Free.

Where’s My Droid

Every so once in a while I manage to loose my cell phone in the oddest of places. Usually it ends up buried in an abyss of papers, other times inside a shoe. This usually isn’t too big of a deal because you just need to call your phone right? But what if you put your phone on silent? Where’s My Droid gives you the ability to override your phone, max out the sound, and let it ring. In addition to this its capable of generating GPS coordinates of your phone’s location. The greatest part about this is this is all possible via sending your phone a simple text message with a keyword. Simple and wonderfully amazing.

Price: Free.

WiFi Analyzer

On several occasions I’ve been so desperate for a good internet connection I’ve held my arms out in an antenna like format. Hoping that my signal will just increase a few bytes and properly send my email. Those days are no more. The Wifi Analyzer allows you to look at the signal strength of all the connections near your phone. What’s even better is it will tell you how strong the signal is. Great for people who are desperate to get every drop possible out of their wireless’s signal. If you run a business this will definitely come in handy when you need a stable connection in who knows where.

Price: Free.

ASTRO File Manager (beta)

The Astro File Manager is only in beta, but its by far the best file management program for Google’s Android. Its so amazing it should be built into the Android CMS core. A few features are generating thumbnails for images and sorting everything (including your memory card). It also gives your the ability to share, delete, move, and search through your files. Probably the most interesting feature though is the ability to jack into a network anywhere with your login data and drop/retrieve files. I question how secure it is though (especially due to its beta status). Great for storing and managing your business’s files on the fly.

Price: Free for now because its going to cost money when the beta ends.

PayPal

With PayPal’s new Android application you can access a mini version of your PayPal account on the fly. Sessions time out fast, which is good to know since I don’t want anyone sending my money to their account. This application’s largest standing problem is the inability to request money from others. I’m quite perplexed as to why, maybe a security flaw or something? Although this is great to have if you run a small business and want to look through your PayPal account. I’m not too sure how much I trust myself to type in extremely detailed data on my phone’s tiny keypad considering how many spelling errors appear in the average text message. Sending money to someone with one extra zero could literally bankrupt you.

Price: Technically free… but PayPal charges a few dollars for all transactions due to insurance and overhead.

Delicious

Just a simple plugin that gives you the ability to share items on Delicious in addition to the Android’s default share options. Nothing really fancy, but its great to have access to bookmarking files on the fly. Not an official plugin by Yahoo, but can you expect them to develop an application for Google? We’ll probably never see an official application, but this one works perfectly fine.

Price: Free.

Application wish list

Right now there isn’t a decent screenshot application on the Android Market. I can understand its absence due to security precautions for user data. Right now there really isn’t a fantastic RSS or podcast reading program either. Any applications you can suggest or want to see?