Class 1 — How to Code WordPress Templates From a PSD

9am to 12pm
Students of this class will be given an exclusive download link to a Photoshop file that we will then slice and code into a working WordPress template. You may follow along with me on your own computer, or you can simply watch and learn and at the end of the class, you will be given a download link to the finished theme. This theme will be special because only those that attend or watch the class will have access to this theme, which will be somewhere around a $50 to $100 value in and of itself. You are free to edit the theme and redistrubite it under a Creative Commons license.

Class 2 — How to use WordPress as a Full CMS

1pm to 4pm
In this class, we will do a quick runthrough of the basic settings, and then we will get into the best way to use plugins and templates to take your WordPress site beyond just a blog and use it as a fully customized content management system.

Other Information

Students that attend both classes on location will get to enjoy lunch for free! Jim ‘N Nicks is catering, so you don’t want to miss out on that! Register by Wednesday, October 21st to ensure that there’s enough lunch to go around!

Students attending via the web will be emailed instructions on how to watch the class right in your web browser– no downloads or extra software necessary. There will be a toll free number to call so that you can hear the audio and even ask questions that the entire class can hear. So even though you won’t be with us in body, you will benefit from the group interactivity just like those that are able to come locally.

Discount Code

Are you a member of @ShiftWorkspace? Ask about your special 10% off discount code, applicable to any of the classes, online and off. Not a member but want the code? Go join Shift today!

• Be the brand in which the classes are marketed and referred to
• Have a website for people to easily keep up with the class schedule and buy their seat in a class
• Be the brand by which we broadcast the class with the help of Glance
• Host the reselling of the recorded classes to students that missed it live, or prefer a discounted price with the sacrifice of no live interaction
• Be connected to @WordChalk to easily follow classes and updates with Twitter

Not too high of a goal, I think. If this proves to be a success, we may see it branch out to other locations and bring in other instructors that are able to teach different subjects that I’m unable to cover myself such as plugin development or the ins and outs of BuddyPress.

For now, you can follow @WordChalk and/or subscribe to receive email updates about the class by signing up at the WordChalk website. The next class is scheduled for Saturday October 24th at @ShiftWorkspace. The 9am to 12pm class will be “How to code WordPress templates from a PSD” and the 1pm-4pm class will be “How to use WordPress as a full CMS”. Signups and more information will be posted here and on the WordChalkwebsite.

Register for the class at EventBrite. If you are a member of @ShiftWorkspace wait for your special invitation to recieve a 10% discount code.

Also, I have had several people ask me if I do personal or on-site consulting. This isn’t something I have had many opportunities to do yet, but I would love to sit down with you or your business and guide you through your WordPress journey. Please feel free to leave a comment, or contact me directly to arrange a meeting.

Please let me know your opinion by voting on the following polls:

WordChalk Mailing List

Subscribe to the WordChalk WordPress Class mailing list and stay informed on when classes have been scheduled.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

WordCamp Birmingham

Like most conferences, there was more than one track to choose from. I found myself bouncing back and forth between them for one reason or another, sometimes torn between what seemed interesting and just good old fashioned loyalty to friends. I could go through each and every session that I went to, but I’d rather just do what needs to be done, and link you to everyone’s notes and slides:

Session 1
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org by Tom Brander
Jumping into WordPress Plugin Programming by Dougal Campbell

Session 2
Write and Wrong: A Framework for Ethical Blogging by Wade Kwon
WordPress and Your Brand by Sara Cannon

Session 3
Content Strategy + WordPress = Awesome UX by Andy Ford
Essential SEO and Analytics for WordPress by Jeremy Flint

Lunch – Matt Mullenweg: WordPress Town Hall Meeting

Session 4
Using WordPress to Create and Manage your Non-Profit Community by Scott Schablow
Beyond the Blog: Setting up a Full Dynamic site with WordPress by Mitch Canter

Session 5
Making the Move and Asking for Help by Jerri Ann Reason
Plugins to Die For by Tammy Hart

Session 6
Design Your First WordPress Theme in Minutes by Brett Bumeter
WordPress Security by Mitch Canter

Of course, I got to spend the entire day with my good friend Esra’a Al Shafei from MideastYouth.com who gave the closing keynote. People gathered in close as they listened to what she had to say about blogging for the rights of others (yeah it was because she’s quiet, but it was also keenly interesting).

Sunday morning, I sadly dropped my friend off at the airport, and then met up with everyone over at Shift to continue the WordPress obsession. I gotta say, this was probably the best idea ever. Rather than having yet another day packed full of presenters (which would have been cool too), we enjoyed just kicking back and chatting the day away about what we had learned the day before, new ideas we had, and answering questions for those that were thirsting for more. Brandon Sheats even gave an impromptu presentation on the difference between Flutter and Pods.

So there you have it, WordCamp Birmingham was a true success. Thank you, Andre, and thanks to everyone else that made it possible, especially all of the attendees.

Not Your Usual Suspects

The first plugin that we talked about is the best, free contact forms plugin available. It’s easy to use, and offers more functionality than you can shake a stick at! CformsII

My friend, Mitch Canter got to first introduce Flutter to you, and then I was able to back it up with a more in depth way to put it into use. Don’t worry, a full blog post is coming soon that will cover each step to use Flutter for our coveted “post types” we requested from Matt during the lunch keynote. Flutter

Finally I was able to zoom through an awesome plugin that lets you build custom Google maps right from your write post/page in the WordPress dashboard and then insert those maps with a simple click of a button with flawless integration into the published post/page. It even gives you the ability to search for directions right on the same page, without having to leave your website. MapPress

In case you’re interested, the website I was referring to a lot isn’t in my portfolio yet since we literally launched it live just this past week. It is Pasadena Symphony & Pops.

Thanks all for listening! Be sure to subscribe to my blog with the links int he sidebar so you can be sure to see more about these plugins and about WordPress. You can also follow me on twitter: there is a link in the footer and at the top of my site.

Another thing that I do a lot on custom pages is to query posts from a particular category. This especially came in handy for pages like my Portfolio. One special thing to take note of is the fact that I don’t simply list all of the entries on one page, but instead break it up into sets by paginating the results of the query. This is simple to do, and I’m going to show you how.

First off, you’ll need to start with a custom template, and the easiest way to do that is duplicate your normal page template, page.php. In this file, add the following code above the call for the header:

<? php
/*
Template Name: ANY NAME YOU WANT
*/
?>

Now you can add any customizations to it that you want and then assign that template to a page by selecting it from the “template” dropdown in the Attributes panel as is shown in the above image.

So now that we have our custom template, let’s put in the custom query that calls posts from the category with the ID of 3. This would typically look like this:

<? php
$temp = $wp_query;
$wp_query= null;
$wp_query = new WP_Query();
$wp_query->query('cat=3');
?>

<? php while ($wp_query->have_posts()): $wp_query->the_post();?>

... HTML and other post stuff here...

<? php endwhile;?>

<? php $wp_query = null; $wp_query = $temp;?>

Now, we will add in a couple more variables to the query to tell it to display just 4 posts per page. Now you’re query looks like this:

<? php
$temp = $wp_query;
$wp_query= null;
$wp_query = new WP_Query();
$wp_query->query('cat=3&showposts=4'.'&paged='.$paged);
?>

Finally, you need to include the pagination links somewhere after the <? php endwhile;?>. If you are using the default navigation, that will look like this:

<div class="navigation">
<div><? php next_posts_link('&laquo; Older Entries')?></div>
<div><? php previous_posts_link('Newer Entries &raquo;')?></div>
</div>

If you’re like me, and you prefer to use the awesome plugin by Lester Chan called WP-PageNavi, then that looks like this:

<? php if(function_exists('wp_pagenavi')) { wp_pagenavi(); }?>

WordCamp Romania has decided that they put too much of a rush on me, and they would like for me to take my time in raising funds and getting my passport so that I can attend for sure next year in May. For those of you that have already given, I can either issue a refund, or I can save it for next year. For those of you that are planning to give, you can either wait till later, or give now and I’ll be putting it back in a safe spot until next year.

I appreciate everyone so far for getting excited about this with me, and for your generous contributions. It means a lot that so many of you believe in me so much.

I come from humble beginnings, and have never had the pleasure of traveling overseas. I have barely stepped a toe into Mexico and Canada, and I haven’t even flown but one time in a small 4 passenger prop plane when I was 17 years old. This experience would mean so much to me, and I know that it would help me to continue to grow and become more and more adept in running my WordPress business.

I am very honored to have been invited by the organizers of the Romanian WordCamp to speak once on each of the two days that the conference will be held, which is September 16th, and 17th. They have done well in planning and organizing the event, and have raised sponsors to cover much of the expenses involved in having me come and present. There is but one obstacle standing in my way, and that is why I am petitioning you, my friends and colleagues, to help me reach my goal of raising $2000 to help cover the remaining costs needed in order for me to be able to get to Romania and present to my fellow WordPress enthusiasts.

Recently, my reputation in the Birmingham, Alabama area has begun to see growth as I have started to step out of my home where I’ve served mostly out of state and out of country clients, and have began networking more with the local technical community. I am still the same WordPress junkie that I have always been, but now I am beginning to receive recognition for my experience and accomplishments. To date, I have spoken at four technical events, taught two classes on WordPress, and I’m even working with Packt Publishing to write a book on WordPress and Multimedia, which we hope to see published early next year. I also have more classes scheduled in the near future, and am presenting at WordCamp Birmingham which is being held September 26th and 27th.

Now I have been asked to speak at yet another wonderful event, and that is, WordCamp Romania. WordCamp is a conference that is centered around, you guessed it, WordPress. Designers, developers, bloggers, and enthusiasts come together to share ideas and experiences, and to enjoy two days of fun and networking.

I am excited about this opportunity, and hope that I have support from you, my friends and colleagues, as I continue on my adventure. It’s easy to donate, just use the chip in widget you see to your left. Thank you so much for your assistance, and for helping me accomplish this goal.

Added Benefits for Contributors:
I have a pretty good audience on the web with over 160 RSS subscribers, over 500 facebook friends, and nearly 1,000 twitter followers. I am willing to share links and blog posts about my gracious sponsors, and would even be willing to schedule in a free or discounted service in return for your generosity. I am also understanding of those that may wish to remain anonymous.

Esra’a has put her life on the line to do what she does, but she’s not bashful to associate her name with her work. She calls this honesty, I call it courage. She does take the precaution of not letting pictures or videos of her get published on the internet so that it is harder for those that might target the young activist to identify her. Therefore, her video presentation was not recorded. I have heard rumor that they made an effort to record the audio, but I am unsure when or if that will be made available on the SoSo website. Since I have been working with Esra’a for the last 2 years and have developed a friendship with her, I thought it would be nice to do a follow up interview about her experience and the reaction that it caused among the crowd at Social South, and then share it here for your listening pleasure. Listen:

If you would like to contribute, then go to the Mideast Youth donate page.

I personally had to step out early today due to family duties, but I am looking forward to being present for every last minute of deep fried social media goodness. I’ll also be presenting my own case studies in the morning. My topic of choice:

Why Should You Be Using WordPress?

WordPress is the number one publishing platform available these days, but why? Just what is it that WordPress can do that makes it so popular and used so widely? Let’s go through a few real world examples that will give just a taste of the unlimited possibilities of using WordPress for your blog or website.

If it’s too late for you to attend, then keep a look out here, twitter, and pretty much anywhere that is in the know, for more updates, details, and even video! If you are a registered attendee, then I can’t wait to see you tomorrow!

Here is the official flyer:

» Tech Friday is Back!

(After a 1-month vacation)

Friday, August 14th
7:45–9:00 am

At Lawson State’s Alabama Center for Advanced Technology and Training (ACATT)
3060 Wilson Road SW Birmingham, AL 35221 (See directions below.)

**If you haven’t seen this facility, please try to attend our event. ACATT is Birmingham’s best-kept technology secret.**

Free Breakfast!

Sponsored by TechKnowledge Birmingham, LLC and Lawson State CC

Speaker:
Tammy Hart of Tammy Hart Designs
www.tammyhartdesigns.com

Tammy is one of the leading WordPress experts in Alabama. She will discuss blogging in general and then give us an overview of how WordPress is used to create and manage a blog. (If you were at the May TechFriday event, you’ll remember Zane Tarence’s last words: Start a blog!)

Directions:

• I-65 to Lakeshore (Wildwood) Parkway: Travel time from this point is probably about 12 minutes.
• Go west (toward Sam’s/WalMart)
• Go about 3.5 miles on Lakeshore Parkway; you’ll pass the HQ for Cook’s Pest Control on the left.
• You’ll see a sign on the right directing you to Lawson State; turn right on Sydney Drive.
• Lawson State will be on the left after about 2 miles. After you pass their electronic message board, turn left onto the campus. ACATT will be directly ahead; you can’t miss it (a beautiful 3-story building w/a green metal roof)!

Please RSVP to Bill Ivey @ wbivey@gmail.com so that we can reasonably predict the amount of food to order!