/* Template Name: Portfolio */

$paged = ( get_query_var( 'page' ) ) ? get_query_var( 'page' ) : 1;
query_posts( '&post_type=portfolio&paged=' . $paged );

require_once( 'archive-portfolio.php' );

Understanding what page we’re on is crucial to the success of custom post type pagination in Page Templates being used as a Static Front Page (what a mouth-full). Custom post types have been a double-edged sword since their release in 3.0 because they don’t act like WordPress’s native post types (posts, pages, attachments, etc.) out of the box; a huge problem for developers leading to all sort of confusion. Don’t believe me? Google it. Personally I think it’s given a WordPress as a CMS the connotation of being unstable. I myself have been really tempted to step away from custom post types and revert to relying on the Category system. Not kidding.

This week’s freebie are some dark, transparent buttons with a couple different lighting effects. Nuff said. Enjoy!

Download — Dark Transparent Buttons (PSD)

I’m sorry for not sticking to one freebie a week. So this is payback, with interest: Inspired by old Nintendo video games I give you 3D Game Buttons!

Download — 3D Game Buttons (PSD)

Today’s freebie comes from asking myself how the dock tooltip would look if I could have it my way. This also doubles as a nifty jQuery-type tooltip as well – simple and to the point. Hope you like it!

Download — Mac OS X Dock Tooltip (PSD)

We were unable to load Disqus. For more information please see our documentation on identifier and urls.

I first contacted Disqus who told me that my HTTP headers for that page were returning a 404 Page Not Found. They said it was most likely a server issue. Then I called GoDaddy and they pointed out that it was only happening on certain pages. This led me to believe I had a WordPress issue on my hands and indeed I do. Notice that’s present tense because I have yet to know exactly why it’s happening, but here’s my steps for how I’m correcting it:

Step 1 – Default Permalinks

Log in to WordPress and go to Settings > Permalinks. Click the radio button for “Default” and hit “Save Changes”.

Step 2 – Delete Your .htaccess File

UPDATE: This step is unnecessary!

Open an FTP client and navigate to the root of your WordPress install. You should see an .htaccess file sitting at the very top. Delete it. If you can’t see it you probably need to turn on the option for seeing hidden files in that window.

Go to whatever page on your site that had previously been giving the Disqus error and you should see the comments finally fill in. Now, let’s get those permalinks back …

Step 3 – Reset Custom Permalinks

Go back to the Permalinks page in the WordPress admin and choose the radio button for “Custom Structure”. There’s a few different options you could put in here, but I use “/%category%/%postname%/”. Click “Save Changes”.

Now go back and refresh that troublesome page on your site. You should still see the comments even though you’re using a custom permalink structure again. If not, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.

Conclusion

I really wish I knew why this was happening because, as Disqus rightly pointed out, when a page returns a 404 in the headers it is ignored by most all search engines. Whoops! I’ll be staying on top of this as I post new articles, but I’m definitely dreading this process every time I do.

This week’s freebie is a streamlined, sleek video player. No big story behind this guy, just wanted to try my hand at some more pixel work. Enjoy!

Download — Sleek Video Player (PSD)

Today’s freebie is 3 realistic ribbons. There’s a ribbon fad happening and for the most part I try to stay away, but I recently did one and got a little hooked. Therefore, here you go!

Download — 3 Realistic Ribbons (PSD)

This week’s freebie is three minimalist input boxes. I create variations of these a lot, but this is the foundation I always use. Download it!

Download — Minimalist Input Boxes (PSD)

This week’s freebie is a bunch of pixel icons that I constantly create from scratch. Since these freebies are just as much for me as they are for you, I for one will enjoy having this collection on hand to simply pull into my future projects.

Download — 18 Pixel Icons (PSD)