We all know that validating is important. However, not all developers – especially plugin developers- believe it is important. Unfortunately, some of these plugins are needed and save a lot of time. One of the most useful plugins around is Feature Content Gallery by iePlexus. They built a really nice, easy-to-use slider or feature content gallery. There are some others out there, but we think that Feature Content Gallery is the simplest for our users and it is reliable. We use it on a lot of our sites. However the main drawback is that it does not validate. In this tutorial we are going to show you how to get Feature Content Gallery to validate.

So how do you go about getting Feature Content Gallery to validate?

1. Go to your plugin folders (which is located in your wp-content/plugins) then go to the folder Feature Content Gallery.

2. Find the file gallery.php and open it up.

3. Go to line 11 and delete the following code. Save it and upload it back.

4. Go to the folder wp-content/plugins-Feature-Content-Gallery/css and open up the file jd.galley.css.php.

5. Go to line 19 and take the code shown and add it. Then save and upload.

6. Test that you have not broken anything and then validate.

If you are like most web designers we share one common thing- a hatred of Internet Explorer. We can go on and on about how much we despise Internet Explorer, but soon enough we will see a change with Internet Explorer 9. With Internet Explorer 9 we have the promise of the use of CSS3. For those of you that don’t know what this means, let me just say that it is a way for you to do some cool things in CSS. The other browsers such as Firefox, Safari and Opera all support CSS3, it is only Internet Explorer that still does not support it. Now you are probably wondering, well why do this tutorial if Internet Explorer 9 is coming? As you know, most people don’t upgrade. We still have clients that use Internet Explorer 6. So even with Internet Explorer 9 available, most users will still be on Internet Explorer 7 and 8.

Recently a client wanted us to do some rounded corners and shadows for their site, so we began to discuss the issue of Internet Explorer and its limitations. Realizing  that most of his visitors will probably be using Internet Explorer, we had to come up with a solution. After looking at a few different solutions and discarding them we came upon CSS3 Pie. We think that this solution is the easiest to implement, and despite a few quirks, it works well. To see shadows and rounded corners check out our portfolio page – the content box has rounded corners and the portfolio images have shadows.

Here is how to use CSS3 Pie.

1. Download the CSS3 Pie files.
2. Unzip and find the PIE.htc and PIE.PHP files.

3. Using your ftp program upload PIE.htc and PIE.php files up to your Thesis custom file.

4. Make note of the url of the PIE.php file.

5. Then go to your custom.css file and add the CSS3 code for rounding or shadow or etc… Warning. You cannot use the long format for CSS3 you must use the short format.

6. Right after the CSS3 code add the following line and the myurl.com with your site’s url.


behavior: url(http://myurl.com/wp-content/themes/thesis_18/custom/PIE.php);

7. Check it out in IE 7-8.

Sarah Brody, who is the VP of Global Design at Apple and worked on the designs of the original Iphone, Ipod Nano and packaging has been hired by Paypal. Hopefully, she will be able to redesign the awful paypal buy now buttons.

As we start posting again I want to introduce a new series in which we discuss secrets of a webmaster. One of my friends claims to be the first certified webmaster in upstate NY. Every time he told me I would chuckle and then wonder – what the heck is a webmaster? And who came up with that name? Could this be due to the heavy influence of Dungeons & Dragons on the early adopters of the internet? Since the title of webmaster is as cool as the title of headmaster of Hogwarts – I added Drunken Monkey to the title cause any time you add a Kung Fu element to something uncool it becomes cool. Just ask Quentin Tarantino.

I don’t know if they still certify or what kind of test you have to take to be a certified “webmaster”. I know that whatever they did before you and I can also do now. One of the best tools for us to be able to do this is coincidently named Google Webmaster Tools. This great tool by Google helps you to get your site optimized for SEO juice, keeps an eye out for malware and attacks, and some other great features.

Since there is so much to see and learn we are going to break this up into a series. Once you master the tools you too can become certified as a Drunken Monkey Webmaster.

Since we are creative people we are easily bored. Well in one of our spells of boredom we decided to redesign our site. We are still in the process of getting the elements all put in place but it is coming along. We will be making a new post pretty soon called Bend it Like Beckham – which will be about our decision to change our site and to talk about creativity.

Many years ago on a Saturday morning, I woke up ready to watch my cartoons. Well, to my horror, my dad was watching tv and he was transfixed. In frustration I sat down waiting for the show to end but then I started watching along. On the screen was a soft spoken Caucasian with the biggest afro I had ever seen and he was creating a beautiful canvas. I was mesmerized by Bob Ross. There is something soothing and hypnotic about Bob as he paints those canvasses. He engages you. I think we can learn a lot from Bob Ross about how to be engaging. Here are 4 things that I learned from Bob and how you can apply it to your designs, your writing, your business and your life.

1. He shared the process. In our microwave culture where everything has to be now, we often miss out on the process. The process is as important as the product. Revealing the process and not just the end product is engaging.

2. He made you feel like you could do it also. Today, what Bob did in our corporate is called “empowering” but that just means the feeling that you can do it also. Oftentimes we see great athletes or performers and admire them because of their ability, but they are not engaging. What is engaging is when someone with extraordinary skills makes you feel like you could go and do it also.

3. He taught. In the East, one of the most honored titles you can be called is “teacher”. Bob Ross was a great teacher. Not only did he make you feel like you could do it, but he actually endeavored to teach you how. We should all emulate Bob Ross and teach – pass along something knowledge. A teacher is engaging.

4. He had vision. Bob would start on his palette mixing the colors, apply a little here and there, and within 15 minutes a blob here and there became beautiful scenery. At the end of the program you could tell that from the beginning he knew where he was going. Our website, our design, our blog, our business and our life is an empty canvas. Before you mix the color and start painting on that canvas called life – make sure you have a clear vision. He had vision, and vision is engaging.

Watch him by clicking here.

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This the second part of our Feature Content Gallery Slider Tutorial.

Click here for Part 2

This is our third tutorial in our Feature Content Gallery Slider.

Click here

This is our fourth tutorial in our Feature Content Gallery Slider

Click here