Add A Notice Bar To Your WordPress Website With Simple Notices Pro from WordPress Mods

Pippin Williamson has released another great little plugin for his members. Simple Notices Pro lets you display sitewide notices on your website.

The plugin works differently to the Quick Notice Bar plugin that I reviewed the other day. The plugin uses custom post types so instead of a simple settings area, you can add new notices via a notice section i.e. it works in the same way as adding posts or pages.

There are 5 settings you can configure for each notice. The notice can be switched on and off and you can only show it to logged in users if you wish. There are 10 colour schemes to choose from: blue, light blue, red, light red, orange, light orange, green, light green, light and dark.

When the notice gets closed you can choose whether the notice fades or slides away. Alternatively, you can use no effect at all. There are 24 option icons that can be used next to notices too, ranging from stars and arrows to PDF and Facebook images.

As you add notices via the post editor, everything that normally be added to a post or page can be added to your notice. This includes quotes, links, images and lists.

Unfortunately the default link colour is grey. This makes it difficult to see links in most of the colour schemes. The ability to change the colour of links in a future version would be welcomed though in the mean time I think all that needs addresses is the default link colour for each colour scheme. This is important as the majority of users will add links to their notices so that visitors are redirected to announcements etc.

Simple Notices Pro works a little differently to other notice plugins. Most notice bars have an icon that allows the user to hide the notice though the notice can be shown again by clicking on the icon again. This is useful for displaying retweet and Facebook like buttons and links to your latest blog posts. I don’t believe Simple Notices Pro was created for this. It was created for important messages for visitors or members that can be hidden once the user has read the message.

Whereas most notices push down the page content, Simple Notices Pro displays a notice over the content of the page. This usually obscures the site logo, advertising and top navigation links, and as a consequence, forces the visitor to view the notice. Once the visitor or logged in user closes a notice, it is never shown again. This is good for those of you who want to ensure that you don’t annoy your readers. I actually found this slightly frustrating when testing the plugin as I closed the notice to see the closing effect and I couldn’t see the notice again. I tried some simple things like updating the notice and changing it from published to draft to published again but the notice didn’t show. In the end I had to view the notice through Internet Explorer instead of Chrome. This is perhaps testament to how well the plugin ensures that users don’t see a notice again once they have closed it.

It’s difficult to compare Simple Notices Pro to other notice plugins as it doesn’t work in the same way as other alternatives. It works great as a way of reminding visitors of something specific such as scheduled downtime or a major announcement; rather than a tool to push traffic to posts and social media sites.

Pippin has been very responsive to member suggestions too so I suspect the plugin will see a lot of great new features added over the next few weeks such as only displaying the notice on certain categories, only displaying to unlogged in users and the ability to remove the close button so the notice remains visible at all times.

The plugin is free to members of Pippins Plugins. You can download the plugin by itself for only $6 but considering it only costs $6 to become a member for a month I recommend signing up as a member instead so that you get access to the other great plugins Pippin has released such as Restrict Content Pro. More information about the plugin can be found at the link below.

Thanks,
Kevin

Link: Simple Notices Pro

Add A Notice Bar To Your WordPress Website With Simple Notices Pro is a post from: WordPress Mods.

©2012 WordPress Mods. All Rights Reserved.

Original Article can be found at Add A Notice Bar To Your WordPress Website With Simple Notices Pro WordPress Mods : WordPress Mods - WordPress Themes, Plugins and Modifications

4 Free Photography WordPress Themes From H & H Color Lab from WordPress Mods

Professional photo lab H & H Color Lab have released 4 free WordPress themes for photographers. There are slight differences between the themes though they all share common features such as a full screen backgrounds.

They also come with social media profile buttons for your RSS feed, Facebook fan page, Twitter profile and much more. A blog and gallery template is included with each theme too. Add This sharing buttons have also been integrated underneath posts so that visitors can share your content.

1. Black and White

Info & Download | Demo

2. Elegant Photography

Info & Download | Demo

3. Photo Book

Info & Download | Demo

4. Pure Photography

Info & Download | Demo

All themes come with their own options area. There are 4 sections: basic settings, gallery settings, background slider and social media links. In the basic settings section you can upload your logo, change what fonts are used, change the colour of links and change the copyright notice at the bottom of the page.

There are 6 different types of galleries to choose from. You can change the animation speed between images and whether images are shown in a slideshow automatically.

7 different background slider effects can be chosen and you can change the time between slides and the speed in which slides transition. You can add up to 8 images for your background slider. All of these images can be uploaded via the settings area.

The Add This sharing links can be enabled and disabled via the settings area. You can also add up to 7 social media profile icons in the footer: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon and RSS.

Whilst these themes are not the most advanced photography themes available, they are free to download and are perfect for those of you who just want to display your portfolio online. They’ve got a pretty good options area too and the background slider works really well. I recommend giving it a try.

Thanks,
Kevin

4 Free Photography WordPress Themes From H & H Color Lab is a post from: WordPress Mods.

©2012 WordPress Mods. All Rights Reserved.

Original Article can be found at 4 Free Photography WordPress Themes From H & H Color Lab WordPress Mods : WordPress Mods - WordPress Themes, Plugins and Modifications

WP Pro Business Giving Away Over $9,000 In Prizes In Huge WordPress Giveaway from WordPress Mods

Adam W Warner from WP Pro Business has caused quite a stir in the WordPress community with his huge WordPress competition. Adam is giving away over $9,000 worth of prizes. You can win resources, WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, hosting, e-books and more.

Josh Kohlbach from Thirsty Affiliates introduced me to Adam via email. I was curious about the man who launched this great competition and how the competition came to fruition. Thankfully, Adam was kind enough to answer some questions about the competition for you all. I hope you enjoy the interview

For the benefit of those who don’t know you, can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?

I’m a web development consultant specializing in the use of WordPress and WordPress Multisite. My development philosophy focuses not only on solutions, but also education, empowerment, and support for my clients. I will provide you the tools to achieve your project goals, and I will show you how to use those tools.

I’m also an addict. My addiction to the Internet started in the early 1990’s when a fellow employee at the pizza joint I worked at invited me over to get on the BBS (Bulletin Board System). I was awake all night watching orange text messages scroll vertically across the screen. I was amazed at the opportunity for connecting with others across the globe. I still am.

Now in 2012, there is not only the ability to connect with others on a global basis through existing web sites but you can present your voice, message, or company through your own site, and be in control of the content that you display and how you engage your audience. Having an effective website used to mean understanding a whole new language (or several), but with the right tools installed, you can communicate through your own web presence effectively and easily.

I’m a firm believer in giving back to the online community as often as possible and have donated my time to create and support sites for various people and projects such as The Girls Guide to Homelessness. I also run WP Pro Business and have created many freely available WordPress tutorials here and here.

What does WP Pro Business offer WordPress users?

WP Pro Business leverages over 20+ years of combined team experience utilizing WordPress, SEO, Blogging and Online Marketing techniques to deliver freely available tutorials and reference materials that allow businesses and individuals to create and refine their own websites and Internet marketing efforts. Our focus is to help others succeed.

You’re hosting arguably the biggest ever competition for WordPress. What inspired you to launch this huge giveaway?

Our inspiration was to continue to build our reputation in the WordPress and Internet Marketing community. We believe that our good standing with the sponsors who have graciously donated their premium products is proof positive that we are not a “fly-by-night” resource for those truly serious about building a long-standing and successful business powered by WordPress.

We’ve been involved in the WordPress community since 2004 and have used every single product in our giveaway. We know the benefits that these products provide and our goal is to share those benefits with the lucky winners.

What can WordPress users win in the competition?

There are 29 premium WordPress plugins, themes, and Internet Marketing tools up for grabs in this giveaway. That’s over $9,000 worth of products. Below is the list, but you’ll need to view the giveaway page for further descriptions and links.

• WPMUDEV Membership
• Gravity Forms
• BackupBuddy
• Wishlist Member
• Associate-O-Matic
• WP Candy Quarterly Magazine
• PremiumPress
• 8BIT Standard Theme
• WP eStore
• WP Affiliate Platform
• WP eMember
• MyEcoverMaker
• ThirstyAffiliates
• The Word Chef – Digital Dining Room Membership
• Google+ Traffic Machine Plugin
• WP Mail Ads
• WP Sales Graphics
• Internet Marketing Graphics
• HostGator 25% Discount
• Newbie Writer’s Guide
• Fublo WP Support Package
• MaxInbound Plugin
• OutVeo Outsource Management Software
• Simple Page Tester
• Marketeer Theme
• Diving Into Genesis
• WP Video Club
• Product Style Amazon Plugin
• WP Website Network Manual

So what do you have to do to enter?

Entering is very simple, just go to the entry page here. View the prizes up for grabs. Then choose the entry method you prefer. You can enter in four different ways:

• Tweet About the Giveaway: +3 entries
• “Like” WP Pro Business on Facebook: +3 entries
• Subscribe to Our Website (100% FREE): +10 entries
• Write a Post on your Blog: +5 entries

Remember, you can even choose multiple entry methods in order to receive multiple entries. Not only that, but don’t forget that you can enter multiple times every single day until the giveaway ends!

Any advise to those who want to enter the competition?

Enter our giveaway with all four methods above, and do it daily (except for subscribing by email which can only be done once).

The competition ends on February 29th at 12:01am EST so make sure you submit your entries before the deadline a week from now. Best of luck to everyone who enters and many thanks to Adam W Warner for taking part in this interview.

Link: WP Pro Business Giveaway

WP Pro Business Giving Away Over $9,000 In Prizes In Huge WordPress Giveaway is a post from: WordPress Mods.

©2012 WordPress Mods. All Rights Reserved.

Original Article can be found at WP Pro Business Giving Away Over $9,000 In Prizes In Huge WordPress Giveaway WordPress Mods : WordPress Mods - WordPress Themes, Plugins and Modifications

WordPress Plugin Developers Need To Stop Adding Plugins To The Top Level Admin Menu from WordPress Mods

Over the last year or so I’ve seen more and more WordPress plugin developers adding their plugin menu to the top level of the admin menu rather than as a sub level. I find this growing trend very frustrating as it clutters up the admin area needlessly.

At the moment I have just as many plugin menus in the top level of the WP Mods admin area as I do in the sub menu of the settings and tools menus. Below is a screenshot of my admin menu. I have also pasted a screenshot of the default WordPress menu for comparison to illustrate what the top level menu looks like before plugin developers wreak havoc on it.

By default WordPress has 11 top level menus in the admin area:

• Dashboard
• Posts
• Media
• Links
• Pages
• Comments
• Appearance
• Plugins
• Users
• Tools
• Settings

The only top level menu I’d be happy to see moved to a sub level is links as I rarely use it on my sites (I have used it on my personal blog though I don’t update that much). I appreciate why links are in the top level of the menu as some bloggers update their blogroll frequently. Likewise, I’ve not used the comments menu since moving my comments to Livefyre but previously it was a section I visited regularly to moderate comments and spam. Media is a section I don’t tend to visit often either though I do find it useful to have it in the main menu as images are such an important part of blogging.

Due to the theme and plugins I’m using on WP Mods, I also have adn additional 11 menus in the top level menu of the admin area. This has doubled the size of the left hand side admin menu in my admin area.

• Jetpack
• Social Metrics
• BuySellAds
• Forms
• Theme Options
• Pippity
• Simply Exclude
• Performance
• WSD Security
• SEO
• Thank Me Later

Clearly, many of these items shouldn’t be here. Many WordPress plugin developers, and to a lesser degree theme developers, are taking liberties with the admin menu in order to give their plugin more exposure in your admin area.

Where Should Plugin Menu Links Be Placed?

In the ‘Determining Location for New Menus‘ guide, WordPress advise that:

Before creating a new menu, first decide if the menu should be a top-level menu, or a sub-level menu item. A top-level menu displays as new section in the administration menus and contains sub-level menu items. A sub-level menu means the menu item is a member of an existing menu.

It is rare that a plugin would require the creation of a top-level menu. If the plugin introduces an entirely new concept or feature to WordPress, and needs many screens to do it, then that plugin may warrant a new top-level menu. Adding a top-level menu should only be considered if you really need multiple, related screens to make WordPress do something it was not originally designed to accomplish. Examples of new top-level menus might include job management or conference management. Please note with the native post type registration, WordPress automatically creates top-level menus to manage those features.

If the creation of a top-level menu is not necessary, decide under what top-level menu to place your sub-level menu item. As a point of reference, most plugins add sub-level menu items underneath existing WordPress top-level menus. For example, the Backup plugin adds a sub-level menu option to the Tools top-level menu. Please note with the taxonomy registration, WordPress automatically creates sub-level menus under the applicable top-level menu to manage those features.

The part that really stands out for me in this guide is that it is rare that a plugin requires the creation of a top level menu and should only be considered if there are multiple related screens required.

It is rare that a plugin would require the creation of a top-level menu. If the plugin introduces an entirely new concept or feature to WordPress, and needs many screens to do it, then that plugin may warrant a new top-level menu. Adding a top-level menu should only be considered if you really need multiple, related screens to make WordPress do something it was not originally designed to accomplish.

The way I see it, the top level should be for menus that you access all the time. It should be for menus that you check every day or at least every week. I login to WP Mods pretty much every day. Even when I’m not writing articles I’m doing other things like checking stats or ensuring schedule posts publish ok. As such, I know which admin menus I use most frequently.

So let’s look at the 11 additional top level menus that have been added to my admin area and see if they are really needed.

• Jetpack – I don’t really check the stats that Jetpack provides though the recent Jetpack update has actually tided the admin menu up a little by moving VaultPress from a top level menu link to a sub menu of Jetpack. Akismet is also placed under the Jetpack menu. Individually I wouldn’t want Jetpack, VaultPress or Akismet in the top menu themselves though I have less issues with them all being grouped together.
• Social Metrics – Social Metrics is a useful plugin that shows you how your latest posts and pages have performed on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. It’s a text book example of a plugin that shouldn’t be in the top level menu. Bearing that in mind, I do find that I check it semi-frequently and must admit that I find it quite useful being in the top level.
• BuySellAds – One of the best examples of a plugin developer taking advantage of the menu area to promote their brand. There is absolutely no reason for the BuySellAds link to be listed in the top level of the menu. I don’t even use BuySellAds to sell banner ads on WP Mods anymore, I only use it to sell a banner ad in the WP Mods RSS feed. After entering your BuySellAds site key and changed some settings, you will never need to view the settings page ever again. It needs to be removed.
• Forms – I’m of two minds on whether having Gravity Forms in the top level of the admin menu. On the one hand, there are several areas such as new forms, edit forms, entries and updates etc. Checking entries will be particularly useful for many Gravity Forms users though apart from periodically checking the spam bin, I never have to view the forms menu as all entries are emailed directly to me. I’d personally move it to under the settings area.
• Theme Options – The theme that I am currently using has its own top level menu for the options area. This is very common with themes with options areas. I would personally prefer all theme options menus to be placed as a sub menu of Appearance as after you setup a theme you only rarely go back to change the settings again.
• Pippity – I use the Pippity plugin for displaying a pop up for the WP Mods newsletter. After setting up your forms and split testing different designs to see what works, you don’t need to go back into the settings area and change anything. The only reason for accessing the Pippity menu on a regular basis would be to check stats but the analytics section doesn’t work so I’d prefer to remove it.
• Simply Exclude – Another example of a plugin that has no right to be in the top level of the admin menu. Simply Exclude lets you exclude specific categories from the front page, archives, search results or your feed. Once you’ve set it up, you’ll never go back to it, so it should be placed as a sub menu of the settings or tools menu.
• Performance – W3 total Cache is a huge plugin that has around a dozen sub menus (though many of these such as FAQ, support and about could be placed on the one page). I’d prefer to see this placed as a sub menu under tools as after setting things up you won’t be accessing this area often.
• WSD Security – WSD is a great security plugin for WordPress. I’d prefer to see it placed under the Tools menu as it’s not something you need to access frequently.
• SEO – I feel the same way about the WordPress SEO plugin from Yoast as I do for W3 Total Cache. The plugin has lots of sub menus though once it’s all set up you won’t need to go back often. As such, I’d rather see it removed. (On a side issue, it’s good to see Yoast finally remove those annoying dashboard widgets that promoted his site in the admin area).
• Thank Me Later – The thank me later plugin lets you send an email to first time commenter’s on your site. There is no need for this to be in the top level menu.

I’m sure everyone has a different opinion as to what should and shouldn’t be added to the top level menu. It really depends on how and what you use WordPress for. I’d personally like to see security, SEO, caching and other maintenance plugins tucked away under the tools menu. These plugins have lots of different settings that need to be configured though once you have set everything up you won’t need to go back regularly.

A new stats menu link could be useful to bloggers who check stats a lot however the tools menu is probably just as appropriate. For example, on WP Mods I could move Jetpack site stats, Social Metrics and Pippity Analytics and have 3 less top level menu links.

So what can be done about all of this? Well, WordPress have been clear that it is rare for a plugin to be added to the top level menu though I don’t think it’s practical for WordPress to check every single plugin to ensure this happens. Therefore I would love to see WordPress developing an option in the settings area that lets you define where plugin menus are placed. For example, a ‘plugin menu settings’ page would allow you to set whether a plugin was listed in the top level of the menu or as a sub menu of tools, settings, media, posts, users etc.

Surely there is a plugin available that can do this……

WordPress Plugin Solution?

In my research I came across two WordPress plugins that let you change what is shown in your admin menu: Simple Admin Menu Editor & Admin Menu Editor.

Simple Admin Menu Editor is a simple plugin that lets you show or hide specific menu items. It hasn’t been updated in about a year and a half and unfortunately the plugin doesn’t work. When I tested the plugin it gave me an error message about not having permission to make a change to the menu. When I went back to the admin area I found that instead of hiding the one menu I wanted to hide, the plugin hid several, including important ones like posts and settings etc. To resolve the issue I had to deactivate the plugin. Not recommended.

Admin Menu Editor works a lot better. It is very user friendly and has a lot of cool features. In addition to customising your admin menu, it also lets you change the required capability level for accessing a plugin menu. You can’t lower a plugins restriction level however you can increase it (which is what you generally want).

The plugin interface is really user friendly. Top level admin links are shown on the left hand side whilst sub menus are shown on the right hand side. The right hand column changes depending on what menu you have selected on the left hand side. You can cut, copy, paste, add, show, hide and delete menus. You can also add separators to help you customise different sections of your menu. Strangely, there is an option for sorting links by ascending or descending order for sub menu links but this is absent from the top level menu.

One of the best features of the plugin is the ability to load the default menu back up at any time. If you upgrade to the pro version ($15) you can import and export your menus too.

Unfortunately, the plugin didn’t do everything that it was supposed to do. Hiding specific menu items seemed to work well as did moving items to a different location on the top level. I’m sure many WordPress users would find this useful however I didn’t want to delete or hide menu links completely, I just wanted to move some top level menu links to a lower level.

Sadly, moving top level links to a lower level doesn’t work. You are supposed to select a link, cut it and then paste it in the sub menu of your choosing. Cutting and pasting works on the top level however the paste option doesn’t work in the sub level. This means that you can’t move unwanted menu links from the top level to a sub level, which is specifically what I need the plugin to do.

Perhaps this isn’t a big though. Perhaps it doesn’t work because the top level menus that I tried to move also had sub menus and WordPress isn’t setup for 3 levels of menus. Though this makes the cut and paste feature kind of pointless as there are no top level menus that have no sub menus. Hopefully this issue will be addressed in a future version as it would make Admin Menu Editor the perfect solution for customising your admin menu.

Overview

There is a need for some plugins to be placed in the top level of the admin menu however in my opinion the vast majority of plugins that are being added there by plugin developers should be placed in a sub level. I appreciate that developers want to give their plugins and their websites maximum exposure though I don’t think that placing links in the top level of the admin menu or automatically adding self-promoting widgets to the WordPress dashboard is the way to do it.

I have absolutely no problem with developers adding logos and and links back to their site in their plugins and themes and I’m sure I’ll do the same when I release products in the future. Though it’s possible for plugin developers to push traffic to their own websites without cluttering up the users admin area and making their overall WordPress experience less productive.

Here’s hoping more plugin developers take note of the official WordPress guidelines in future and only add their plugin to the main menu when absolutely necessary. I’m a realist though and know that this isn’t something that will happen without a friendly nudge in the right direction by WordPress themselves (i.e. enforcing their guidelines).

Regardless of where plugin developers place their plugin in the admin menu, I hope that WordPress add the option of customising the admin menu to the WordPress core in future. This would allow all WordPress users to hide menu links of features they never use and move links of less important options to a more convenient location.

As always, yours thoughts on this subject are welcomed, encouraged and appreciated

Thanks for reading,
Kevin

WordPress Plugin Developers Need To Stop Adding Plugins To The Top Level Admin Menu is a post from: WordPress Mods.

©2012 WordPress Mods. All Rights Reserved.

Original Article can be found at WordPress Plugin Developers Need To Stop Adding Plugins To The Top Level Admin Menu WordPress Mods : WordPress Mods - WordPress Themes, Plugins and Modifications

Display A Sticky Message At The Top Of Your Page With Quick Notice Bar from WordPress Mods

Quick Notice Bar is a free WordPress plugin that lets you add a bar at the top of your pages to promote offers, make announcements and more.

Setting up your notice bar only takes two minutes. You just need to define your message, link label and link URL. The background colour, text colour and font can all be changed here too.

The arrows that hide the notice bar and bring it back down can be changed. By default the notice bar adds a tweet this button and allows you to add links to your Twitter and Facebook profiles too. Additional buttons can be added by entering the code in the custom code field (e.g. Google+, LinkedIn buttons etc).

The notice bar looks good. I was impressed with how easy it easy to add an announcement to the top of the page. I did however find that the arrows to hide and show the bar didn’t always work

Quick Notice Bar is a relatively basic plugin though a premium version with more features is available for $10. The premium version lets you highlight important messages, auto post to social media websites, schedule notices and much more.

I recommend checking Quick Notice Bar out if you are looking for an easy way to promote offers or direct traffic to your best articles.

Thanks,
Kevin

Link: Quick Notice Bar

Display A Sticky Message At The Top Of Your Page With Quick Notice Bar is a post from: WordPress Mods.

©2012 WordPress Mods. All Rights Reserved.

Original Article can be found at Display A Sticky Message At The Top Of Your Page With Quick Notice Bar WordPress Mods : WordPress Mods - WordPress Themes, Plugins and Modifications