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	<title>The WordPress Freelancer &#187; Development</title>
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		<title>Easy PHP II: Variables</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/easy-php-ii-variables/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/easy-php-ii-variables/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:58:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PHP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tutorials]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=986</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the previous <a title="PHP Introductin" href="http://www.wplancer.com/easy-php-i-introduction/">introductory PHP tutorial</a> we talked about what PHP looks like and in what kind of environment it runs. To sum up, we said that we write PHP code between tags that look like this: “<em>&#60;?php … ?&#62;</em>” and we end every command line must and in semicolon (<em>;</em>). We use “<em>echo</em>” or “<em>print</em>” in order for PHP to show things to us.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><a href="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/tux-php-variables.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-990 alignright" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/tux-php-variables-249x249.jpg" alt="" width="249" height="249" /></a></strong>In the previous <a title="PHP Introductin" href="http://www.wplancer.com/easy-php-i-introduction/">introductory PHP tutorial</a> we talked about what PHP looks like and in what kind of environment it runs. To sum up, we said that we write PHP code between tags that look like this: “<em>&lt;?php … ?&gt;</em>” and we end every command line must and in semicolon (<em>;</em>). We use “<em>echo</em>” or “<em>print</em>” in order for PHP to show things to us. We also said that we need to have Apache server, PHP and MySQL installed in our computer or server so that PHP can run and we concluded that using a ready-made package like XAMPP, WAMP, or MAMP to achieve that would be optimal. Today we are going to learn about PHP variables, their kinds and use.</p>
<h3>What are Variables</h3>
<p>Here is what a variable looks like:</p>
<p>{code type=php}</p>
<p>&lt;?php</p>
<p>// Our first variable</p>
<p>$cool_variable = &#8216;This s a really cool variable&#8217;;</p>
<p>?&gt;</p>
<p>{/code}</p>
<p>Variables are used to hold some value or data for a certain time so that you can use it when you need it later in your code. Variables start with a dollar sign ($).  A variable name must start with a letter or an underscore &#8220;_&#8221; .  A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (a-z, A-Z, 0-9, and _ )  and should not contain spaces. When a variable name is made of more than one word, it can be separated with an underscore ($cool_variable), or written in camel case ($coolVariable).  Variables can hold data of different types.</p>
<p><strong>PHP Variables Data Types</strong></p>
<p>There are four PHP variables data types. Let&#8217;s deduce them by example:</p>
<p>{code type=php}</p>
<p>&lt;?php</p>
<p>$first_type = &#8216;This a cool text variable&#8217;; // Just text.</p>
<p>$second_type = 123; // Just a number – note the lack of quotes.</p>
<p>$third_type = 1.23; // Decimal number – note the lack of quotes.</p>
<p>$fourth_type = &#8216; &#8216;; // Just empty  &#8211; cool, isn&#8217;t it.</p>
<p>?&gt;</p>
<p>{/code}</p>
<p>As you can see in above examples, declaring any type of variable is very easy. Every type has a name and they are respectively called: 1. <strong>String</strong>, 2. <strong>Integer</strong>, 3. <strong>Float</strong>, 4. <strong>Boolean</strong>. We don&#8217;t need to tell PHP which data type is variable holding; PHP evaluates the data when you assign it to the variable and then stores it as the appropriate type. Let&#8217;s talk about them in detail.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>String: </strong>A 	series of characters, otherwise called text. There is no practical 	limit on the length of a string or text. A string must be written 	between double or single quotes, otherwise PHP will produce an 	error.</li>
<li><strong>Integer</strong>: 	A whole number (no fractions), such as –43, 0, 1, 27, or 5438. 	Integer numbers should not be wrapped with quotes, otherwise they 	will be considered as a string, not an integer i.e. text and not 	number.</li>
<li><strong>Float</strong>: A 	number (usually not a whole number) that includes decimal places, 	such as 5.24 or 123.456789. This is often called a real number or a 	float. A float should not be wrapped with quotes too.</li>
<li><strong>Boolean</strong>: 	A TRUE or FALSE value. Boolean data types represent two possible 	states — TRUE or FALSE. A FALSE boolean is declared 	in several ways  &#8211; at the example above we saw only one of them. 	Here is the whole list:
<ul>
<li>The string 		<em>FALSE</em> (can be upper- or lowercase)</li>
<li>The integer 0</li>
<li>The float 0.0</li>
<li>An empty 		string (as in the example above)</li>
<li>The 		one-character string &#8217;0&#8242;</li>
<li>The constant 		NULL</li>
</ul>
<p>On the other hand, 	any other values in a Boolean variable are considered 	TRUE. If you echo a Boolean variable, the value FALSE displays as a 	blank string; the value TRUE echoes as a 1.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Assigning data to variables</strong></p>
<p>The equals sign we used in the above statements is called the <strong><em>assignment operator</em></strong>, as it is used to assign values to variables.  There are a ton other <strong><em>PHP operators</em></strong> that we need to know in order to be successful PHP programmers and we will talk about them in our next tutorial <em>PHP Operators</em>, so stay tuned.</p>
<p><strong>Further Readings:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Understanding 	PHP Data Types: 	<a href="http://eu.dummies.com/WileyCDA/how-to/content/understanding-php-data-types.html#ixzz0eONIuWQ5">http://eu.dummies.com/WileyCDA/how-to/content/understanding-php-data-types.html</a></li>
<li>PHP 	Variables: <a href="http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/php_variables.asp">http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/php_variables.asp</a></li>
<li>What 	is a Variable: <a href="http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/php/php2p1.html">http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/php/php2p1.html</a></li>
<li>Learn 	PHP from Scratch: 	<a href="http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/php/learn-php-from-scratch-a-training-regimen/">http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/php/learn-php-from-scratch-a-training-regimen/</a></li>
</ol>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Easy PHP I: Introduction</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/easy-php-i-introduction/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/easy-php-i-introduction/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:36:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PHP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tutorials]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=882</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I've been involved with PHP since I got into the web design and development world. This is because since in my beginnings I chose to use WordPress as a CMS to build websites with and since that day I have been needing PHP to build WordPress themes (and plug-ins lately). I have learned a lot of PHP tips and tricks, but I have not yet been able to study it regularly and eventually an advanced programmer as I aim.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p><img class="size-medium wp-image-925 alignright" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/php-tux-249x249.jpg" alt="php-tux" width="249" height="249" /></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been involved with PHP since I got into the web design and development world. This is because since in my beginnings I chose to use WordPress as a CMS to build websites with and since that day I have been needing PHP to build WordPress themes (and plug-ins lately). I have learned a lot of PHP tips and tricks, but I have not yet been able to study it regularly and eventually an advanced programmer as I aim. Hence I would love to be fluent in PHP and I know that it would open a whole new business world in front of me. So, in order to push myself into the academical learning process, I will be writing down my learning experience into tutorials. In this way I hope to kill two birds with one stone: learn deeper PHP for myself and let others learn faster and hopefully better through these tutorials too. So, let&#8217;s get the hands dirty.</p>
<h3>What the Heck is PHP</h3>
<p>To get started we need to know what we are talking about. There are two different opinions as where PHP derives from. The first one tells us it stands for “Personal Home Page Tools” and the second one stands for “Hypertext Preprocessor”. No matter where it derives as a acronym, PHP is server-side programming language. It is the one responsible for taking our requests to the server and bringing to us what the server gives it. PHP can be embedded within your HTML and vice versa which is something that makes it a great language. PHP file extension end in “.php”. PHP supports a ton of databases such as: MySQL, Informix, Oracle, Sybase, Solid, PostgreSQL, Generic ODBC, etc, but it seems to have chosen the first one, MySQL, to marry with. The last but not the least, PHP is an open source software and is free to download and use.</p>
<h3>Why Should I Use PHP</h3>
<p>PHP is free, open source and has a great community after it. PHP is now mature and can fulfill your every wish. Furthermore, it&#8217;s aimed for the web and it gets to work done. PHP is compatible with almost all servers used today (Apache, IIS, etc.) and almost every hosting company offers PHP enabled <a title="Web Hosting Service" href="http://www.webhostingsearch.com/" target="_blank">web hosting service</a>. PHP is also easy and fun to learn as these tutorials will prove it. Moreover, PHP is so popular that if you&#8217;re looking for a career in the web design/web development industry then you just have to know it. Final word: it has proven itself over the years to be one of the best options for dynamic web applications.</p>
<h3>Am I Ready to Learn PHP</h3>
<p>Off course you are! However, you need to have a basic understanding of (X)HTML. That is all you need. However, knowing some JavaScript and CSS would make the situation a lot more fun.</p>
<h3>How to Start with PHP</h3>
<p>You need a developing environment to write and run PHP code. Basically you need to have Apache Server, MySQL and PHP installed on your computer. You can install them separately, but it is not a wise go. The best option to start with whether you are a Linux, Mac, Windows or even Solaris user is XAMPP. XAMPP is a compilation of Apache server, MySQL and PHP and a bunch of other applications like PHPMyAdmin, all-in-one. As I mentioned, it is cross-platform and really easy to use. I use it myself and I love it. You can download at <a title="Download XAMPP" href="http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html">ApacheFriends.org</a>. However, there are other options that you can consider like : WAMP specifically for Windows found at <a title="Download WAMP" href="http://www.wampserver.com">WampServer.com</a>. MAMP specifically for Mac found at <a title="Download MAMP" href="http://www.mamp.info">Mamp.info</a>. Pick and choose!</p>
<h3>Basic PHP Syntax</h3>
<p>A PHP file normally contains HTML tags, just like an HTML file, and some PHP scripting code. Below, we have an example of a simple PHP script which sends the text &#8220;PHP is cool, right?&#8221; to the browser:</p>
<p>{code type=php}<br />
&lt;html&gt;<br />
&lt;body&gt;<br />
&lt;?php echo &#8220;PHP is cool, right?&#8221;; ?&gt;<br />
&lt;/body&gt;<br />
&lt;/html&gt;<br />
{/code}</p>
<p>Here is the result we seen in the browser form the above PHP code.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-917" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/php-is-cool.png" alt="" width="600" height="285" /></p>
<p>Each code line in PHP must end with a semicolon (;). The semicolon is a separator and is used to distinguish one set of instructions from another. Also, as you can see the text is wrapped with double quotes. We can use single quotes in its place too. There is a slight difference between double and single quotes that we are going to discuss in the next tutorial. Also, there are two basic statements to output text with PHP: echo and print. In the example above we have used the echo statement to output the text &#8220;My PHP Script&#8221;. Note: The file must have a .php extension. If the file has a .html extension, the PHP code will not be executed.</p>
<h3>Comments in PHP</h3>
<p>Commenting your code is a programming virtue. It is a practice of best programmers and one of principles of programming engineering. Commenting your code helps you to understand what you have been writing in the past as you might forget programming tricks and functions once in a while, also, it help others to expand and improve your code easily. So, always comment your code.</p>
<p>In PHP, we use // and # to make a single-line comment or /* and */ to make a multi-line comment block. Have a look at the example below.</p>
<p>{code type=php}</p>
<p>&lt;html&gt;<br />
&lt;body&gt;<br />
&lt;?php<br />
//This is a single line comment<br />
#This is a singe line comment too<br />
/*<br />
This is a comment block. Works the</p>
<p>same way as commenting CSS code.<br />
*/<br />
?&gt;<br />
&lt;/body&gt;<br />
&lt;/html&gt;</p>
<p>{/code}</p>
<p>This is how PHP looks like, but this is only the first step. To learn more fun things about PHP, read the next tutorial. <em><strong>Note</strong>: If the tutorial name does not have an active link, it means it is not posted yet, so stay tuned.</em></p>
<h3>What is next:</h3>
<ul>
<li>PHP Introduction</li>
<li><a title="PHP Variables" href="http://www.wplancer.com/easy-php-ii-variables/">PHP Variables</a></li>
<li>PHP Operators</li>
<li>PHP Arrays</li>
<li>PHP Loops
<ul>
<li>PHP If … Else</li>
<li>PHP While</li>
<li>PHP Foreach</li>
<li>PHP For</li>
<li>PHP Switch/Case</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>PHP Functions</li>
<li>PHP Forms
<ul>
<li>$_GET</li>
<li>$_POST</li>
<li>$_REQUEST</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>PHP Cookies</li>
<li>PHP Sessions</li>
</ul>
<h3>Resources:</h3>
<ol>
<li>PHP Introduction: <a href="http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/php_intro.asp">http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/php_intro.asp</a></li>
<li>PHP Syntax: <a href="http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/php_syntax.asp">http://www.w3schools.com/PHP/php_syntax.asp</a></li>
<li>Learn PHP from Scratch: A Training Regimen: <a href="http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/php/learn-php-from-scratch-a-training-regimen/">http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/php/learn-php-from-scratch-a-training-regimen/</a></li>
</ol>
<p>Case</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Accessible CSS</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/accessible-css/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/accessible-css/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:18:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CSS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=654</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I needed to hack a WordPress theme and I got my hands dirty with CSS code, sometimes I came across with in-line written CSS code i.e. every CSS selector occupied only one row. I found this practice very ugly and not scannable. I was used to CSS written in the classic way where every [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="size-full wp-image-649 alignright" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/wordpress-themes-css.png" alt="wordpress-themes-css" width="250" height="250" /> When I needed to hack a WordPress theme and I got my hands dirty with CSS code, sometimes I came across with in-line written CSS code i.e. every CSS selector occupied only one row. I found this practice very ugly and not scannable. I was used to CSS written in the classic way where every value is written in a new line. So, I would often break the single lines into multiple ones to distinguish them better. But this did not last forever. What happened?</p>
<p>Not very far in the past, I came across a article about <a title="Single Line CSS" href="http://orderedlist.com/articles/single-line-css" target="_blank">single line CSS</a>, where <a title="Steve Smith" href="http://orderedlist.com/about/" target="_blank">Steve Smith</a>, the designer at <a title="OrderedList.com" href="http://orderedlist.com/" target="_blank">OrderedList.Com</a> had written of the same topic. He had gone thought the same dilemma I went and his conclusion is no different from mine. He says:</p>
<blockquote><p>But imagine now that you have over 200 selectors, each with a laundry-list of attributes. That&#8217;s quite a mess to search through. My issue with CSS files like these is when they get large, it becomes very difficult to scan the document for a particular selector. They&#8217;re all separated by loads of attribute and value pairs. So what if we took out that separation, and put each selector, <em>and</em> it’s attributes and values all on the same line?</p></blockquote>
<p>Let&#8217;s look at a live example taken from a site I have been developing lately. This is the way the code would look like if it was coded classically.</p>
<p>{code type=css}</p>
<p>h1{<br />
float: left;<br />
width: 120px;<br />
height: 40px;<br />
margin-top: 35px;<br />
}<br />
h1 span{<br />
display: none;<br />
}<br />
h2 {<br />
padding: 0 0 15px 0;<br />
font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;<br />
font-size:18px;<br />
line-height: 20px;<br />
color: #159089;<br />
font-weight:200;}<br />
h2 a {<br />
color: #159089<br />
}<br />
h3 {<br />
padding: 0 0 15px 0;<br />
font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;<br />
font-size:16px;<br />
line-height: 18px;<br />
color: #159089;<br />
font-weight:200;<br />
}<br />
h4 {<br />
font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;<br />
font-size:22px;<br />
line-height: 24px;<br />
color: #d21d1d;<br />
font-weight:500;<br />
text-align:left;<br />
}<br />
h5 {<br />
padding: 10px 0 0 0;<br />
font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;<br />
font-size:16px;<br />
line-height: 19px;<br />
color: #4b4141;<br />
font-weight:500;<br />
text-align:left;<br />
}</p>
<p>{/code}</p>
<p>And this is actual code I have coded of the site using the single line method.</p>
<p>{code type=css}</p>
<p>h1{ float: left; width: 120px; height: 40px; margin-top: 35px;}<br />
h1 span{ display: none; }<br />
h2 { padding: 0 0 15px 0; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:18px; line-height: 20px; color: #159089; font-weight:200;}<br />
h2 a { color: #159089 }<br />
h3 { padding: 0 0 15px 0; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:16px; line-height: 18px; color: #159089; font-weight:200;}<br />
h4 { font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:22px; line-height: 24px; color: #d21d1d; font-weight:500; text-align:left;}<br />
h5 { padding: 10px 0 0 0; font-family: Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:16px; line-height: 19px; color:#4b4141; font-weight:500; text-align:left;}</p>
<p>{/code}</p>
<p>Note the length of the first sample and keep in mind that this is only less than 5% of all the CSS code I wrote for that site. Can you imagine how long the file would be if it weren&#8217;t in a single line and how difficult it would be to look for a certain selector to edit? You would spend more time browsing up and down thought the code rather than actually writing or editing it. That is why I chose to write all my CSS code in single line selectors method, so that I can speed up my work and spend less time looking for selectors in a super-long CSS file.</p>
<p>So, why not give it a try yourself? I think it is worth trying and I strongly hope you will get to love it as I do now. What do you think?</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pack your WordPress theme with the necessary CSS</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/pack-your-wordpress-theme-with-the-necessary-css/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/pack-your-wordpress-theme-with-the-necessary-css/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:11:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CSS]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=646</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[WordPress themes are being a great online resource for everybody to use, modify and share. This applies to GPL themes only though. However, in order to offer our online neighbors good themes that they will be happy using, theme developers, including me, should take care of some peculiar aspects in themes such as the use [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="size-full wp-image-649 alignright" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/wordpress-themes-css.png" alt="wordpress-themes-css" width="250" height="250" />WordPress themes are being a great online resource for everybody to use, modify and share. This applies to GPL themes only though. However, in order to offer our online neighbors good themes that they will be happy using, theme developers, including me, should take care of some peculiar aspects in themes such as the use of CSS code. Along with WordPress theme evolution, some default CSS code needs to be included in very theme so that certain in-built features work well. This is mostly the case of images, but not only.</p>
<p>In WordPress 2.5 several classes for aligning images and block elements like DIV, P, TABLE etc. were introduced.Every theme should have these CSS classes &#8211; you can alter the style if need &#8211; in its <em>style.css</em>. The same classes are used to align images that have a caption, introduced in WordPress 2.6. Three additional CSS classes are needed for the captions, together the alignment and caption classes are:</p>
<p>{code type=css}<br />
.aligncenter, div.aligncenter {<br />
display: block;<br />
margin-left: auto;<br />
margin-right: auto;<br />
}<br />
.alignleft {<br />
float: left;<br />
}<br />
.alignright {<br />
float: right;<br />
}<br />
.wp-caption {<br />
border: 1px solid #ddd;<br />
text-align: center;<br />
background-color: #f3f3f3;<br />
padding-top: 4px;<br />
margin: 10px;<br />
/* optional rounded corners for browsers that support it */<br />
-moz-border-radius: 3px;<br />
-khtml-border-radius: 3px;<br />
-webkit-border-radius: 3px;<br />
border-radius: 3px;<br />
}<br />
.wp-caption img {<br />
margin: 0;<br />
padding: 0;<br />
border: 0 none;<br />
}<br />
.wp-caption p.wp-caption-text {<br />
font-size: 11px;<br />
line-height: 17px;<br />
padding: 0 4px 5px;<br />
margin: 0;<br />
}<br />
{/code}</p>
<p>Additionally, there are a few more WordPress CSS classes that you may optionally wish to style because WordPress generates them by default. I make use of most of them in my themes and I suggest very body uses them in their themes. There they are:</p>
<p>{code type=css}<br />
.categories {&#8230;}<br />
.cat-item {&#8230;}<br />
.current-cat {&#8230;}<br />
.current-cat-parent {&#8230;}<br />
.pagenav {&#8230;}<br />
.page_item {&#8230;}<br />
.current_page_item {&#8230;}<br />
.current_page_parent {&#8230;}<br />
.widget {&#8230;}<br />
.widget_text {&#8230;}<br />
.blogroll {&#8230;}<br />
.linkcat{&#8230;}<br />
{/code}</p>
<p>Did you find this information helpful? Do you have anything else to add? Your opinion is very much appreciated.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>UKlocum, my Latest WordPress Freelance Project</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/uklocum-my-latest-wordpress-freelance-project/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/uklocum-my-latest-wordpress-freelance-project/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:19:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress Theme]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=559</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of my many WordPress freelance projects I am working on is UKlocum. This is one of the many projects I have received from my dear client from Poland, Greg. When Greg contacted me for this project explaining what he wanted to do, he asked me if this could be done with WordPress. He had [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One of my many WordPress freelance projects I am working on is <a title="WordPress Freelance Project UKlocum" href="http://www.uklocum.pl" target="_blank">UKlocum</a>. This is one of the many projects I have received from my dear client from Poland, Greg. When Greg contacted me for this project explaining what he wanted to do, he asked me if this could be done with WordPress. He had seen the potential of WordPress in other previous smaller projects we worked on. Before that, he had thought of getting it custom made from scratch, which would have cost him too much. So, I told him WordPress could handle it and we decided to go with WordPress. This site was a real challenge in terms of functionality and all this post is about is that<strong> WordPress handles perfectly CMS websites</strong>.</p>
<h3>The Theme</h3>
<div id="attachment_584" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/uklocum.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-584" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/uklocum-300x193.png" alt="uklocum" width="300" height="193" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">UKLocum Website Preview</p></div>
<p>This project was pretty urgent and I could not afford to design a new theme from scratch, having a lot of other works in hand.  So I decided to go for a free WordPress theme and tweak it to fit my needs. I looked around and I can say that the theme community of WordPress is doing a great job. What I decided to go for is the <a title="Magazeen WordPress Theme" href="http://wefunction.com/2009/02/free-theme-magazeen/" target="_blank">Magazeen </a>theme that was featured at <a title="Magazeen WordPress Theme" href="http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/23/magazeen-free-magazine-look-wordpress-theme/" target="_blank">Smashing Magazine</a> too. Do you want to know what I tweaked? Read on&#8230;</p>
<h4>Theme Code Cleaning</h4>
<p>As you may already know, coders code differently. That is why getting your hands dirty with others people&#8217;s code is not a very enjoyable experience, moreover, sometimes it is a real pain. That was the case even with <a title="Magazeen WordPress Theme" href="http://wefunction.com/2009/02/free-theme-magazeen/" target="_blank">Magazeen</a> which I expected to be better coded. The problem with code was that there where redundant use of DIVS and not logical cascading of CSS. <em>This is my humble opinion &#8211; check it yourslef to be sure</em>.</p>
<p>Most of code clearing was easy as it consisted in just removing functionality that the theme came prepacked with such as comments form, advanced widgets, thumbs gallery other elements that I cannot recall now, but it is quite boring and frustrating in other tasks as the <strong>drop down menu integration</strong> below.</p>
<h4>Suckerfish drop down menu integration</h4>
<p>The <em>Magazeen</em> theme did not come with a drop down menu, so I needed to integrate one as my client, Greg, required it. Not going into much trouble, I decided to use the <a title="suckerfish drop down menu" href="http://htmldog.com/articles/suckerfish/" target="_blank">Suckerfish Drop Down Menu</a> which I had used several times previously. Because the code was messy, the most difficult part was fitting<em> the theme code to the menu</em> rather than integrating the drop down menu to the theme. However, it ended to be a success.</p>
<h3>Custom Banner Integration</h3>
<p>The custom banner integration consisted in removing some code from the banner section and placing the banner image there. Also, to help SEO of the site, I used a<strong> CSS image replacement</strong> techinque for the logo so that the human fisitors can see the nice image logo whereas the search engines read the given text wrapped in &lt;h1&gt; html tags.</p>
<h4>Color Combination Alteration</h4>
<p>Pawel, my client&#8217;s graphic designer, suggested that we used another color combination that would go better with the logo and banner colors. I implemented that color combination and it resulted in  another success.</p>
<h4>Welcome Guest or User</h4>
<p>Under the menu, I integrated a piece of PHP code from WordPress to <em>welcome</em> a guest visitor and to tell them to log in or to register and also to greet a registered user and to allow them to log out from front page or any other part of the site, so that not to make them to spend time and click to go to admin panel to log out.</p>
<h4>Extended User Register</h4>
<p>Because of the nature of the site and the needs of my client, he asked me if we could extend the register form with other fields. So  I did, using a great plugin called <a title="Visit plugin homepage" href="http://skullbit.com/wordpress-plugin/register-plus/">Register Plus</a>. This is a very feature reach plugin which would allow you do almost anything with your register page, from having your custom logo to adding a lot of functionality and fields. I want to immensely thank the plugin&#8217;s developer for offering such a great plugin to the WordPress community.</p>
<h3>Events Manager</h3>
<p>The most impressing part of the UKLocum is the <a title="Visit plugin homepage" href="http://davidebenini.it/wordpress-plugins/events-manager/">Events Manager</a>. The Events Manager is a plugin developed by <a title="Visit author homepage" href="http://www.davidebenini.it/blog">Davide Benini</a>. It allows you to manage events specifying precise spatial data such as location, town, province, etc. It allows your visitors to book their participation in listed events. In my opinion it is the best plugin out there for <strong>event management</strong>.</p>
<p>When my client, Greg, saw it, he was enthusiastic about it. However, we had to face a challenge with the events. We needed to have people register first for the site, after that they would be able to book the events. Taking in consideration that the plugin developers have fulfilled almost any need in functionality terms, I found the solution fast enough. I employed the <a title="Visit plugin homepage" href="http://nguyenthanhcong.com/hidepost-plugin-for-wordpress/">HidePost</a> to accomplish that task, just another great plugin out there. I hid the booking form from not logged in visitors, telling them to log in or register, if not, to be able to book the event. That was the happy end of our next challenge.</p>
<h3>Bottom Line</h3>
<p>What would be the last words of this long boring post? Hmmm! As you could have already deducted from reading this post, WordPress is being more and more important in nowadays web environment. Also,  running <strong>WordPress freelance business</strong> (perhaps that&#8217;s not the right collocation) is a great way to make a living by making money online. The last but not the least, if you need a <strong>custom WordPress theme</strong> or other <a title="WordPress Servises" href="http://www.wplancer.com/wordpress-freelance-services/"><strong>WordPress services</strong></a> and, if you are looking for a <strong><a title="About WPlancer" href="http://www.wplancer.com/about/">professional and reliable WordPress freelancer</a>, </strong>look no further than my <a title="Contact WPlancer" href="http://www.wplancer.com/contact/"><strong>contact page</strong></a>.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t forget that your opinion is most appreciated &#8211; please share it below.</p>
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		<title>Master: Premium GPL WordPress Theme</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/master-premium-gpl-wordpress-theme/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/master-premium-gpl-wordpress-theme/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:32:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress Theme]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=367</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As announced in the introductory post of Master WordPress theme, I am releasing my first ever free WordPress theme. I am very happy to have achieved this and I am very hopeful that 2009 will be a great year of success for my WordPress freelance experience. Below I have taken an two paragraphs from my [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As announced in the introductory post of Master WordPress theme, I am releasing my first ever free WordPress theme. I am very happy to have achieved this and I am very hopeful that 2009 will be a great year of success for my WordPress freelance experience. Below I have taken an two paragraphs from my introductory post for the master theme I am releasing.</p>
<blockquote>
<h3>Do I have to pay for the theme?</h3>
<p>No, the theme will be available for free download and usage. The theme in fact is being released under the GPL license which is the same license that WordPress uses. The theme will also have free updates and upgrades forever. Also, I hope we guys build a great support forum for this theme and others to come which will also be free to access, ask and answer.</p>
<h3>What do I have to pay for than?</h3>
<p>You might never have to pay for anything. But, in case you need help to set up the theme, configure the plugins etc, you might want to buy one of the five (5) service packages that will come along with the theme. These packages vary from setup to theme enhancements and even PSD to the actual theme. More information about this topic will come along with the theme release.</p></blockquote>
<h3><strong>Master Theme Features</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li> Modern and beautiful web typeface.</li>
<li>Tableless design and 100% CSS-based layout.</li>
<li>2 columns of fixed width.</li>
<li>Widget Ready.</li>
<li>XHTML 1.0 Transitional valid.</li>
<li>CSS 2.1 valid.</li>
<li> Search Engine optimized coding make wise use of h1, h3, h3.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/screenshot.png"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-348" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/screenshot.png" alt="Master WordPress Theme" width="600" /></a></p>
<h3>Preview and Download</h3>
<ul>
<li><a title="Master Theme" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/master/" target="_blank">Preview Master Theme</a> at WordPress theme directory. A better preview is to come soon.</li>
<li><a title="Download Master Theme" href="http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/download/master.1.0.zip" target="_blank">Download Master Theme</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>Support and Customization</h3>
<table style="height: 244px" border="0" width="600">
<thead>
<tr>
<td><strong>Master Theme</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>Pack 1</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>Pack </strong><strong>2</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>Pack </strong><strong>3</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>Pack </strong><strong>4</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>Pack </strong><strong>5</strong></td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Theme download</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Updates and upgrades</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Knowledge base</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Forums support</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Site/Blog Setup</td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Plugin selection and configuration</td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Email Support and on-site support</td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Color and font customization</td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Structure and look customization</td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>PSD to Master theme conversion</td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center"></td>
<td style="text-align: center">Yes</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
<tfoot>
<tr>
<td><strong>Fees</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>Free</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>$39</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>$79</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>$99</strong></td>
<td style="text-align: center"><strong>$149</strong></td>
</tr>
</tfoot>
</table>
<h3>Installation</h3>
<p>STEP 1. Extract the files it contains. You need to preserve the directory structure in the archive when extracting these files.<br />
STEP 2. Upload the theme to your /wp-content/themes/ directory.<br />
STEP 3. Now go to Appearance &gt;&gt; Themes and activate the &#8220;Master&#8221; theme.</p>
<h3>License</h3>
<p>Master theme is licensed under the <a title="GPL" href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html" target="_blank">GPL</a>. It may be freely modified and copied as long as the license stays GPL. This means that you may use it for your personal and commercial projects and you may also make any changes you like.</p>
<h3>Change Log</h3>
<p>2009-01-07: Initial 1.0 release.</p>
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		<title>Blog Design: WebVideoMax.com</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/blog-design-webvideomaxcom/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/blog-design-webvideomaxcom/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 12:13:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress Theme]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=148</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<a title="WebVideoMax" href="http://webvideomax.com/" target="_blank">Andrew Kelly</a> contacted me for a kind of business blog project that he was working on. After I showed his some of my previews works and we agreed on the price, I begin designing a WordPress theme for him. He had previously chosen to use as a theme the <a title="Semilogic" href="http://www.semiologic.com/" target="_blank">semilogic</a> theme framework. Well, his decision made me suffer until I suggested him that developed a theme just for him from scratch. He agreed ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="WebVideoMax" href="http://webvideomax.com/" target="_blank">Andrew Kelly</a> contacted me for a kind of business blog project that he was working on. After I showed him some of my previous works and we agreed on the price, I began designing a WordPress theme for him. He had previously chosen to use as a theme the <a title="Semilogic" href="http://www.semiologic.com/" target="_blank">semilogic</a> theme framework. Well, his decision made me suffer until I suggested him that I developed the theme for him from scratch. He agreed and on this we went on. This project took a little bit long as I was working on other projects simultaneously. However working with Andrew was a great experience.</p>
<h3>Design</h3>
<p>When Andrew contacted me, he showed me a couple of sites that he wanted his blog to look like. He wanted something fresh and have a web 2.0 feel. Some guys might argue that web 2.0 means nothing, however there are a lot of designers and blog writers that have listed out the features of web 2.0 &#8211; but this is not the point of this post. Let&#8217;s focus on the design process. I used an heavy blue color throughout the blog with some fresh web 2.0 effects. I did all this with <a title="Inkscape" href="http://www.inkscape.org/" target="_blank">Inkscape</a>, my favorite vector graphic design application. I cannot say I am a great designer, but I can reach high quality in design if clients describe me clearly what they want.<br />
<a href="http://www.webvideomax.com"><img class="size-medium wp-image-279 aligncenter" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/webvideomax.png" alt="webvideomax" /></a></p>
<h3>Coding</h3>
<p>As I said earlier, the early coding process was very painful. After we decided  to have the theme developed from scratch, it was a very nice experience as coding is the part I like most. I had to work with XTHML, CSS, PHP with WordPress flavor.</p>
<p>The theme is coded in tableless XHTML/CSS. At first it was pure and valid, but after my client, Andrew implemented Awaber subscription code into it, it turned to have some validation errors. It is not a situation I like to be in, as I claim I code only <em>valid </em>talbleless XHTML/CSS websites and WordPress themes, but I cannot interfere with my clients choices.</p>
<h3>Layout</h3>
<p>The theme has a  two column layout. It has a left main column where the blog content is placed and a right wide sidebar. On front page it has a big welcoming video before the fold under which four other posts queried according to categories are shown. It is a nice simple layout informative layout.</p>
<h3>Widgets</h3>
<p>The theme has a fully customizable, widget-ready sidebar. Widgetizing WordPress themes is a pleasurable experience for me  and I could not leave it unwidgetized even though widget are little employed by my client, Andrew.</p>
<h3>Testimonial</h3>
<blockquote><p>After a lot of frustration working with many Web Designers it has been a real refreshing change to work with someone like Baki, his constant follow up and willingness to over deliver on all levels has made a huge difference to our productivity and our web business bottom line. Nothing is ever too much trouble for Baki which makes him a real pleasure to work with. I just wish all our team could be as reliable and project focused as Baki! <a title="Andrew Kelly" href="http://webvideomax.com" target="_blank">Andrew Kelly</a> of <a title="Andrew Kelly" href="http://clicksmartmarketing.com" target="_blank">ClickSmartMarketing.com</a></p></blockquote>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>This is all I could write down about my experience with Andrew Kelly. I would love to hear your thoughts about this theme. Also, please consider subscribing to my <a title="WPlancer RSS Feeds" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/wplancer">RSS Feeds</a> to have the possibility to read and view more great articles and projects. In case you need a WordPress theme, you can <a title="Contact me" href="../contact/">drop me a line</a> using my contact page. If you are not sure, please have a look at my <a title="custom WordPress themes" href="../portfolio/">portfolio</a> to see more works of mine. Thanks for reading!</p>
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		<title>Blog Design: TroyBroussardTravel.com</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/blog-designt-troybroussardtravel/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/blog-designt-troybroussardtravel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:19:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress Theme]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=153</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Troy Broussard is an internet marketer and independent business entrepreneur. He contacted me saying that he was looking for a WordPress freelancer to design and code a theme for his blog TroyBroussardTravel.com. This is a blog devoted to information about MOR Vacations Travel Club ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a title="Troy Broussard" href="http://troybroussardtravel.com/about/" target="_blank">Troy Broussard</a> is an internet marketer and independent business entrepreneur. He contacted me saying that he was looking for a WordPress freelancer to design and code a theme for his blog <a title="Troy Broussard Travel" href="http://troybroussardtravel.com/" target="_self">TroyBroussardTravel.com</a>. This is a blog devoted to information about MOR Vacations  Travel Club and discount travel in general. We we discussed the project requirements in details and, after that, we set the price and fixed the time schedule. Then I began designing and developing the his blog theme in a collaborative step-by-step process until it took the look that it has now.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-188" src="http://www.wplancer.com/wp-content/troy-broussard-travel-big.png" alt="troy-broussard-travel-big" width="600" height="361" /></p>
<h3>Design</h3>
<p>All the design is done with <a title="Inkscape" href="http://www.inkscape.org" target="_blank">Inkscape</a>, my favorite vector graphic design application. It is a great and easy-to-use tool at the same time. My client chose the color combination and I implemented them in the design, giving the me gradient flavor. Designing this blog was a great pleasure for me.</p>
<h3>Coding</h3>
<p>The theme is coded in tableless XHTML/CSS. At first it was pure and valid, but after my client, Troy implemented Awaber subscription code into it, it got full of validation errors. I is not a situation I like to be in, as I claim I code only <em>valid </em>talblelss XHTML/CSS websites and WordPress themes.</p>
<h3>Widgets</h3>
<p>The theme has two customizable, widget-ready sidebars. This sidebars are supported by CSS style any widget that require extra style, such as wp-calendar widget. My client, Troy could use any widget he needed to.</p>
<h3>Layout</h3>
<p>The  theme has a simple, three column layout. There are two widgetized sidebars, as I mentioned above, one on the left hand and one on the right hand. Also it has a main center column where the blog content is placed. At homepage there is a static welcome message form Troy. It is basically simple and nice.</p>
<h3>Testimonial</h3>
<blockquote><p>Banango (Baki) has been a tremendous resource for me and my growing business allowing me to focus on what I do best and having him take care of my web development needs.  He has been extremely responsive to my needs and very professional &#8211; I couldn&#8217;t be more pleased.</p></blockquote>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>This was a short description of the experience that I had with Troy Broussard, designing and coding a WordPress theme for his blog TroyBroussardTravel.com. I would love to hear your thoughts about this theme. Also, please consider subscribing to my <a title="WPlancer RSS Feeds" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/wplancer">RSS Feeds</a> to have the possibility to read and view more great articles and projects. In case you need a WordPress theme, please <a title="Contact me" href="http://www.wplancer.com/contact/">drop me a line</a>. If you cannot decide what to do, please have a look at my <a title="custom WordPress themes" href="http://www.wplancer.com/portfolio/">portfolio</a> to see more works of mine. Thanks for reading!</p>
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		<title>Why You Shouldn&#8217;t Use Tables for Web Layouts</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/why-you-shouldnt-use-tables-for-web-layouts/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/why-you-shouldnt-use-tables-for-web-layouts/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:27:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[XHTML]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=53</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[During my whole lifetime as a web designer or better as a front-end developer, I have coded only one site using tables for layout, the first one. It was the time when I had just began to do web stuff and I did not know very much about CSS and its potential, if not nothing [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>During my whole lifetime as a web designer or better as a front-end developer, I have coded only one site using tables for layout, <a title="Alfa Line" href="http://www.alfa-line.com/" target="_blank">the first one</a>. It was the time when I had just began to do web stuff and I did not know very much about CSS and its potential, if not nothing at all. After that, I got introduced to CSS and ever since I have never used table in any of my <a title="My Freelance Portfolio" href="http://www.wplancer.com/portfolio/" target="_self">site development projects</a> I have worked on. I thought it would be a good idea to write something about this subject for the guys who still use tables for web design layouts, especially those that develop <a title="I’m Sad to See WordPress Themes Using Tables" href="http://www.wplancer.com/im-sad-to-see-wordpress-themes-using-tables/" target="_self">wordpress themes</a>. So, let&#8217;s begin:</p>
<h3>1. Tables are hard to code and difficult to maintain</h3>
<p>Let&#8217;s suppose you are a hand-coder, how do you manage to write all those &lt;tr&gt;&#8217;s and &lt;td&gt;&#8217;s without errors? It is a common error when you code with tables to have missing tags or misused ones. It is even more difficult when one uses a WYSIWYG. WYSIWYG editors operate with table layouts and usually, the code that they generate is very messy. The same occurs when you slice a design with Photoshop or GIMP. Using CSS, you will code at least half less tags than coding with tables. Managing &lt;div&gt;&#8217;s through CSS is a far more easier, fun and creative process.</p>
<h3>2. Tables are slow to load</h3>
<p>The web site created in tables will take more time to appear on the screen</p>
<p>that CSS based one.When using using tables, the page won&#8217;t show up until the browser parses the last closing &lt;/table&gt; tag. Moreover, the more table you nest within each other, the more the content will break until the images and text figures out where they belong to in the site. Well, this is a solved problem with CSS, just tell it where to be and there it will.</p>
<h3>3. Tables can hurt your SEO</h3>
<p>The more code that is in the way, the more junk they have to plow through to get to your content. Nested tables, which are usually used in table-based website layouts, would hurt the content that is inside it. There are more HTML tags than content.</p>
<p>There is another widespread idea about tables that use left-hand navigation (very common in table layouts) hurt the SEO, by telling the search engines that content is less important that navigation which appears before the main content in the HTML. This will distort search engines and mislead them in indexing your site. On the other hand, with CSS, you can make the navigation bar appear on top, but you can put it at the bottom of your HTML.</p>
<h3>4. Tables lack accessibility</h3>
<p>The same as it hurts SEO, it distorts screen readers. Most screen readers read pages in the order that they are displayed in the HTML. If a screen reader were to read the same page described above, it is possible that the customer would hit the back button before the reader had even read through all the navigation. Through CSS, you can display the anything on the top, but leave the most important part at the top of your HTML.</p>
<h3>5. Tables don’t print well</h3>
<p>Another problem with tables is that they don’t print well. With CSS, you can use a print style sheet to give another look to the page. You can also have elements that only show up when rendered to a screen, but not to a printer such as headers and footers. CSS is great for printing.</p>
<h3>6. Tables make site redesigns much harder than semantic HTML+CSS</h3>
<p>Through CSS, you can twist your site look so much, that you won&#8217;t resemble with the old site at all. The most important part is that, all this can happen without touching the HTML part at all.  You can even have several different skins for your site and allow your users to select one of them. This can happen only in dreams, if you are using tables. You cannot alter the layout at all, expect colors and font size, when you are using tables, even though you might be using CSS. Get rid of tables.</p>
<h3>7. Conclusion</h3>
<p>It might be hard to make CSS-controlled layouts cross-browser compatible, which is often used as the main argument against switching to pure CSS. True. But as soon as you finally do it, the experience is great. The more CSS tricks you learn, the funnier it becomes to test them and play with them to see what other effects you can achieve. Tables could never be so much fun.</p>
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		<title>WordPress Bug: Tags do not appear under WP_Query</title>
		<link>http://wplancer.com/wordpess-bug-tags-do-not-appear-under-wp_query/</link>
		<comments>http://wplancer.com/wordpess-bug-tags-do-not-appear-under-wp_query/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 08 Nov 2008 00:23:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>banago</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WordPress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PHP]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wplancer.com/?p=75</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[WordPress has been perfect and bug-free for me. However, I discovered one lately. Firstly I came across this bug when I was developing an Gawker-style WordPress theme for a client of mine. I used custom WP_Query loops several times there and I was asked to display tags inside them too, the way Gawker does. This [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WordPress has been perfect and bug-free for me. However, I discovered one lately. Firstly I came across this bug when I was developing an <a title="Gawker Style WordPerss theme" href="http://lesdelicieux.com/" target="_blank">Gawker-style</a> WordPress theme for a client of mine. I used custom <a title="WP_Query" href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference/WP_Query" target="_blank"><em>WP_Query</em></a> loops several times there and I was asked to display tags inside them too, the way Gawker does. This did not happen, of course, that is why I am writing this post. By that time I thought it was my fault that tags did not appear.</p>
<p>A couple of weeks ago, I coded a new theme for my blog. I used several custom loops there too, powered by the famous <a title="WordPress Loop" href="http://codex.wordpress.org/The_Loop" target="_blank">WP_Query</a>. When I tried again to show the tags inside them, they did not show up. That made assured me that it was a bug. To have more context about this, please have a look at the following WordPress loop:</p>
<p>{code type=php}</p>
<p>&lt;?php $my_query = new WP_Query(&#8216;category_name=featured&amp;showposts=1&#8242;);<br />
while ($my_query-&gt;have_posts()) : $my_query-&gt;the_post();<br />
$do_not_duplicate[$post-&gt;ID] = $post-&gt;ID; ?&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;div class=&#8221;featured_post&#8221; id=&#8221;post-&lt;?php the_ID(); ?&gt;&#8221;&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;img src=&#8221;&lt;?php echo get_post_meta($post-&gt;ID, &#8216;Featured_Image&#8217;, true) ?&gt;&#8221; alt=&#8221;" id=&#8221;featured_img&#8221; /&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;h3 class=&#8221;title&#8221;&gt;&lt;a href=&#8221;&lt;?php the_permalink() ?&gt;&#8221; rel=&#8221;bookmark&#8221; title=&#8221;Permanent Link to &lt;?php the_title_attribute(); ?&gt;&#8221;&gt;&lt;?php the_title(); ?&gt;&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;/h3&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;div class=&#8221;meta&#8221;&gt;By &lt;strong&gt;&lt;?php the_author();?&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;raquo;</p>
<p>&lt;?php comments_popup_link(&#8217;0 comments&#8217;, &#8217;1  comment&#8217;, &#8216;% comments&#8217;); ?&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;?php the_tags(); ?&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;/div&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;?php the_excerpt() ?&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;/div&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;?php endwhile; ?&gt;</p>
<p>{/code}</p>
<p>As you can see, the tags code is included in the loop, but nothing appears. This does not work only under the WP_Query powered loops, whereas in a normal loop, it works. I would appreciate very much that everybody contributes to make this bug known to the WordPress team as soon as possible so that they can have it fixed. Thanks very much!</p>
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