The No Feed WordPress Plugin and the One Search WPMU Plugin have been updated to work with WP 2.7 and WPMU 2.65, respectively. The No Feed plugin adds the ability to disable RSS feeds. The One Search WPMU Plugin allows users to search multiple blogs in a WPMU installation.
Please try them out and let me know your feedback!
I’ll be releasing a search plugin for WordPress MU. It’s doing the job, but I would love a few others to test it. If you’re interested, leave me a comment or email me.
Why another search plugin?
Well, this one is written specifically for the WPMU. There are a few plugins that already do this, but they all require some kind of core file hacking, running some back-end cron job, or modifying the default templates. I wanted something that was completely plug-n-play.
If you had an ideal global WPMU search plugin, what would be on your wishlist?
I updated the No Feed WordPress plugin this week. It now accurately issues a “404 Error Not Found” for disabled feeds. It will also correctly display your default 404 template.
Get the update.
When you add an attachment to a WordPress post, the attachment inherits the post’s categories. However, future changes to a post’s categories are not reflected in the attachment. The Attachment Category Updater WordPress plugin fixes that.
This can be beneficial for tag or category searches, and even for custom attachment archives.
If you use it, let me know!
Download page: Attachment Category Updater WordPres Plugin
I came across a thread in WordPress support about someone needing to remove all feeds. There was no need for password protection or limited access. They just needed the feeds deleted. Download the plugin that will remove all feeds.
I’d agree that simply deleting the feed-* files would be sufficient and acceptable. However, whenever I hack (or remove) core files, I add extra work for myself when it comes time to upgrade. The added work comes in remembering to delete those files with every upgrade.
The solution? A plugin. WordPress has a great framework for plugins. And that’s why there are so many great ones. So here it is… The No Feed WordPress Plugin.
If you use it, let me know!
Download page: No Feed WordPress Plugin
With the migration to Blogger from WordPress, the most effort is going into dealing with post path differences. These differences will cause 404 (missing file) errors if not dealt with correctly. I wanted to be sure that people looking for my older WordPress posts would be appropriately redirected to the correct Blogger address.
My WordPress paths had this structure:
http://jason.ungos.com/2007/09/27/blog-downgrade/
On Blogger, the same post looks like this:
http://jason.ungos.com/2007/09/blog-downgrade.html
Here’s how I’m doing it.
Blogger Missing Files Host
The missing files host option was probably created to deal mostly with broken images or downloadable documents. I’ve expanded its use a bit by creating a custom 404 page that has some redirecting functionality.
The custom 404 page is a PHP script that:
Here’s what I have so far:
It’s neither elegant nor robust, but it achieves my main goal of dealing with old post links. I plan to develop this a little more to accommodate changed page names, broken images, and feeds.
Anything else I should add?
With each blog incarnation (i.e., reboot, redesign, or relaunch) things are usually updated, upgraded, or improved. But how about a downgrade?
After months of dealing with spammers and denial of service attacks, I’ve decided to pass the bandwidth buck. I’ll be migrating my personally-hosted, personally-managed WordPress blog over to the free, yet acceptable, Blogger.
Here’s what I’ll have to do…
So why do I call it a downgrade?
Blogger is a great product. It’s simple, easy to use, and free. I call it a downgrade because I will lose a lot of the tweakability that a self-hosted WordPress installation can give. With WordPress, I can install any of the hundreds of plugins available and dive into code to my heart’s content.
Then why downgrade the blog?
If there are so many good things about WordPress, why go to Blogger? Simplicity. This is my “fun” blog. I don’t want to spend hours deleting spammy comments, or paying lots of money because of exorbitant bandwidth usage. Neither do I have the hours of free time that I had in the past. I’m looking for easy and free.
Blogger has improved remarkably over the years and has the basic features that I’m looking for. I also contribute to a few other Blogger-based blogs. Blogger’s dashboard gives me quick access to each of those blogs.
WordPress or Blogger?
I love WordPress. It’s a top notch blogging system that can also do well as a basic CMS (Content Management System). WordPress is the system that I recommend to most of my clients.
Blogger has some powerful options, but still not as powerful as WordPress. For personal blogs (like this one), Blogger does does the job. Though, in the end, it’s all about preference.
What do you prefer?
I had a real estate agent, who’s experimenting with WordPress, ask me about how to add their photo and branding to their new WordPress blog. Well, my response was to find a theme you like and modify the images. I think that’s the easiest thing to do. He’s not a designer nor a programmer (anymore, at least), so I thought that was a good solution.
Well for those that want to go a little deeper into how to making your own customized WordPress theme, you should read Chris Johnson‘s Open Letter to WordPress Theme Designers.. He puts forth some excellent points to keep your theme(s) recession proof by maximizing a couple of features and plugins that are available for WordPress.
Here’s a run down of his points:
Here are a few other theme building resources that may help you.
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