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by Scott Frangos, Managing Editor - WebHelperMagazine.com

Countdown to WordPress version 2.5

WordPress 2.5 is almost here — below, a screenshot shows some of the planned revisions to the administration area in the next upgrade of WordPress — version 2.5. Revisions are still being made, but the DashBoard area looks streamlined, and the menus have been reorganized to aid editing.

Above, the new widget management structure does away with a drag and drop interface in favor of adding a new widget by clicking on Add in the list at left, then editing the widget when it shows up in sidebar position at right. You can drag a widget up or down at right to change its position order in your sidebar, however. I like it.

WordPress 2.5 is due for release in about 8 days, so get ready for a new and revised administration area (above), some revisions to the plugin structure, built in avatar support (show little pics of your blog readers, a revision to the widget management functions, and an automatic plugin updating feature (nice). Kudos to the WordPress team and their Open Source spirit in providing this program and excellent upgrades.

So… should you update right away? Well, my advice is to hold off a bit and check to see that your important plugins have been updated for the new release. There are some changes to how plugins are handled (plugin authors can check the helpful style tips given by Joost de Valk at his blog), and so you might wait a couple of weeks after the initial release before you take the plunge. This also allows time for the WordPress development team to fix any bugs noticed after the first brave BlogMasters implement the update.

Some Helpful New Plugins

There are a couple of new plugins that I like, and to illustrate how one of them, Collapsible Elements, works, I’ll give you a list of them here which when clicked will pop down an overview of each:

1) Collapsible Elements ->>

This is the plugin that enables the AJAX pop-down effect that reveals more information. I’m using it here. In the words of the author “Collapsible Elements adds a button to the code editor which creates the code for having multiple collapsible elements in a page or post.” Get the Plugin Above, the Collapsible Elements plugin adds a new button in the post and page editor.

2) SEO Tweaks ->>

This plugin adds a number of tweaks that are helpful even if you use a major SEO plugin like HeadSpace2, and some that just address theme issues like adding “read more” after post excerpts. Get the Plugin Above, the Tweaks plugin offers SEO fixes and non-SEO fixes.

3) Audio Player ->>

Like to play mp3 files at your site, but not ready for the more complex podcasting plugins? Audio Player is a smart option with a built in Flash Player that makes it simple to drop audio files into your posts. Get the Plugin Above the simple, one-page admin. configuration options are just right for adding MP3, and you can even style the color of the player that will appear in your posts (inset, top right).

Six Theme Picks: A thumbnail review of new and interesting themes…

Here is a look at six new themes for WordPress (click them to see larger images — site download link in captions). One of the great advantages to going with WordPress as a Blog, or CMS website solution is the wealth of themes (templates for newbies), available for almost every concept and purpose. The important thing is to pick one that functions best for your online business mission — remember, form follows function. And, no — I don’t think you have to have a them with two columns on the right mostly filled with ads. Here are my picks of the month:

(click a theme to enlarge it)

Architec Theme - I like this one with its two header options, widget ready programming, and CSS Styling.	Options Theme - This one is loaded with options including five category sections, three features sections, and two videos sections. Nice for an eZine, or video community, this one turns your WordPress installation into a full CMS solution.	Blue Leaves Theme - Sometimes simple is more… and this one color tone theme may be all you need for a personal blog, or small niche website
Color Play Theme - Features a 1 column left sidebar layout and clever option to change colors (clicking a square at top right changes the background and headline colors). A good pic for an art-related business or photography studio.	Vehicle of Novelists Theme - Here’s a unique design with a left sidebar running up to a large, bold graphic. (The link goes to the direct download from Zinruss Studio.com http://www.zinruss.com/, a high-end flash site that’s alittle difficult to navigate.)	Naruto Strikes Back Theme - This theme offers an interesting graphic at top, which you may change to suit your design concept, but I picked it because the design really emphasizes the search function with space for a sub-slogan at left then an interesting catch phrase above the search field. Perfect for a directory concept, note that the author may have envisioned a travel website (”Looking for an adventure?” is above the search box).

WordPress Jobs

Have you checked out the new job board at WebHelperJobBoard.com. Since we are able to filter jobs by different criteria, we included a range of openings just for BlogMasters and WordPress experts. Some are on location positions, and some are for telecommuters.

A couple of examples WordPress Jobs:

• Custom WordPress Theme Creation Needed
• WordPress Themes from HTML Files (lots of work available)

Take a look, and get the job board RSS feed.

More WordPress Reference Sites…

Google Reader (my RSS feed reader) recently implemented a “share with friends†feature whereby I can share with all of you friends… some of my favorite recent blog posts about WordPress. Below is a widget for your reading and referencing pleasure . And of course, this is just another example of the web, as a Content Management System (with Google as the big Kahuna behind it all):

FYI… my shared items are also available as a web page at: http://www.google.com/reader/shared/00499286454965925497

That’s a wrap of this edition of the WordPress round-up. Stay tuned for a full review of WordPress version 2.5 in the next edition.

About the Author: Scott Frangos is Managing Editor for WebHelperMagazine.com, and writes the OpenSourceWebMaster.com Blog there. He also builds dynamic Blog and CMS websites with WordPress for WebFadds.com and is a college level instructor for Graphics and WebMaster subjects. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Pepper, and their three dogs: Wisdom, Spirit, and Steggman, and is a great believer in the WordPress movement.

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