Software Development

Developing software is an important aspect of the work we do. Many software packages contain what is sometimes known as ‘bloatware’. Bloatware simply means to take a software package and fill it to overflowing with every possible option available. The problem is the package then becomes unusable or to use it takes a very steep learning curve. So to get around this we develop software.

WP Product

The plugin is a showcase for products. It’s particular use is to allow multiple users to display their products and amend without having to see any other users products.

WP Shop

Shortly to be released wpshop is a plugin to the Wordpress CMS. This shop contains many attractive features and a demo will be available to view. There are a wide variety of options to be set including a variety of currencies and taxes. The shop also has a marketing manager.

WP CRM

Now released
WP crm is a plugin to the Wordpress CMS. CRM stands for Customer Resource Manager and in its simplest form is an application that allows you to manage your customers through letters, emails and dating times of contact. It will have a very handy contact form, which when completed by a customer will store the details directly in your database for immediate management use.

Organise

Organise - order, stock, customer and accounts database is a Mac only product which I use extensively to manage my business. Take a look it is brilliant.

Serving the needs of Lostwithiel

Cregy is a web design company serving the needs of Lostwithiel. We are also keen to give back to the community. Hence the reason behind the WP Shop. We will also be developing the concept on further with the creation of crm software for Wordpress. This will give web designers and small businesses a real chance to develop an online business.

Slow Down

And if you get the chance, slow down and watch some paint dry, some snails race and just chill. If you’ve got a wife, daughter or son, go and tell them you love them.

I recently received an email asking for some Wordpress advice on making posts show up in columns just like on 9antivirus.com and thought I’d share one way of doing this.

I’ve set up a demo blog showing how it looks after the code is implemented.

There are two theme files to be edited: index.php and style.css. I have just edited the default Kubrick theme, so adjust this to suit your own theme.

The basic idea is to add a “switch” so Wordpress knows if you’re looking at a post which will appear in the first or second column.

View How to organize posts into two side-by-side columns in Wordpress

Hey ok so I have been building some sites for other folks and I thought I would release some of the code to the Wordpress community. So here it is, the first design released to all.

To see the theme in action visit Cregy Test Site - Minimal and Fixed width Wordpress theme.

Download the theme here. Minimal Fixed width Wordpress theme.

I have always wondered how to get an extra column into wp. I normally just call the sidebar and footer from index.php as usual and then if I want a three column layout, put the two columns in the sidebar. e.g.

[/div][!-- end of id content--]
[/div][!--end of id wrapper--]
[!--index.php end--]

[!--include sidebar--]
[?php get_sidebar(); ?]
In the sidebar.php I have two divs, one called leftcol and float this left and the second say rightcol and float it right. (It is a little bit more complicated than that but for ease this is how I will leave it).

Now we finish the index.php by telling it to call the footer:
[!--include footer--]
[?php get_footer(); ?]

However, if I add this line after the call to the sidebar:
[!--include extra.php--]
[?php include (TEMPLATEPATH . '/extra.php'); ?]
Then I can add an extra column without resorting to having in sidebar.php.

Why is this important? Well maybe the opening page is a three column layout which upon opening a post goes to a two column structure. Using the above will help that process.

By the way I have changed the <> brackets for [] just so it doesn’t break the site.

Does anyone know of any good sites or tutorials on this subject. I don’t want to use a template or anyone else’s theme or CSS style. Any thoughts?

Take a look at:
Urban Giraffe
How to design your own wp theme
Blank wp Theme
Four blank wp themes

And for completeness:
How to write a wp plugin

Nothing about templating in there but if you get that far give me a shout and help then.

Q: Hi, I need some help with this. I am using Wordpress and I would like to get a dotted border around the different categories on the sidebar.

A: Apply the border style to the outer elements, the uo and ol, not to the li’s. The following will get you started.
#sidebar ul, #sidebar ul ol {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
border: 2px dotted #ccc;
}

If you want the border only on the inner lists, try this instead:
#sidebar ul ul, #sidebar ul ol {
margin: 5px 0 0 10px;
border: 2px dotted #ccc;
}

I have always wanted a list of tags that could be used in a template. Well here they are. If you know of any more please send them in this direction. Thanks


[?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?]
[?php the_date('','[h2]‘,’[/h2]‘); ?”
[div class="post" id="post-[?php the_ID(); ?]“]
[h3 class="storytitle"]
[a href="[?php the_permalink() ?]” rel=”bookmark”][?php the_title(); ?][/a][/h3]
[div class="meta"]
[?php _e("Filed under:"); ?] [?php the_category(',') ?] —
[?php the_author() ?] @ [?php the_time() ?] [?php edit_post_link(__('Edit This')); ?]
[/div]
[div class="storycontent"]
[?php the_content(__('(more...)')); ?]
[/div]
[div class="feedback"]
[?php wp_link_pages(); ?]
[?php comments_popup_link(__('Comments (0)'), __('Comments (1)'), __('Comments (%)')); ?]
[/div]
[/div] [!--closing .post --]
[?php comments_template(); // Get wp-comments.php template ?]
[?php endwhile; else: ?]
[p]
[?php _e('Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.'); ?]
[/p]
[?php endif; ?]
[?php posts_nav_link(' — ', __('« Previous Page'), __('Next Page »')); ?]

Looking for some very good Wordpress themes? Then look no further than Webgazette. These themes are brimming over with customisation options. They look good as well despite having a simplicity to them.

Ainslee Johnson is the site owner and developer of the themes and is a hugely helpful guy. Don’t hesitate to ask his help.

Some good looking sites here that have downloadable church style Wordpress themes.

Church Themes

Wordpress is the software that Cregy uses to build its content management sites or cms. Wordpress is a blogging software that also allows pages and plugins to be added.

To explain further. A cms is a site that allows you the customer to add, edit or delete content as you require. This frees you from having to deal with site design etc and allows you to freely add content. A blog is a specialised (but becoming highly popular) cms. The best way to describe the software is as an online diary. For example. Your company might sell bicycles. So you develop an online shop that sells bikes and accessories. However as a company you can enhance this site with a blog. You might have a weekly blog that offers specialised tips on maintaining your bike. Additionally you could also be offering a blog on cycle events or even a review of the cycle team that races as part of your shop!

The beauty of Wordpress as software is that you can add plugins. Plugins are vital for the development of your site and allow you to build your site in stages or even in one go. For example at Cregy we have developed a shop plugin. You could therefore build your site, the content, design and start a blog to attract visitors. Then six months down the road you decide to build an online shop. It is simple to activate the plugin, style the shop, add content and you have an online shop. It really is that simple. Although there is work involved in uploading content and taking pictures!

I have listed below some additional plugins that I have found useful:
Contact Form
Some adaptions designed and built by Cregy
Contact Form Download
Prayer Form Download
Forum
Google Sitemap Generator
Static front page
Subscribe Me
Adhesive
Jerome’s Keywords
Admin Menu Dropdown
Search and Replace
CG PowerPack

There are many more. The list above will continue to get updated as I find more useful plugins!

To get a more detailed understanding of Wordpress I would suggest a visit to the Wordpress site:
Wordpress
For support visit:
Wordpress Forums
site managed by Podz
Of course Cregy can offer specialised help in using Wordpress.