WordPress and the SSH Tunnel

Recently at my full-time job we began the process of migrating all out sites to WordPress and to RackSpace cloud servers away from dedicated servers.

These servers utilize SSH for FTP connections and out of the box, WordPress does not play well with SSH. Below are the steps to allow WordPress to connect to SFTP using the Ubuntu OS.

If you are lucky, the only thing you need to do from the command line is:

apt-get install libssh2-php
sudo /etc/init.d/apache restart

If you reload the FTP configuration screen, you will now see an “SSH2″ option.

When I did this, I ran into an error about not being able to find the “wp-content” folder. Using the snippet below fixed the problem. This snippet of code goes in your “wp-config.php” file. I added it at the end of mine.

if(is_admin()) {
add_filter('filesystem_method', create_function('$a', 'return "direct";'));
define( 'FS_CHMOD_DIR', 0751 );
}

Good luck!

Chrome Extension: Resolution Test

As a web developer, I have to test designs of sites in different resolutions all the time. Previously I would have to change the resolution from the system preferences on my MAC. This was frustrating because it would resize ALL my open windows, not just the browser. So when I was done I would have to go back and resize them all back to where they were.

This morning I came across this handy Chrome extension: Resolution Test.

This extension allows developers to test web pages using different screen resolutions. It gives the user the ability to use a predefined resolution or add their own custom resolution.

This will be an awesome time saver!

 

WordPress Error Reporting

One of the issues I have found when switching from a development environment to a production environment is error reporting. As developers we don’t want to turn error reporting on in a production environment due to possible security risks. So what are the options?

Well if you are using WordPress, you can install the Simple Error Reporting plugin. This plugin is just what the name says…simple.

Once the plugin is installed amd activated, when a user is logged in with admin rights, the plugin simulates turning on error reporting in your PHP.ini file.

You can download this plugin by going to http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-error-reporting/

Five Free and Easy Steps to a Basic Church Social Media Plan

Besides being a full-time web developer, I am also the web guy for my church. This year I have proposed a new plan of attack for our web presence. Because social media is still a new concept to my pastor and the other ministry leaders, I outlined a very basic social media plan for us to begin with. The plan we are starting with is also only costing my time. There are no out of pocket expenses to get this off the ground. It is as follows:

  1. Web site: This will act as the hub for our web presence. The site is currently under going a redesign. I decided to use WordPress for this redesign. I wanted a tool that was open source and easy for end users to update information with. WordPress is perfect for this.
  2. Facebook fan page: We currently have a “group” on Facebook but this is changing to a “fan page”. I would like to note that I did not set up our current group. There are a couple of reasons for changing this group to a fan page. The first being, our group is closed off. Anyone wanting to join needs to request access. I am a firm believer in the “open” church concept. If you are going to say anyone is welcome to come through the doors of the church, then the same principle should apply to all areas of ministry. The second reason is “groups” are somewhat flawed in that you need to go to the group page to see updates. With the fan page concept, any updates are automatically fed to a users feed.
  3. Twitter: This is an easy and quick way to get the word out about events that are taking place as well as what we are studying in service. Our Pastor’s blog will be tied to this as well.
  4. Pastor’s blog: Who better to talk about what’s happening at our church then the Pastor? He will be blogging about the things he feels led to blog about. These could range from recaps of his messages to wishing someone in the congregation a happy birthday, or who knows what. The idea is to have a frequently updated blog about what he is thinking and where he is leading the church.
  5. Podcasting: This is a new thing for us. Up until about 2 months ago, our sermons where captured to cassette. Now that we have an easy way to capture sermons digitally, we are adding them to iTunes for download. They will also be available for download on the new website when it launches.

I know, you are saying to yourself “Why didn’t Chris mention the church URL or even the name of the church?”. Well, I will be mentioning it soon. I plan to do a post/case study about it when it launches.

If you are looking for a free hosted WordPress website, you can go to http://www.wordpress.com for more information.

This post was written as part of the 31 Days to Better Blogging project. You can read about the project here: http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/04/27/join-us-and-become-a-better-blogger-in-31-days/

31Days to a Better Blog – Day 1: The Elevator Pitch

So it’s no surprise that I am a slacker when it comes to blogging. I always have the greatest intentions of blogging but then the motivation always leaves me.

That being said, I read about 31 Days to a Better Blog recently and thought maybe I can do this. It’s 31 days of lessons and assignments about blogging better. You can read more about it here: http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/04/27/join-us-and-become-a-better-blogger-in-31-days/

So here goes day 1: The Elevator Pitch

The purpose of this blog it to talk about things web related. Whether it be social media, web development tools, WordPress, or any other web related topic. There will also be posts about me personally sprinkled in. Enjoy the ride!

Dreamweaver CS5 Features

As a web developer I live inside the Adobe Creative Suite. I hand code everything, but I do it inside of CS. One of the CS5 features I am most excited about it the WordPress integration into Dreamweaver. All I can say it it is about time!

Here is a video from http://tv.adobe.com outlining some of the new features in Dreamweaver CS5 and Flash CS5.

Squeaky Floors No More!

Let me start this by saying I have in no way been paid for my endorsement of the following product. Because lets face it, no one is going to pay for my opinion.

We moved into our current house in September and since then we have been living with squeaky floors all through out the house. I mean LOUD squeaky floors. Finally in an effort to fix them I started doing some research. The joists were exposed in the garage so my first option was to screw into the joist and sub floor from below and pull the sub floor back down. But then I found this product:

I am here to tell you that this thing really works and is as easy to use as they say it is. If you have squeaky floors in your house, I highly recommend you try this. Unfortunately my local home improvement stores don’t carry this so I had to order it online. And it only comes with 50 screws, so you may have to order more. I ordered it from Amazon.com, but found out I can order it from Ace Hardware and have it shipped to my local store for free.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming…

What’s in store in 2010

I have never been one to make resolutions at the beginning of a new year. Resolutions are not something people in general take very seriously. Instead I am going to set some goals for myself, both professionally and personally.

So let’s start with personally…

  1. Not to read the bible in a year, instead I am going to read it more then I did last year and get deeper into it.
  2. Have more date nights with my awesome wife and show her how much I appreciate her more often.
  3. Learn to balance work and home life.
  4. I am going to get back in the habit of reading actual books and not just blogs on the internet.
  5. Write more personal posts to this blog.

And now a few professionally…

  1. Become more organized with my projects.
  2. Learn all about creating custom word press themes.
  3. Learn as much as I can about Google Wave and building extensions for it.
  4. Work less hours.
  5. Write more technical posts to this blog.

These goals may change over the course of the year, but this is my starting point. Happy New Year!

Google Wave for the Beginner

It has been said that I have been mandated to teach a small group of social media enthusiasts how to use Google Wave. There is no need to name them. They know who they are…

So here is a video I found that is a beginners guide to the wave. Hopefully they will watch it.

Early look at Photoshop CS5

 
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