Paul Cracknell » Paul Cracknell

Stand out from the crowd with this WordPress Theme

Paul Cracknell — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:49:45 +0000

I have been scouring around trying to find something that is a little bit different and I think I have found it. It is Crea which has a unique oriental theme but look beyond that and see how it works. No scolling down the page to moves left and right with content in boxes that is neat and tidy. I really like it and if you don’t get it I probably will. Take a look at the live version. Click on the image…

What makes a popular website?

Paul Cracknell — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:22:36 +0000

Well, we all want to have a popular website but with literally millions of websites on the net you have to try a little harder to stand out from the rest. So what makes a successful and popular website. To discover this we need to know a little about ourselves. First off, you have probably heard the expression ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’. Of course the content of the book is not affected by what the picture is on the front cover, but, unfortunately we do judge a book by the cover and a lot of other things too. When you meet a person for the first time, first impressions count. Generally it takes about 10 seconds to make all kinds of lasting judgements about someone (you know you do it). The way someone looks physically, their attire and body language affects our judgement of them before we even speak to them. This is also true for your website. If it looks unprofessional, your visitors (customers, readers) will leave and go somewhere else. It doesn’t matter if your content is the best in the world, most authoritative or helpful, if people don’t like the look of your website they will go to one of the other million sites which cover the same thing and looks better. So, it is simple, get an appealing website look, then fill it with the greatest content and you will have (all things being equal) a popular website.

Time for a break and to start imagining your website and all it could be. Take a look at some of these premium WordPress theme providers to get inspired. These WordPress themes are cheap and they will give you the edge over other webistes.

So, now you that your inspired how can I help. You need not worry if you don’t know how to work or setup a WordPress site. I can do some or all of the setting up, if you need. I will also give to you my knowledge on WordPress and how to get the most out of your website, including tips on how to use search engine optimisation (SEO) to get your posts noticed by Google, the dominant search engine of the world. I can also assist in customisation for a small fee.

What are my credentials? Well I have been developing websites since 1999 and using WordPress specically for several years now. I even have a developed a free theme for the WordPress.org repository. It is called Breathe and you can check it out on my site and download it for free from the WordPress repository.

If you need my help for an entire set up or just a few tweeks you can contact me via my site or check out my standard packages. I am very reasonably priced! I look forward to hearing from you.

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No batch image processor in Bridge CS4

Paul Cracknell — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 08:16:42 +0000

I use the batch image processor in Bridge to batch process hundreds of files. To my surprise when I went to tools>photoshop>batch process it was no longer there. The only thing that remained was the cache option. I looked at forums and this has happened to others. There appears to be no fix. This is very frustrating. I checked the preferences for the start up scrips, restarted the PC. In the end this is my fix.

Open photoshop go to file>scrips>Image Processor and then process the images. As I said very frustrating but it works this way. I am not sure what Adobe update has removed the option from bridge but at least this works.

Hope it helps you. If you know of a better solution or fix put it in the comments.

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How to check you WordPress theme before sumitting it to WordPress Themes

Paul Cracknell — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 06:02:53 +0000

If you have had the urge to deveolp a WordPress theme and to submit it to the WordPress theme depository you should do some automated checking so that your chances of approval are increased. I can admit that it is a little bit denting to an ego if you think it is awesome and then you get back a rejection email with a bunch of stuff to fix. Well to maintain the standard of the thems in the repository there are rules and “Rules is Rules Jacko” so you need to fix it.

The easiest way to avoid dissapointment is to do the checks that the moderators do.

First download test data from https://wpcom-themes.svn.automattic.com/demo/test-data.2011-01-17.xml
Import this into your theme and check that all the little things are fixed display correctly e.g. Really long titles.

Once that is done check your compliance with W3C for html and css compliance. You can do this with a neat little WordPress Plugin called Deblogger.

Next you will need to do checks to see if you have all the required standards for a theme. The Theme-Check plugin will sort this out for your. After you run this you will find out if you have included all the required css and updated not depreciated calles in your PHP code.

Lastly get the Log Depreciated Notices plugin which logs the usage of deprecated files, functions, and function arguments, and identifies where the deprecated functionality is being used in your theme.

For the full guide on theme testing you should visit the Theme Development page in the WordPress codex to guide you further.

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Simpolio Premium WordPress Theme

Paul Cracknell — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:57:20 +0000

I am always on the lookout for new and different photography templates for WordPress. The Simpolio fits that bill easily. Just take a look at the introduction and then the flexability for displaying images. This would be ideal for a photographer with a good selection of images to promote their work. Just take a look to see what I mean.

PHP back button

Paul Cracknell — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:58:07 +0000

Looking for a previous page or back button this is how it is done.

@$back = htmlspecialchars($_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']);
echo "Previous Page";

PHP & MySQL find the last entry in the database

Paul Cracknell — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 01:49:13 +0000

So you are looking for the last entry in a table for your database that has auto increment. Well I have this to share with you. Use the mysql_insert_id() function.

1 2	mysql_query("INSERT INTO table1 (product) values ('$somethin')"); $lastID = mysql_insert_id();

You need to combine the insert command and then use the mysql_insert_id function to create a variable that holds the id number of the entry that was just generated.

You can then call the last id by using the variable. e.g.

1	echo $lastID;

You could use it better by quering the database and use a where clause.

$query = "SELECT * FROM table1 WHERE id=$lastID"; //select from DB image url and set order
	$result = mysql_query ($query);
 
	while ($row = mysql_fetch_array ($result, MYSQL_ASSOC)) {
	echo ($row['something']. "
");
	}

Art Gallery WordPress Theme

Paul Cracknell — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:34:52 +0000

For photographers or artists this WordPress theme is pretty specky. Each page looks like a scene from a gallery where your images or text are displayed on the wall above a chair or a table. I like the look of it. Check out the live demo at ThemeFuse.

How to start a photography business – Your Logo

Paul Cracknell — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:09:11 +0000

What kind of logo will you have for your business. Take a look at logos from big companies like Nike, Mercedes Benz, Holden, Commonwealth Bank etc. There has been a lot of marketing to develop these logos as they are a representation of the business. The logo will define if you are professional and the quality of your product. Think about this and if you cannot think of a logo yourself get a graphic designer to develop one for you. It may not cost all that much but later on it will be some of the best money you spent.

Look up some graphic design sites and look at what makes a good design. Research this topic thoroughally before you commit to make sure you get it right.

I say get it right now because once you have spent money on business cards, stationary and the like to change all that again will be a waste of money and branding time.

Now we have a name and a logo. Lets start our business and no business can be born without a business plan.

How to start a photography business – Business Name

Paul Cracknell — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:01:46 +0000

Deciding on your Business name!

Now that you have hopefully decided on where you want to take you photography business you need to decide on a business name. Your name and logo will be the brand of your business. When you start your photography business you will spend time and money on developing your brand so you need to decide early on what that will be. Your brand is the image that is portrayed to your clients. Without any conversation it tells prospective customers what your business is like and it will appeal then to different people. Once your brand is established in your local community you will generate income through word of mouth which is the best advertising of all, because it is free and it is a recommendation from person to person. We will discuss this further in the marketing section.

So what is your business going to be called. Many photographer user their own name which is fine but if you are thinking big picture if you want to expand your business or franchise it, is your name what you want now and in the future. To have your business name registered it must meet certain criteria. Read this article http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/choose-business-name.htm

but in brief this is what it outlines.

Once you have decided on a name you should search to see if another company has registered the name already.

See the ASIC website http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf

Your business name needs to be acceptable in that it is not misleading or offensive.

Fair-trading will check for other businesses with identical names or similar names so choose something unique. They will also check to see if the registered domain name belongs to you such as a .com.au. You will have to provide proof that you own the domain. I will discuss domains and websites later.

See Registering a business name for more information.

Whether you decide to use you own name or not does not really matter. Once you have decided on a name you will need a logo or perhaps your name and the font will be the logo like Coke or Walt Disney

Here are the pros and cons of using your own name. If you use your name you do not need to register it with the business, but if you add “photography” to the end you do. Will you call yourself … photographer or …. Photography? If you become famous people will know your name as a photographer, does it need to be your business name. If you employ people will your name be worthwhile? Food for thought!