MAMP PRO VERSION 1.9.4

To turn on Display Errors with Mamp and Mamp Pro Installed the php.ini files must be edited to turn on ‘Display Errors’

1. Launch Mamp Pro.

2. In the Browser Menu Bar: File > Edit Template > 5.2.13 php.ini

• Search for Display_errors
• Remove the default setting: MAMP_display_errors_MAMP
• Replace this setting with: On

3. Repeat step 2 for the php.ini file version 5.2.3

NOTE: This is appropriate for a development environment but not for a production environment where sensitive information could be exposed to prying eyes.

4. For a production environment replace ‘ON’ with ‘MAMP_display_errors_MAMP’

REF: See: http://drupal.org/node/66187   Search for: ‘php.ini’

revised: 6/23/11

All the hard work you put into your website is at risk of being lost forever if you don’t take one simple preventive measure.

You know very well  how much time and effort it has taken to get everything just right on your site: the functionality, the look and feel that reflects your vision, and the many hours spent crafting content that addresses the needs of your visitor.

All your work and the future benefits it represents can slip from your grasp and vanish without a trace unless you control one key piece of information: the name of the registrar account where your domain is registered, along with the username and password.

Don’t be careless: guard your property. Keep copies of the following in both digital and physical format in a safe place.

• Registrar Address for your domain
• Registrar Account Username/Password
• Hosting Account Address for your website
• Hosting Account Username/Password

Your domain name is a valuable piece of real-estate. Keep track of it.

WordPress version 3.1
Thesis version 1.8

When comments aren’t needed  on a Worpdress site’s page –such as the About or Contact page, a message appears in place of the comment box that reads: “Comments Are Closed On This Entry” What if you’d like to remove that message?  With the Thesis Theme, removing it is easy; just follow these simple instructions.

1. Login to the WordPress administrative section.
2. Navigate to: Thesis > Design Options > Display Option > Comments
3. Uncheck: “If comments are closed display a message”
4. View your site and look at the bottom of a page/post with comments turned off
5. Voila! Of course if you want the message, then check the box.

Still see the message?

1. Return to the admin section, check your steps, click the BIG SAVE BUTTON.
2. Clear browser cache and cookies and reload the page.

Building a website that focuses on the user, is targeted to a specific audience with a well defined offer and has an abundance of useful information is an engaging challenge.  Work continues after the site is launched -and for the life of the site, when the main effort shifts from building and launching to growing traffic. From the start, any web project needs to formulate a strategy for attracting visitors. Here are three key elements to think about when engaging this high-priority activity.

1. MAILING LIST: The mailing list of opt-in contacts is gold. These are the people who have given you permission to contact them with relevant high-value information. This list provides a firm foundation for any marketing initiative and growing that list should be a high priority. All that’s needed is a name and an email address. Do you have a list? Even if it’s only ten names, put that list together. Don’t delay, start now. To build a list there are some great services available including: Feedblitz, Feedburner, and Aweber, to name a few.

2. CONTENT: You have your brand new site up. Great! Feeding the site regularly –as in at least a few times a week, with text content is critical for feeding the spiders and key to being found in search. Producing content takes time and for the lone individual with a mission it can be a challenge. But it can become addictive in a good way. We might not always hit our posting target, but that’s ok, life happens. Just keep trying.

3. COMMUNITY: The whole point of having a site is -among other things, to let others know what you can do for them. Engaging with social media and building a community is that powerful tool we all need to build meaningful connections and get our message out. If nobody knows who we are, what we do, or what we can help with, what is the point?

While social media is valuable for connecting, finding new acquaintances and building credibility, it almost goes without saying that these are public spaces and should be treated as such. As in the realtime world, if we don’t want something known, we shouldn’t reveal it. But being a hermit is counterproductive.

Among the many tools available I use the following…

• Diigo
• Facebook
• Flikr
• LinkedIn
• StumbleUpon
• Twitter
• Youtube

Embrace and enjoy the adventure.  Happy building!

These notes are intended for web developers working in a MAC OSX environment with a working understanding of UNIX/Linux administration, basic WordPress development experience and knowledge of PHP, HTML and CSS.

Multisite testing should be with either virtualhosts configured with the OSX webserver, or MAMP/MAMP PRO.

Testing will not be possible using either localhost or 127.0.0.1   For instructions on how to set up virtualhosts with MAMP PRO, please reference this article.

Once a WordPress installation is up and running multisite functionality may be enabled. These instructions are prompts for accomplishing this task.

1. Administrative

• Full administrative access to the WP installation including all site files and the database is required.

2. Server Requirements

• Multisite development should first be tested in a local  environment.
• For live site deployment check first with the host provider to make sure multiple sites are supported. Due to scaling issues multiple sites and shared hosting are not recommended. Please see the wordpress codex.

3. Backup

• As always, backup existing installation site files and the database before making major changes to the site structure and functionality.

4. Open the wp-config file

• Above this line: /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */: enter the following:
• define(‘WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE’, true);

5. Install The Network

• Deactivate plugins ***IMPORTANT***
• In the WordPress dashboard navigate to: Administration > Tools > Network
• Click Network
• Read the instructions and click install
• Follow the instructions for:  adding a blogs.dir directory, modifying config.php, modifying the .htaccess file
• After modifications it will be necessary to login to the wordpress admin interface again. At the top of the dashboard menu will be a new section ‘Super Admin’ where additional sites and users may be added.
• Reactivate plugins

RESOURCES:
Worpress Theming
WordPress Codex

BONUS TOPIC: How to map top level domains in multisite:
verysimple.com
ottopress.com

Remember to relax, go slowly, take notes, develop locally, and have a backup just in case things fall apart.

Not too long ago I decided that instead of struggling to set up a local development platform every time it was necessary to migrate to a new computer, it was easier to install a development stack like MAMP. Doing so has taken much of the headache out of getting Apache and MySQL to play nice with each other. There is no charge for MAMP, but for a very reasonable $59 MAMP PRO makes setting up virtual hosts a snap. Well worth it, in my opinion.

To set up a local web development platform using MAMP and MAMP PRO I followed these steps. If you decide to do the same, be sure to have access to the computer administrator password.

The following procedures are very general. For detailed documentations about this application visit the MAMP website here.

1. Download, open the disk image and install MAMP and MAMP PRO to HD > APPLICATIONS

DOWNLOAD MAMP and MAMP PRO HERE

If virtual hosts have been set up previously on the local develoment server, make sure that of the domains defined in the hosts file located at HD > etc > hosts are labeled only with lowercase letters and numbers; underscores or special characters will prevent MAMP PRO from writing its own hosts file so do not use them when naming domains.

2. In System Preferences > Sharing, deselect the websharing checkbox. Close system preferences.

3. In Applications > MAMP PRO, launch the application by clicking the MAMP PRO icon. It is advised that MAMP and MAMP PRO not run concurrently so be sure to turn off MAMP before launching MAMP PRO.

4. MAMP PRO should now be running and open on the desktop. In the MAMP PRO user interface select the ‘SERVER‘ and ‘GENERAL‘ tabs. Under the ‘PORTS‘ section select the default ports button. This selection should produce a port setting of 80 for Apache, and 3306 for MySQL. Click ‘Apply’ then ‘OK’ to save the  changes and restart the Apache and database servers after being prompted for the system password.

5. To set up a virtual host for a local development project (in the browser the domain address field will appear as: http://local_virtual_host_domain) do the following

• Select the hosts tab in the MAMP PRO graphic user interface
• At the bottom of the columns on the left, select the plus (+) button
• At the top of the right column the general tab will be greyed. In the Server Name field  write your virtual host domain name. This name will be written to the MAMP hosts file at ~/Library/Application_Support/appsolute/MAMP PRO/hosts
• In the ‘Disk Location’ section below, click the ‘Choose’ button to locate the directory where the local website files are located.
• Click ‘Apply’ then ‘OK’ to save the settings changes by restarting the Apache and database servers after entering the requested system password.

NOTE For WordPress applications: In the options table of the database the siteurl and home address fields must be changed to reflect this new domain url.

6. To see the directory contents of localhost do the following.

• In the hosts section click the ‘Advanced’ tab in the right hand column.
• Select ‘localhost’ in the left column
• Check the ‘indexes’ box
• Click ‘Apply’ then ‘OK’ to save the settings changes by restarting the Apache and database servers after entering the requested system password.

VIEWING THE DATABASE: To view the contents of the MySQL database click on Server > General > MySQL and then the Launch phpMyAdmin tab in the middle of the screen.

Need Help? If you have questions about MAMP or MAMP PRO, please visit the forum.

Creating and uploading a small navigational and branding aid, the Favicon, can be troublesome so here are five easy steps that I hope will smooth the road for you.

1. In your version of Photoshop -or similar program, create a 500px x 500px graphic. If you’re a Photoshop user, as I am, save your image as a Photoshop (PSD) document.

2. Resize this PSD file image to 16px by 16px and save as a PNG file to your desktop.

3. Open a browser session and navigate to the Convertico website where we will convert the PNG file to an ICO file

4. On the home page of the Convertico site there are only two steps needed:

• Upload your PNG file in the proper field, and click “CONVERT”
• Click on the link ‘Click Here To Download’ saving the file directly to your desktop: If on a PC right click and “Save Target As…” If on a Mac, press option and click “Save Link As…” and pick the save destination for the file.

5. As required by your web application setup, upload your newly minted favicon.ico and presto, you’ve done it!

NOTES:
Keep your graphic simple using two or at most three graphic elements. As you know, or discovered, keeping the graphic statement bold and simple is only practical as most of the detail in a larger image is lost when reduced to the smaller 16 x 16 pixel format.

On LOGOS:
Designing logos are fun, but require patience, sensitivity, and more work than you might think. For some great guidelines I recommend you look at Before & After Page Design by John McWade. Sold at Amazon.

Please Note: If you click on the link and buy the book then I receive a commission from Amazon for the referral; but only if you buy. Thank you!

…I enjoyed our talk.

You know, I wanted to ask you about something you said, just to make sure I understood.

What I heard you say this morning was that you spend fifteen hundred dollars a few times a year to mail out a series of promotional postcards. So, in the past ten years you’ve spent forty five thousand dollars… on postcard mailings.

Direct mail is certainly a powerful and effective tactic, but why would you continue putting your money into that when it’s  possible  to deliver  more information  to more people at a fraction of the cost of mailing a card?  Investing  money in a marketing campaign doesn’t seem to be the issue, so what is it that’s preventing you from fully embracing the web?

WordPress can be a resource hog with all those calls to the database, so a good move then is to utilize the fantastic WP Super Cache pluggin to bring things back to speed.

One important caveat: when updating the site after installing this caching pluggin, be sure to delete the pluggin cache. If you don’t you could very well  be left scratching your head, wondering why your layout changes sometimes do or do not appear, or why they appear in one browser, and not another. For example deleted widgets still show, or banner images don’t change.

Please, let me save you a few hours of aggravation. This might not be the solution to your particular issue, but it’s worth considering, and certainly worth making note of for the future.

And if you haven’t already, do install this pluggin.

CONTENT *** USABILITY *** DESIGN *** ARCHITECTURE *** MARKETING

Paul Graham in his essay “Made in USA” tells of an Italian friend being surprised at the ugliness of the American landscape after having taken a train from Boston to Providence. Why, despite it’s great wealth does the manmade landscape of America look so horrendously ugly, asks Graham? Impatience. Here’s a truism: If quality is the goal, patience is required.

7 + 4 :: MUST READ BOOKS

1.    Content Strategy for the Web, Kristina Halvorson
2.    Letting Go of the Words, Janice Redish
3.    The Elements of User Experience, Jesse James Garrett
4.    Don't Make Me Think, Steve Krugg
5.    Graphic Design: A User's Manual, Adrian Shaughnessy
6.    The Art of Looking Sideways, Alan Fletcher
7.    Designing Design, Kenya Hara
8.    Information Architecture, Christina Wodtke
9.    Envisioning Information, Edward Tufte
10.  Inbound Marketing, Brian Halligan
11.   Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age, Paul Graham

Do you have any books you’d think should be added to this list? If so please post a comment.

And if you’d like to receive updates on future posts by email, please subscribe.

FTC Disclosure: The above links are Amazon affiliate listings. If you click and buy I  receive a small  commission allowing me to spend time blogging. Thank you!