Steinar Knutsen » wordpress plugins

3 Great WordPress Plugins to Customize Your Blog’s Navigation

Steinar — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:12:37 +0000

WordPress 3.o introduced some great new features including an advanced set of Menu options. Nonetheless, I always find the need for additional flexibility to customize what Posts and Pages are shown on my blog, when they’re shown and in what order.

Here are 3 WordPress Plugins to Customize Your Blog’s Navigation:

PageMash: This is one of my all time favorites. It allows to drag and drop Pages into the order you need for navigation. You can also drag and drop child Pages in, out and among Parent pages. This is a real life saver if you several nested Pages and want to change things around a bit.
Exclude Pages from Navigation: This plugin provides a checkbox on the editing page which you can check to exclude pages from the primary navigation. This is useful if you want to have a page “hidden” from everyday visitors or if you really only want people to find it through a link on another Page.
WP-PageNavi: If you have a lot of Posts you’ll like this plugin, which adds a more advanced paging navigation to your WordPress blog. For example, instead “previous” and “next” at the bottom, this plugin will help create a numbered index of Posts, such as Prev, 1,2,3, Next, Last. It may require some custom CSS depending on your theme, but the end result is quote nice.

Any other WordPress Plugins you recommend to customize your blog’s navigation?

How to start a podcast quickly, easily and without spending a fortune

Steinar — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:49:12 +0000

Listen or Download

Starting a podcast is easier than ever these days. You can use some of the free tools that come with virtually every computer these days or make a few modest purchases to improve the quality of your podcast. I recommend you focus on content creation before buying a bunch of unnecessary equipment.

Here’s are some of the basic elements to consider when launching a podcast for the first time:

What is a podcast? There’s some argument over where the term came from and who produced the first podcast, but i use the definition: audio & video “portable on demand”. Essentially, this includes new media content that’s available for consumption in iTunes (or another leading podcast hub), directly on your website, or via a mobile device, such as the iPhone.

What microphone should I use for my podcast? Since a podcast obviously involves audio communication, I recommend you use the best quality microphone you can afford or one that at least offers a level of quality your listeners will find acceptable. I’ve done podcast episodes using my Mac internal mic and my iphone, but when I’m in the office I use the Samson CO1U USB Condenser Mic.(aff)

Where should I deliver my podcast? Any website or blog can have its own podcast. By definition, a podcast doesn’t need to be on iTunes so don’t let that misconception stop you from publishing audio content. For example, sign up with AudioBoo and record a show – then paste the html or script into a blog post or a web page. This is an example of a very simple approach. You could also set up a WordPress blog, install one of many podcast plugings, and upload audio files from your computer. I prefer to use the Podcasting plugin, but there are several other WordPress plugins available.

What should I say on my podcast? All of us have something to say; however, podcasting is not for everyone. My suggestion is that you find a subject you are passionate about and make a list of potential topics you could discuss. What are the top 5 questions people ask you about your topic? What are the top 5 questions they should be asking? There’s content for 10 episodes right there.

Should I do all the talking on my podcast? Some podcasts are run by a single person who does all the talking, while others are two or more people engaged in a conversation. Some are discussion style, while others are more of an interview. It really depends on your subject, what you have to share personally and who else you know that can help liven up the discussion. Ask your listeners what’s working for them and change as needed.

Is there a show format I should follow? I recommend you establish a consistent format or ageneda for your podcast episodes or shows. The reason is that a consistent format puts the listeners at ease and builds a certain level of expectation over time. For example: 1)intro music 2) introduction 3) topic one 4) topic two 5) pick of the week 6) closing remarks with call to action and 7)closing music. That’s just an example — the possibilities are unlimited.

What file format should I use for my podcast? MP3 is the most widely accepted audio file format, but most podcasting hosts will accept a variety of file formats.

How do I get my podcast on iTunes and how much does it cost? Podcast distribution on iTunes is free. Just be sure you’re using the correct RSS format. To learn more open iTunes and go to Store>Podcasts>Submit a Podcast. You may also have readers subscribe to you podcast through iTunes without actually publishing to iTunes. Of course, this does not make your podcast available to the general public but is a convenience.

Are you thinking of starting a podcast? What’s holding you back? Is there something I can help clarify to get you started?

My favorite WordPress plugins when setting up a new blog

Steinar — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:38:38 +0000

This is a list of my favorite WordPress plugins when setting up a new blog. It’s not all inclusive, but a good place to start if you want search engine optimization, social media integration, mobile friendly interface, audio & video podcasting, Google Analytics, Google sitemap, navigation control, and spam security.

Links to these WordPress plugins:

I hope these plugins help next time you set up a new WordPress blog.

What are your favorite WordPress plugins?