Here is a simple and effective way to create a list of your most popular (most commented) posts without using a plugin. First, add the following to your theme's functions.php file ... function most_popular_posts($no_posts = 10, $before = '<li>', $after = '</li>', $show_pass_post = false, $duration='') { global $wpdb; $request = "SELECT ID, post_title, COUNT($wpdb->comments.comment_post_ID)... continue reading
I'm not a fan of widgets. Instead, I prefer hardcoding everything. However I realize many people love them as they make customization as easy as clicking a button. But as is with everything else things can and do go wrong. How many times have you loaded up with widgets then change themes only to find some of them stuck or even inaccessible? This means reverting back to the previous theme, clearing... continue reading
WordPress uses the template tag wp_list_categories() to output a list of categories on your blog. While it can be used anywhere it most commonly appears in the sidebar. By default, the list will be outputted as a single column. In this post I'll show you how to break the list into two columns. Why do this? For any number of reasons. Perhaps you have a wide sidebar and you want to fill in some of that... continue reading
We've all seen those neat javascript powered tabbed interfaces in the sidebars of some themes. In fact they're common place in most premium themes. Although I don't use the feature here it can come in very handy with a theme that has limited sidebar real estate. In this post I'll show you how you can easily add a tabbed interface to your own blog. There are some fine scripts out there such as MooTabs... continue reading
Hotlinking otherwise known as bandwidth stealing refers to the practice of directly linking to non-html objects on another server. This may be any number of things but most often involves image files. Why some people engage in this practice is beyond me but I assume many of the times it is simply a matter of not knowing better. Whatever the motivation the cost can add up quickly. Let's say for an example... continue reading
