All Entries Tagged With: "solostream"

WordPress 3.0 Menu Manager

If you have recently updated your sites to WordPress 3.0 you probably haven’t noticed a huge difference in the functionality of your site. That is because even though WordPress 3.0 comes with some awesome new functions, unless your theme supports those functions you won’t be able to use them. Anyone who has read my sites knows I’m a huge fan of the SoloStream themes. Michael Pollack the smart designer behind the original SoloStream has created updates for all of their premium themes, so that we can take advantage of all of the new function in WordPress 3.0 with the premium themes we are already using.

One of the new functions that really stands out is the menu manager. With 3.0 we can create custom top and category navigational menus. We can even create custom links and drop then into any navigation window. Anyone who has ever tried to create a page that is just a link in the past will appreciate this function. For instance have you ever used an older theme that didn’t have a home page? With the custom menu button you can easily create a home page custom link.

The category and navigational pages can be reordered in a drag and drop fashion. You can even create subcategories and parent child pages. These new functions brings WordPress one step closer to being an inclusive CMS. If you want to use these functions you need to make sure your theme supports them. The new 2010 supports all of the new functions, if you are using a premium theme make sure it supports 3.0 or has an upgrade available.

Here is a SoloStream video that gives a great visual example of how to use the new menu manager. Below that video is a WordPress video that highlights the new functions of 3.0

Popularity: 100% [?]

My New Favorite Theme From Solostream

I just purchased a new developer version of  Wp-Ellie the latest theme from Solostream. Themes have come a long way recently, but Solostream is still at the top of their game. If you have purchased one of my new sites chances are this is the theme I based it on. Here are some helpful tips in using the new theme and navigating and posting on your site.

Installation and plugins here is a list of the plugins that have built in compatibility with Wp-Ellie.

How to set up the featured content. You can turn featured posts off or on from the theme settings in the WordPress dashboard. If you would like to make a post a featured post all you have to do is add the featured tag to the posts tags. The ideal size for featured images is 500px wide by 220px height.

From a design point of view you should always resize your images properly. I constantly see siteson Flippa  with images that have been stretched to fit in the featured windows, when proper resizing will make the difference between an amateur looking site and a professional looking site. 

As far as the recommended plugins definitely install Get The Image because once it is activated it will make the first uploaded image automatically become the featured image and the thumbnail image. You don’t even need to put the image in the post just upload the image in the post and click publish and Get The Image will do the rest. If you have more than one image in your post just reorder them by changing the order numbers, the featured and thumbnail images need to be number 1.

The only other recommended plugin that I always use is Yet Another Related Posts Plugin this keeps the content fresh and gives your readers more relevant options to explore, plus when combined with All In One SEO Pack the combination helps with the SEO of the site.

Popularity: 29% [?]

How To Add Images To The WP-Smooth Theme

One of the things that makes WP-Smooth so stunning is the images. In order to add an image to the featured articles of WP-Smooth you first need to resize the image to:

width: 650 px

height: 250 px

Then all you have to do is upload the image and the theme takes care of everything else. Don’t forget to view the video in full screen click on the icon in the bottom right hand corner.

Popularity: 76% [?]

How To Use WP-Smooth

One of my favorite themes is WP-Smooth by Solostream. As far as premium themes go the selection at Solostream is amazing. WP-Smooth is my 3rd premium theme by Solostream and chances are if you have purchased a site from me this is the theme I used because I try to always purchase a developers license whenever I purchase a premium theme. That way I can use it on as many sites as I want and I can customize the theme and sell it as well.

If you have purchased a site from me that uses WP-Smooth,  just click on the WP-Smooth link above, and scroll down to WP-Smooth 1.0 and click on theme demo, setup, and tutorials. There you will find tons of information and examples on how to edit your theme and get the most out of it. But the real beauty of WP-Smooth is the customized theme backend that allows tons of changes and customizations without ever having to know how to code.

I think all of the Solostream Themes are brilliant, and they all have the easy to customize interface. If your are in the market for a real premium theme, check out what Solostream has to offer. Most Solostream themes come with your choice of three licenses. The Basic license is a single use license for one site, the Premium license is for use on multiple sites owned by you, and the Developer theme gives you the license to use the theme for your own sites and sites that you sell. You just can’t sell the theme on it’s own. I usually prefer to purchase the developers license when I find a theme I like. But with Solostream you can purchase any license and then upgrade later.

Like I said before you can get most of your WP-Smooth questions answered from the demo on the Solostream site. But I will be making some tutorials as well.

Popularity: 29% [?]