Finally, after a full week of catching up, here is the video tutorial version of my presentation at WordCamp Whistler 09 for those who were there and those who couldn’t come. The video is also available on WordPress.tv if you’d rather watch it there. I recorded the video over the weekend and it contains the entire presentation including all my fancy slides as well as the code examples and demos. The only thing you won’t see is me waving my hands around and messing up the code like I did at the actual event ;o)
Code Snippets
The last half of the presentation centers around creating Custom Page Templates and Custom Fields for layout purposes. To help you along in your own WordPress site development, here are those code snippets ready to be cut and pasted into your templates:
Custom Page Templates in 5 lines of code
This block of code is inserted at the very top of the Custom Page Template file. To get started, simply open the page.php file, save it under a different name, paste these 5 lines of code at the top of the document, save and upload to your server. To activate the new Custom Page Template just select it from the Template menu under Attributes in the Page Editor within WordPress.
Custom Fields in one line of code
This code can be used in any template file including but not limited to page.php, any Custom Page Templates, index.php, archives.php, single.php etc etc. The code returns a string of text that matches the text inserted in the custom field. Remember to replace $key with the actual name of the custom field. You can read more about Custom Fields and how to use them in the WordPress Codex.
ID, '$key', true); ?>
Custom Field that parses PHP code
This code is used to parse (interpret) PHP code inserted into custom fields. It is a bit wonky – for instance it terminates any other custom field code placed directly after it in a page – so use it with caution. Otherwise it works exactly as the code above.
ID, 'centerBox', true); ?>
'.$boxContent); ?>
Applications Used in the Presentation
After the presentation several people came up to me and asked what applications I used, so here is a short list:
BitNami WordPress Stack
The demo site I used in the presentation was actually installed and running locally within Windows 7. To achieve this I used an ingenious application named BitNami WordPress Stack. Once installed this application will run a fully functional version of WordPress with database entry, plug-ins, custom themes and everything else you want to throw at it right inside Windows (XP, Vista and Windows 7 supported) so you don’t have to keep uploading your files to a server or hassle through complicated XAMP installs to play around with WordPress while offline. You can even install several different WordPress and other open source CMS stacks on your computer simultaneously to further increase your productivity. I have no idea exactly how it works but BitNami works incredibly well. Just remember to set the IP address to “localhost” when you install it.
You can download the BitNami WordPress Stack here. For Mac users there is a similar application called MAMP but I know nothing about it.
Web Developer Add-On for FireFox
FireFox is my absolute favourite browser and I use it for browsing as well as in the design process. One of the main advantages of FireFox is the myriad of add-ons you can install that make web site development a lot easier. The one I use the most is the Web Developer Add-On. This small application within an application lets you see and mess with CSS, turn styles and JavaScript on and off and do tons of other stuff that makes it easier to dissect and troubleshoot buggy web pages. Combine it with the HTML Validator add-on and you have a true powerhouse in a small browser window.
Microsoft Expression Web 2
My web development platform of choice is Microsoft Expression Web 2. This new offering from Microsoft is what enables me to build custom WordPress themes and web sites like AnnyChih.com from scratch in less than 24 hours. There are many great things you can talk about with Expression Web 2 but for WordPress theme development the two main features is full PHP support, unrivaled CSS integration and Standards Based CSS generation right out of the box. If you want to know more about Expression Web 2 or want to learn how to use it you can read more on this blog or pick up a copy of my book Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Expression Web 2 in 24 Hours. It’s a good read, I promise.
9 replies on “Using WordPress in Alternate Configurations – My WordCamp Whistler 09 Presentation”
Thank you Morten! Watched this video and am inspired to go back and work on all of my blogs again to see if I can incorporate some of your suggestions especially the revised entrance template. Never thought of using it as a CMS. And the idea of working within Expression Web which is my favorite web editor makes me even more excited and ready to see what I can accomplish.
Thanks again from a fellow MVP. Nice job.
[…] blog. The site he uses in the tutorial is one he did AnnyChih.com which is fantastic. You can watch Using WordPress in Alternate Configurations – My WordCamp Whistler 09 Presentation and see for yourself how it is done. He also provides the code snippets you will need to try out […]
Thanks Morten for this tutorial. I am just getting my feet wet with WordPress, Blogging, and Expression Web. The video gave me lots of thougts about where I would like to go with my blogging.
Glenn
MS Access MVP
Thanks a lot! I am just learning Information.
And php and this was very easy to follow and helped a lot.
You really took time to explain every little bit.
Thanks again…
Thank you Admin.Your working very nice.
thank you for the tutorial. will it work on latest wp version too ?
Yes, the technique works with any version of WordPress.
Marten,
Thank you for your excellent instructions on how to work with WP in EW. I am having some troubles though… my display view in Expression Web is a complete jumble, with the page not looking anything like the original page in my web browser. Is there something that I might be doing wrong? (My template is TwentyEleven)
Yes,
well written article. I could find out some useful information on
your blog guys. This is really useful for everyone. I love this post.
Thanks for sharing it.