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Using RSS Feeds

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

I am a huge proponent of RSS feeds, but I often come across people who don’t understand their benefits or ease of use. I love how simply you can create your own customized “newspaper” delivered to you in practically the same manner as your email with just a few clicks of your mouse.

Identifying a Feed

Sites that frequently update their content often have a feed available. There are several ways to determine if a site has a feed. The typical RSS icon is orange with a dot and two curved lines as shown:
Typical RSS Feed Icon
This little icon can often be found within the content of a site, often in the header or sidebar.

A more seasoned RSS feed user will know to find the subscribe link in the address bar of the web browser. Below is an example in Firefox:
RSS feed in Firefox

A close up of the address bar in Safari (the icon is a bit different):
RSS feed in Safari

The Reader

Before diving into the world of feeds, you will need to have a feed reader of some kind. There are readers of all forms and styles, from desktop applications to fully online solutions. Since I make use of Google’s email system, I chose to continue with their services and use Google Reader.

If you have a Google account, you can easily access Google Reader here: google.com/reader

Other great RSS reader options are discussed over on Lifehacker >>

Now What?

Now that you know how to identify a feed, and have a feed reader simply click on the link for the site you wish to subscribe. You will be directed to a page where you can then select your feed reader.

Screen shot of the subscribe page

You will now find content is pulled into your reader, and you no longer have to visit a site over and over to get the latest posts and information.

Test out your new-found skill right now, by subscribing to my site now.

Suggested Feeds

Keep up with your friends
Blogs, Twitter, Flickr, and other social sites have RSS feeds, subscribe to all your pals for a universal site to check

Back up your info
You can keep track of your friends, so just as easily you can subscribe to your own social media streams to back up your data

Get your local weather updates
Just follow the instructions and get customized weather delivered to you >>

Search for a job
You will have to find job sites specific to your needs, but instead of scouring the job boards, it saves so much time and energy when it comes to you

Get the latest info in your industry or hobbies
Just with the job sites, you will need to find those tailored your interests but it will keep you as the one in the know

Track your packages
Sign up for TrackThis and get updates on package locations: usetrackthis.com

I’ve found RSS feeds to be an invaluable tool for any type of information that frequently changes. So just explore your favorite sites and you may find you don’t have to visit them as often as you have been.

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WordPress – Featured Articles with Excerpt and Read More Link

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

I’ve been rather busy lately, mostly with web work, so I’ve been manipulating the WordPress template tags with increasing frequency. I often come across an issue that I can’t find the answer to as quick as I like, or in this case at all, so I’m sharing my little code developments with you. It is rather simple, and highly customizable, so use and update it to your heart’s content.

The below code creates, in WordPress, an unordered list of the 5 most recent posted items with your custom crafted excerpt followed by a read more link which can be changed as desired:

<h3>Recent Articles</h3>
        <ul><?php $postslist = get_posts('numberposts=5&order=DESC&orderby=date');
 		foreach ($postslist as $post) :
 		?>
   	<li><a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>">
              <?php the_title(); ?></a> - <?php the_excerpt(); ?> <a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>" class="more">More &gt;&gt;</a>
        </li>
	<?php endforeach; ?>
    	</ul>

Here we have the same general code, but with this the there is a specific category it is pulling from, so you would change the “category=3″ to your category’s id number:

<h3>Featured Articles</h3>
        <ul><?php $postslist = get_posts('numberposts=5&order=DESC&orderby=date&category=3');
 		foreach ($postslist as $post) :
 		?>
   		<li><a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>">
                      <?php the_title(); ?></a> - <?php the_excerpt(); ?> <a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?> "class="more">More &gt;&gt;</a></li>
		      <?php endforeach; ?>
    	</ul>

If you just want it to pull the first 55 characters from your entry, instead of a custom made excerpt, use the following:

<h3>Featured Articles</h3>
        <ul><?php $postslist = get_posts('numberposts=5&order=DESC&orderby=date&category=3');
 		foreach ($postslist as $post) :
 		?>
   		<li><a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>">
                      <?php the_title(); ?></a> - <?php the_content('<span class="more">More &gt;&gt;</span>'); ?></li>
		      <?php endforeach; ?>
    	</ul>

So, hopefully you WordPress users out there will find this useful. I’ll post a link to the site I’m currently using this on as an example, once the site is ready for public viewing.

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Widgets for Design

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

I’m always looking for ways to improve my work flow as a designer, and I’ve found a few Dashboard Widgets for my Mac that have proven themselves time and again.

Lorem Ipsum Widget

The Lorem Ipsum Widget from g-design.net has been invaluable for my work in print and web. Often for client mock ups I’m in need of some quick placement text, and within a few keystrokes I’ve got just what I need. Try it for yourself >>
If your not a Mac user try: html-ipsum.com

Entities Lookup Widget

LeftLogic’s HTML Entity Character Lookup is a fantastic way to avoid scanning through the list of entity codes. With over 250 character entities this time saver is quite useful for those moments when you can’t remember the valid way to present quotations or bullet points. Try it for yourself >>
If your not a Mac user, don’t worry LeftLogic has other plugins on their site: leftlogic.com

I do wish I could have a third widget on here to round out my collection, but I am still searching for the cure-all to my color woes. Adobe’s Kuler has a nice interface but I don’t enjoy the reliance on an Internet connection without a color picker. I have also attempted to use Color Theory by Jumis Inc., but it needs better integration with the OS. For now I will continue to use ColorZilla for my web needs, and the built in color picker in Adobe’s programs when working on print design.

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Posted in Thoughts, Web Related | 2 Comments »

Don’t Forget to Check the Checklist

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Even if you are making a theme for your own use, make sure you follow the theme development check list over on the WordPress Codex.

I’m working on revamping my portfolio section, and in the extensive troubleshooting process I came across a nice little plugin for Slimbox2. Which just like everything else I tried, failed to work. They appeared to have a nice little support forum so I posted my query and after much trial and error with the plugins creator (oddly enough I went to high school with his brother), I discovered the issue was with my theme.

I poked around and discovered that I was missing a small bit of quite important code for plugins to work:
< ?php wp_head(); ?>

This little line of code is essential for WordPress and its plugins to know where to add elements to the header.

With that mystery solved, expect a better portfolio section soon.

For an example of what the Slimbox2 plugin does, view this post of mine on the iPod case I made, and click on the image.

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Andreas Tabor’s Aesthetic Literacy

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

I recently began a collaborative effort with a friend of mine, Andreas Tabor, redesigning his existing online portfolio, AestheticLiteracy.com.  Andreas is in the last few weeks of his undergraduate career as a graphic design student and needed a site that expressed his personality but was also easy to keep up to date.

We discussed his his options and it seemed that a custom WordPress theme with some instruction on maintaining his final site would be enough to meet all his needs. Andreas provided me with his desired aesthetics and layout as a Photoshop file which I then converted into code and implemented as a WordPress theme.

This was a unique experience for me as I was acting more in the role of a code monkey with less design power.  It was also a good learning opportunity as I was forced to think a bit differently than if I had created the layout from scratch.  Overall, working with a friend was a challenge, but I’m glad I could help him out while also gaining more knowledge and experience with the capabilities of WordPress.

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