It would be very tedious if for each article I wrote, I had to create an entirely new WordPress instance. That would require a fresh database, the most recent version of WordPress, a new user, etc.

The answer, of course, is WordPress Multisite. (Btw, check out our Multisite guides here.)

If you’re testing loads of CSS, you’re going to need a Windows virtual machine set up as well! Cross browser compatibility is essential, so it’s handy to have Windows versions of Chrome, Explorer, Firefox and so on at your fingertips.

The coolest part about MAMP (Mac, Apache, MySQL and PHP) is that you can basically have your own local server running (duh!) with custom domain names. These domain names aren’t accessible to the rest of the world, but when you’re constantly looking at WordPress, it’s kinda nice to not see the default “localhost:8888″ as your URL for everything. This server CAN, however, be visited by your local Windows setup.

The End Result

At the end of this article, you’ll have a nice WordPress MS site in which you can create multiple blogs (with multiple themes to test). You’ll also have a Windows Virtual Machine in which you can check out the aforementioned sites in Internet Explorer (god forbid!), and so on.

The Catch

MAMP has a free version, and a PRO version. For this tutorial, we’ll be using the paid version. You can use the free version if you wish, there’s just a little extra set up to go through (which I’ll point you in the right direction to later).

For Windows testing, we’ll be using VMWare Fusion. I love VMWare Fusion for its “Unity” feature- you can seamlessly have Windows windows (har har) in your OSX setup. I like this, because I really don’t like the Windows UI and hate looking at it. But that’s just me!

Both of these are paid apps. But, if like myself you’re constantly testing and creating multiple WordPress themes, they are two invaluable tools to have.

Setting up a MAMP Server

MAMP is the easy part. Thanks to MAMP PRO, setting up a multisite installation is a breeze. We can even set it up under a custom domain. WordPress.ms seems fitting.

Setting the Correct Ports

Once you’ve installed MAMP PRO, fire it up and you’ll be presented with the welcome screen- close that for now, and jump back to the MAMP PRO app.

You’ll see that Apache and MySQL are using some strange ports- 8888 and 8889 respectively. In order for our Windows box to reach our site properly (and for custom domain names to resolve correctly), we need to change these to the default Apache and MySQL ports. They are 80, and 3306.

OSX comes with a version of PHP pre-installed that’s pretty difficult to get set up. Since we’re using MAMP though, there’s no need for it. That does mean, however, we need to turn OFF internet sharing in System Preferences. Fire it up, and make sure it’s not active.

Set Up the Server

Cool. Now we’ve done that, you’re going to want to select the “Hosts” tab in the top left of MAMP PRO, and click the “+” symbol on the hosts list to the left.

Here is where we set up our brand new WordPress server. You need to set 3 things here: The Server Name (URL), Disk Location (where the files reside) and an Alias (URLs). We’re going to use the domain name “wordpress.ms” as our domain, since a quick trip to wordpress.ms will show you it doesn’t conflict with any actual live sites.

I’ve set the root directory to be ~/Sites/wordpress.ms. You can make it whatever you want, but I think it’s nice mapping file directories to URLs.

As good practice, I always make sure the Server Name mimics the first alias. Hit “Apply,” and it will ask you to restart the servers. Do so. You may be prompted to enter your password.

If you jump to your favorite browser now and visit wordpress.ms, you should be presented with the default MAMP screen. Great!

If you can’t afford the PRO version of MAMP and still want to use domain names, there’s a great tutorial about it you should definitely read up on.

Next Comes the Database

As with any website, you need a database to accompany the WordPress website. If you head back to MAMP and select the server tab (next to the hosts tab), then the MySQL sub-tab, you’ll see a button to launch PHPMyAdmin. That’s where we’ll create our database.

Once PHPMyAdmin launches, you want to go to the databases tab and enter a new database name. Call it whatever you like, wordpressms will do.

By default MAMP PRO sets your MySQL username and password as root and root. Easy enough! We use that when we’re setting up WordPress, but first we need to download it!

WordPress Setup

This section focusses on setting up and installing WordPress MS, so if you know how to do this, feel free to skip to the next section.

Head over to WordPress.org and download the latest release of WordPress. Unzip it, and drop it into the directory we set earlier- if you’re following my steps, it should be in ~/Sites/wordpress.ms (~ is your home directory!).

If you refresh your wordpress.ms site in your browser, you’ll be presented with the usual set up blog page. Enter details as usual, but make sure you specify port :3306 when you set the database host! This is essential, otherwise your site will not work.

The details following are up to you- call your site what you wish, whether it be “WordPress.ms” or “WordPress Tests” or “WordPress Development.”

All goes well, you’ll be told by WordPress that WordPress has been installed and you should login!

Multisite

Once logged in, it’s time to activate multisite.

Open wp-config.php in our new install, and on line 82 (just below the WP_DEBUG constant definition), paste the following.

/* Multisite */
define('WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true);

If you refresh your browser while logged in, there will be a new menu item within the Tools section called “Network Setup.”

One this page, you’ll be asked to do a little extra set up regarding your blog. You want to make sure the websites are set up under sub-directories, and once again call it whatever you like.

Upon clicking continue, you’ll be prompted to add some more code to your wp-config.php file (which you should add below the WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE constant we entered just before).

define('MULTISITE', true);
define('SUBDOMAIN_INSTALL', false);
define('DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE', 'wordpress.ms');
define('PATH_CURRENT_SITE', '/');
define('SITE_ID_CURRENT_SITE', 1);
define('BLOG_ID_CURRENT_SITE', 1);

And to completely re-write your .htaccess to allow multiple blogs

RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]

# add a trailing slash to /wp-admin
RewriteRule ^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?wp-admin$ $1wp-admin/ [R=301,L]

RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
RewriteRule ^ - [L]
RewriteRule ^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?(wp-(content|admin|includes).*) $2 [L]
RewriteRule ^([_0-9a-zA-Z-]+/)?(.*\.php)$ $2 [L]
RewriteRule . index.php [L]

You’ll then have to log in again after WordPress has properly calibrated itself for Multisite use.

Once logged in again, you’ve now got access to the Network Admin! This is great news. For all Mac purposes, you’ve got a brilliant WordPress testing ground set up for all your clients/themes/projects!

I’ve been using this set up for years, and its yet to fail me. I can have an unlimited number of test sites, using only one database and one set of WordPress code. It also means when new versions of WordPress are released, you’ve only got to update once- and it replicates across all sites.

Facing The Dragon (Windows)

We had to get here at somepoint *sigh*, but having a Windows box is an essential tool for any front end developer. You’ve gotta know how any site you work on behaves on IE as a start, and having Windows versions of other major vendors is a huge plus too.

I’m not going to go in-depth on how to install it, as plenty of people have talked about it before.

I am however, going to show you how to set up your new Windows box to access your MAMP multisite.

Once you’re set up, its a simple act of finding out your Host’s IP address (mac) and making your Windows box’s host file point to MAMP under a url.

If you’ve done this procedure before on your Mac, the process is nearly identical. MSDOS has some strange commands though, so I’ve run through it below to get it set up correctly.

Finding Your IP Address

To find your Mac’s IP address, it’s as simple as running a command in Terminal. If you’re not familiar with Terminal.app, it’s basically a console that runs commands directly to your computer. Old School!

The command you’re after is ifconfig -a. This will list all IP ports you have running, and their address as well.

When you install VMWare Fusion, a new port is opened up, which is the link between your Mac and your new Virtual Machine. After running the ifconfig function, you should see a port called vmnet# (the hash will be a number). Grab the IP Address that is listed next to “inet.” If you’re struggling to find it, refer to the image below.

Either write this down, or copy it somewhere for later use. We use it in the Windows box’s /etc/hosts file to point to MAMP.

Taming The Dragon

Windows’s command line tool is nowhere near as nice, easy to use, or user friendly as Terminal.app. Fortunately, you can find your /etc/hosts file in C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. You may have to right click on it, and select “Open as an Administrator.” This is the equivalent of sudo when in Terminal.

At the bottom of the file, you want to paste the IP address you just found, and then space, and then wordpress.ms:

172.16.196.1 wordpress.ms

This step is similar to setting up wordpress.ms in MAMP, except MAMP automatically edits /etc/hosts for us.

Save and close this. There’s one last step. Remember I said MSDOS is gross? We need to fire it up now, to flush the Domain Name Servers, or basically reload the hosts file for browsing.

The command for this is ipconfig /flushdns.

Once you’ve done this, open up Internet Explorer, and try hitting your wordpress.ms URL!

Boom! Instant access to MAMP’s multisite.

The ability to do this is invaluable. You’ve basically got an environment where you can test code in every and any browser. It would be worth installing all major browsers on your new Windows machine, so you can check all of them too (though we all know it’s mainly IE6 and 7 you’d want this for ;) ).

That’s all there is to it!

Too easy, right? You can now browse your sites in any browser you wish. Even compare them side by side!
Having this set up has been really handy to me when testing bugs in websites when a client screams, “BUT IT DOESN’T WORK IN INTERNET EXPLORER!” No, really? Save the world and update your browser!

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below!

Related posts:

1. WordPress for Mac: How to Install Locally with MAMP [Tutorial] Learn how to install WordPress locally on your Mac with...
2. 10 Ways to Set Up a Testing Environment for WordPress Need a way to test new themes and plugins? Any...
3. How to Test New WordPress, WPMU or BuddyPress Themes in a Live Environment In case you’re likely to be doing any theme testing...

When you install the plugin, a screen will pop up to ask you what type of project you’re working on so that it can tailor its recommendations for you. You’ll be presented with three options:

• Plugin for a self-hosted WordPress installation
• Theme for a self-hosted WordPress installation
• Theme for a WordPress.com VIP site

For example, if you select a theme project for a self-hosted installation, the Developer plugin will offer the following plugin recommendations to assist in development:

Install and activate any of the plugins listed with just one click.

The Developer plugin also adds a helpful menu under Tools in the dashboard where you can see a list of all recommended plugins. There you will find a few quick tips on enabling constants in your wp-config.php file for debugging and logging database queries.

This plugin is especially useful if you’re new to WordPress development and you want to quickly get access to all of the sweet plugins that experienced WP developers use in their work. Consider it a gateway to everything you need for debugging and creating code that is compliant with WordPress coding standards. Download the Developer plugin for free from the WordPress plugin repository.

Related posts:

1. Multisite Plugin Manager: An Essential Free Tool for Every WordPress Network The plugin formerly known as WPMU Plugin Manager is back...
2. Thank a Plugin Developer and Mind Your Manners In 2009, when the WordPress repository passed the 4,000 plugin...
3. WordPress Plugin Developer Handbook is Coming Soon WordPress is preparing a Plugin Developer Handbook to help both...

Note: Users with WordPress 3.4.2 may find that the plugin does not integrate with their themes and templates or that they need a second user with Editor privileges to view the links once the plugin is installed.

In short, if you can get this plugin to work, it is an excellent way to manage your WordPress posts and pages, with little hassle. You can us it for immediate testing, on-the-spur corrections, and reorganizing of your posts and pages with little hassle and fuss.

Step 1: Installation

Installing Quick Post Management is simple. Click Plugins -> Add New and do a Search for Quick Post Management. Install the plugin and activate it.

Step 2: Configuration

In Settings -> QPM you have the ability to configure Quick Post Management to show the exact links you want displayed. Change the settings to fit your needs. The image below shows the main settings that you will want to work with when configuring the plugin.

Step 3: Using the Plugin

Unfortunately, it is only at this stage that you’ll find out if you have a compatible version of WordPress. If your installation fails or your permissions are incorrectly set, you will not see the links on your live pages.

If you have a compatible version of WordPress, at this point, Quick Post Management will appear as a series of links above or below the posts on the live site, based off of the settings you set in Step 2. Unlike other plugins, which function within the dashboard of WordPress, Quick Post Management is designed to work on the exterior portion of the website.

In order for the plugin to work, a few criteria need to be met:

• Your site must be running an compatible version of WordPress
• You must be logged in as a user with Editor privileges
• Your theme must be compatible with the plugin

Step 4: Troubleshooting the Plugin

If you are having trouble with Quick Post Management, there are a few things you can try to get it working. This won’t guarantee success, but you might have some luck if you try them.

• Clear the Page Cache after Plugin Installation
• Reinstall the Plugin
• Create a user with ‘Editor’ privileges and test the plugin
• Edit the Plugin to allow Administrators to view the links (Advanced Users Only)

The most common source of failure of this plugin is administrator users attempting to view the links on the live site. This is a bug, but it hasn’t been addressed by the makers of the plugins, so short of correcting the bug yourself with the Plugin Editor, administrative users will need to switch between two different accounts.

That said, there are advantages to having a second account to view the site as a user without administrator privileges, but this workaround prevents this plugin from being as ideal as it could be.

Related posts:

1. How to Add Post Thumbnails to the WordPress Post and Page Management Screens If you’re producing a lot of content on your WordPress...
2. Speed Up Your WordPress / BuddyPress Loading Time With This Quick Tip Minify is a PHP 5 app that “combines multiple CSS...
3. Welcome CollabPress: Project and Task Management for WordPress and WPMU Check out the new kid on the block. WordPress now...

Koding (koding.com) is a cool new application that allows coding and development in the cloud. It’s particularly handy as a WordPress development environment; one that is reached even when you are on the road and your computer is safe at home.

Koding Features

Koding is much more than just coding and development; it’s a social network and hub for developers to share code snippets, best practices, and to improve the overall level of coding across the web.

Users can join groups and follow topics, each which have its own activity feeds jammed with status updates and code snippets from member developers. Interests and activity feeds can be filtered by topic, snippet, autor, links, and more.

Need a snippet that helps modify the WordPress loop? Send a note in the activity stream for the WordPress group and get a comment back from any one of the more than 20,000 current members online, or nearly 1,000 members in the WordPress group alone.

You can even open that code snippet right in your very own editor, and future versions of the app will allow you to save the snippet in your favorites library.

The Koding development environment, called the “Ace” editor, rivals most premium editors on the market with all the major features of a premium code editor including:

• line numbers
• code wrapping
• auto-complete code
• tabbed file browsing
• file tree manager
• syntax modes
• code folding
• color management
• live preview
• and much, much more

Apps within the APP

Koding allows linking to a github repository where you can store extra files for development. They’re also working on adding more functionality to make it a one-stop-shop for everything code and development related.

This includes adding the usage of other third-party apps within Koding’s own windows, including CodeMirror, yMacs, and Pixlr; apps which should make for more efficient file insertion into the development work flow.

WordPress in the Cloud

By now, you’re thinking…”this all sounds nice, but why are we reading about it on WPMU.org?” WordPress in the cloud is nothing new, you’ve been able to do it with server services like Amazon, Rackspace, and others.

But there are a few, not so subtle differences.

• Currently, Koding is a free service – ALL the others are fee based, and charge not only for storage but for bandwidth as well.
• Koding gives you a virtual machine with terminal and ftp access, which means you can install myphpAdmin.
• Koding gives you the ability to install SQL databases.

The 3 of those together mean you can install a working version of WordPress – completely in the cloud, and completely free….for now.

It took me just a few minutes to set up a new WordPress environment, install a few WPMUDEV plugins, and get this Real Estate Based business directory running smoothly. (By the way, that functionality is courtesy of our Directory Plugin, which was recently updated with some cool features.)

How to Access the Koding Application

Koding is offered as an app through Google Chrome Web store and through a normal web browser.

Up until now, the app had been in private beta with only a select few developers having access. It’s out of private beta now, but access is invite only, much like how Google’s social network started just a few short months ago.

Overall, Koding is much more than just cloud coding. It’s a development network that promises to reshape the way we code and create web applications. I’ve found its members to be supportive and very collaborative.

Visit Koding.com and get on the invite list.

Related posts:

1. Global Tag Cloud Plugin NB This post is actually by Deanna Schneider – not...
2. Exclusive Discount For BitNami WordPress Cloud Hosting The good folks over at BitNami have made available an...
3. Life In The Cloud: Are We Ready For Nothing But The Web? What's your take on the Google Chromebook? Could you survive...

There are many problems with this plugin, but the most notable ones include lack of updates, lack of functionality in the latest updates of WordPress, and old API integration for Dropbox.

Combined, this means that the only way you’re going to get this to work is if you’re extremely lucky and you happen to be running a really old version of WordPress. A version from 2011 might be able to make this plugin work, but I wouldn’t be making any bets that any version newer than that will have the results you’re looking for.

Another plugin that shares similar woes is Drop in Dropbox. Once again, users can expect mixed results in terms of functionality and installation success, all dependent on the version of WordPress being used.

Before I talk about the options that will work in modern forms of WordPress without having to pray for divine intervention, it is important to acknowledge how good of an idea this type of plugin is, even if there are more than a few incarnations of it that don’t work.

Dropbox is a great way to share files with many people. By making use of an API system and shortcodes in WordPress, it is possible to securely use Dropbox on your WordPress site without risking your critical information. It is an excellent way to let your customers send you files without having to use email, and it is an excellent way to keep virtual backups of important data.

There are many ways that you could use Dropbox in conjunction with WordPress to create a unique, flexible tool for your site’s needs.

Since I couldn’t get Dropbox Upload Form or Drop in Dropbox to work, I decided to find a few alternatives that do work.

Gravity Forms Dropbox Addon

Gravity Forms is a favorite with many serious WordPress users and they don’t disappoint with the Dropbox addon. This addon plugs into paid Gravity Form systems to offer easy and secure integration. Like Dropbox Upload Form, this plugin allows you to place a form on your site that visitors can then use to load files into your dropbox account.

Installation is simple, as the plugin is available through Plugins -> Add New, but you will need to have a Gravity Forms license, which can be rather expensive.

Simple Dropbox Upload

It is hard to beat a plugin created and maintained by the folks responsible for Gravity  Forms, but Simple Dropbox Upload rises to the challenge admirably. This plugin offers the same basic functionality as Dropbox Upload Forms with the added benefit of current WordPress compatibility. This is a good alternative for those who can’t afford the Gravity Forms license but still desire the ability to allow site visitors to upload files to your dropbox.

For those who need something a little more than a sync-to-dropbox solution, Post via Dropbox allows users to update WordPress blogs through Dropbox. Through linking Dropbox and WordPress with this plugin, it is possible to update your blog without ever leaving your Dropbox account.

In order to use this plugin, you will need to understand shortcodes and be comfortable with their use. If you’re a more advanced WordPress user, this plugin might be a great tool for updating your WordPress while on the go.

Dropbox Photo Sideloader is a solution for those who want to easily be able to upload photographs and other media from their Dropbox accounts into WordPress. Once installed and configured, it is easy to use and takes out a lot of the headache and wait times associated with uploading media to WordPress.

For businesses that deal with digital media, delivering files to customers can be a major problem and concern. PalDrop Dropbox Shop solves a lot of problems by allowing you to sell digital products hosted on Dropbox. In order to make this plugin work, you will need a Paldrop merchant account. Free users have a limited number of files that can be sold, while paying merchant accounts receive increased limits and additional perks.

This plugin is a must-have for any WordPress-based business that has digital products for sale and needs either a temporary or permanent delivery solution.

A few things of note…

As always, anytime you integrate anything that uses personal account information, you should take a few precautions in order to ensure that your information is protected. Fortunately, dropbox uses an API system which greatly increases your security, but I always recommend that you create an account specifically for the purpose of integrating with your WordPress site.

It keeps business separated from personal, and it will ensure that if you do somehow have your Dropbox compromised, you won’t have personal files and data accessed by unauthorized users.

Related posts:

1. 9 Dropbox Plugins for WordPress Check out a few creative ways to integrate your WordPress...
2. How to Automatically Backup Your WordPress Site to Dropbox Last year Dropbox announced that they have 4,000,000 users, a...
3. Keep Your Blog Photos on the Cloud with Dropbox Photo Sideloader Sideload your images onto your blog from anywhere in the...

There are very few solutions for invoicing in WordPress. Maybe people don’t think to fully monetize their blogs, or they use custom-built platforms, but in either case, the offerings for a solid invoicing solution have been few and far between.

WP-Invoice is a solution that can help your business fully utilize the power and customizing power of WordPress.

Let’s take a quick tour on how to make this plugin work for you, shall we?

Step 1: Installation

Installation is easy. WP-Invoice is available through the WordPress Plugins installer. Just click Plugins->Add New and search for WP Invoice. You want the result made by Usability Dynamics.

Step 2: Basic Setup

In order to start using WP-Invoice, you need to go through a First-Use Setup. This tells WP-Invoice how to interact with WordPress.

The Basic Setup is very simple. Configure it to your needs and select a page that the invoice will display on.

Step 3: Credit Card Configuration

In order to accept direct credit card transactions, you need a merchant account. You will insert the appropriate merchant account data here.

For those of you without a merchant account, your only options are to accept paypal or google checkout payments. You configure these options in Basic Setup. If you do not have a merchant account, uncheck the yes box besides “Accept Credit Card?”

Step 4: Issuing Invoices

Once you have configured WP-Invoice (it will not allow you to proceed without proper configuration) you will have the option to issue invoices. In order to issue an invoice, you add the email address of the client you are invoicing.

Once you have determined who the invoice is going to, you need to fill out the invoice. You are given every field necessary for a legal invoice, including billing information, methods of accepting payment, and customer information.

Your business’s information will be added into the invoice from the Basic Settings you worked with earlier, which is why it isn’t listed in the individual invoice.

Step 5: Invoice Tracking

Issuing invoices isn’t all you need to do when you’re billing clients. You need to track who has paid and who hasn’t. WP-Invoice offers a set of reports that do just this. The Invoice Statistics page includes data on your funds.

The three major reports provided include:

• Collected and Uncollected Funds
• Top 10 Most Valuable Clients
• Top Grossing Line Items

While there are other bits of information that would be good to know, these three are major concerns for the average company.

Invoices->View All is also an excellent way to know what invoices you have issued, when they were issued, and their current status. When used in conjunction with the Reports section, this is an extremely powerful tool for businesses to use. Those are the major features of WP-Invoice. While it could have more depth, it is clean, simple, and easy to setup and use.

Best,

Seth C

Thanks to meddygarnet for the photo.

Related posts:

1. How to Integrate Aweber with WHMCS Billing for WordPress Learn how to integrate Aweber email marketing with the WHMCS...
2. Business Case Study: Ayedee.com Creator Finds a Powerhouse Solution In WordPress Multisite WPMU.org recently had the chance to interview James Aldersley of...
3. Getting a 404 Error with Vimeo on WordPress? Get the Solution Here WordPress users have been getting frustrated when their Vimeo videos...

Sites can use this functionality to promote specials, send messages to specific groups of members, and even open access to unique content for users.

This guide is for those who have the Membership plugin installed with active subscriber groups.

Step 1 -> Configuring your Subscription Groups

In order for you to be able to set unique messages in your posts and pages for your users, you need to have groups of people to target. This can be as simple as paying members versus non-paying members. This method of customization can work with any number of subscription groups.

To configure your registration pages and layouts for different member groups, click Membership -> Options -> Membership Pages.

From here, you will need to configure what pages your users land on. There are several options you must have configured before you can customize them with shortcodes to make them unique for your subscription groups.

The main goal of a business is to convert visitors to paying members. Having a registration page tailored to converting visitors is a must-have for any business.

That said, you need to get a non-registered users to create an account with your site. Configure your registration page under Membership -> Options -> Membership Pages.

The other options available are very similar. Configure them to add depth to your site and enhance the experience for your users.

Take note of the pages that you have configured here. You’ll likely want to configure each one with unique text.

Here is a list of what pages you can configure and what those pages do:

Registration Page – This is where users register for your site

Registration Complete – This is your welcome page

Account Page – This is where users view their basic account information

Subscription Page – This is where users view their subscription information

Protected Content Page – This is the default page a user will be routed to if they do not have access to the content they attempted to reach

Step 2: Adjust your Pages

In order to show customized text to your users on your pages, you need to work a little shortcode magic. With one simple shortcode trick, you can show different text on a single page to your different user levels.

For example, you might want a special promotions page that shows different promotions depending on whether or not the person viewing it is a paying member of your site. You might do something like this:

[level-non-paying-members]Please join our site in order to gain access to special offers and promotions![/ level-non-paying-members]

[level-non-premium-paying-members]Buy one month of Premium membership, get one free… click here to find out more![/ level-non-premium-paying-members]

[level-premium-members]Extend your Premium Membership for a year and save 15%![/ level-premium-members]

Remember, everything after level- is what you set when configuring your memberships. If you call it visitors, level 1, and level 2, you would use these labels in the appropriate format of [level-label] Content [/level-label].

Tip: Spaces are always replaced with ‘-‘.

With the above example, only non-paying members would ever see “Please join our site in order to gain access to special offers and promotions!”

The shortcode essentially filters your content so that only the group that is called is able to see the text. This is an extremely powerful tool for those who want to be able to target their content directly to their audience.

Using these shortcodes, you can enhance the functionality of your site and cater to all of your audiences, which can significantly impact your retention and conversion rates.

Related posts:

1. How to Create a Free or Paid Membership Site with WordPress and the Membership Plugin Earlier this week we released Membership 1.0, a plugin that...
2. Create a Simple Tutorial Site with the WPMU DEV Membership Plugin Today I’m going to do a special tutorial for all...
3. WordPress Membership Plugin – that works with WPMU & BuddyPress too! As plugin release number 99 on WPMU DEV, we’ve got...

A Limited Duration Membership is a membership option that allows for a customized payment plan. For example, a three-month subscription that bills once per month is a limited duration membership; a renewable one-year subscription is not a limited duration membership.

Membership has a lot of options, but in order to set up a limited duration membership, you will first need to work a little WordPress magic. To start with, you need to understand the types of Membership opens that come with the plugin. let’s have a look…

(These settings are found by going to “Subscription Plans” and selecting “edit” for the subscription plan which you want to make into a limited duration membership)

Mode can be switched between Finite, Indefinite, and Serial.

While Serial subscriptions allow you to set a reoccurring subscription, it doesn’t allow administrators to set a limited duration to expire. In other words, Membership either uses a finite non-repetitive payment scheme, a reoccurring subscription, or an indefinite scheme that involves one payment that allows permanent access.

A Limited Duration Membership falls outside of the scope of these three default options.

Here is a guide on how to set up your limited duration membership.

Step 1: Configure Membership

Because you will be creating a unique payment handling for limited duration memberships, you will need to reconfigure membership. As the installing user of the plugin, click Membership -> Options and go to the Advanced tab at the top. You will need to check the box that says ‘Show Membership Wizard.’

Step 2: Configure Dripped Content Site

Click Membership in the left hand menu to return to the front page.  There will be an option to set your site as a Dripped Content Site. Select this option. Now, in order to continue the installation process, you will need to click on Next Step.

Step 3: Configure your Subscription Options

This is where the process gets a little complicated. In order to set limited duration memberships, you must migrate each user through a series of different memberships. Create a dripped content style subscription feed. You do this by dragging and dropping the appropriate subscription types in the order you want the user to migrate through them.

This is the heart and soul of setting up a limited duration membership. The final subscription option in the scheme should be a finite closing subscription. The below image shows an example of how you work with your subscription plans in order to set up your dripped content styled subscription feed.

You will need to adjust each Membership level in order to set up the appropriate subscription plan.

When to Use Limited Duration Memberships

Now that you have a better idea of how to implement limited duration memberships, it is important to discuss why you would set up such an elaborate method of billing a subscription.

While standard subscription types offer a reasonable amount of flexibility, having the ability to run special offers outside of the standard subscription scheme can open many business opportunities. Here is a quick list of ways you might be able to take advantage of the content drip subscription method:

• Setting up Limited-Time Offers
• 3 month limited subscriptions with free month trial offers
• 6 month limited subscriptions with free time trial offers
• Free trials with automatic subscription renewals

There are many other ways that you can take advantage of the Membership plugin to enhance how your billing works.

There are other ways that Membership can aid your business. For example, if you require monthly billing transactions for tax purposes, a limited duration membership can help you keep a proper receipt tracking of your subscriptions.

While it does take a few extra steps to implement limited duration subscriptions, I like that Membership does have the functionality to do so, which opens a lot of doors for sites seeking new business opportunities and options.

Enjoy!

Seth C

Related posts:

1. DevPress is Giving Away Free Memberships to WordCamp Attendees Are you hosting a WordCamp? Hook all of your attendees...
2. How to Successfully Create a Non-Profit Website on a Limited (Or Non-Existent) Budget There's an art to working with non-profits to successfully implement...
3. WPMU DEV Coupons So, we do…. occasionally… release coupons for discounted WPMU DEV...

Sometimes, the only way to get a point across is to use a diagram, chart, or graph. WordPress doesn’t come with this functionality natively. I don’t know about you, but there are few tasks more difficult than trying to show someone an example or comparison without the use of a good image to back up what you’re trying to prove.

Easy Chart Builder has come to the rescue. This plugin is both easy to use yet complex, and provides you with all of your charting or graphing needs in WordPress.

Join me on a tour of this plugin from start to finish. By the time we’re done, you won’t just know about Easy Chart Builder, but you’ll know how to use it!

Step One: Load in the Plugin

Easy Chart Builder is available through the WordPress Plugin Tool.

1. Click Plugins -> Add New
2. Search for Easy Chart Builder for WordPress
3. Install the plugin

Step Two: Setup the Plugin

Easy Chart Builder has a lot of settings that you need to be aware of. You’ll want to setup the plugin to match your site.

1. Hover Mouse over Settings
2. Click Easy Chart Builder

Default Graph/Chart Type

When you setup Easy Chart Builder, you have the option to select the default type of chart. You’ll want to set the chart type each time you use a chart, but it is always a good idea to pick the type of chart you’ll use most frequently.

Here are your choices:

1. Horizontal Bar Graph (horizbar)
2. Vertical Bar Graph (vertbar)
3. Pie Chart (pie)
4. Line Graph (line)
5. Horizontal Bar – Stack (horizbarstack)
6. Vertical Bar – Stack (vertbarstack)
7. Horizontal Bar – Overlap (horizbaroverlap)
8. Vertical Bar – Overlap (vertbaroverlap)

Chart Height / Width

These fields set the default height / width. These are primarily used for special calculations. Until you’re used to how Easy Chart Builder works, it is safe to leave these set to the defaults.

Colors

This is where you set the default colors for your Charts and Graphs. Have fun and play with this. Set your colors to anything you want.

The Group colors are extremely important, as these are what the lines, pies, and other elements of the chart will look like when you make it.

We’re going to walk through how the above chart was built. This is a simple horizontal bar graph. It shows imaginary figures for the airspeed of a Laden versus Unladen European Swallow.

(No swallows were harmed in the making of this graph.)

Here is the code to generate the above horizontal bar graph using the default settings:

[easychart type="horizbar" height="100" title="Airspeed Velocity of European Swallows in meters per minute: Laden v.s. Unladen" groupnames="Unladen, Laden" valuenames="Overall,During Storms,Long Distance" group1values="20,5,8" group2values="50,8,24" ]

I’m sure some of you are scratching your head at this point and wondering just how this is ‘Easy’. Don’t worry, it really is. I’m going to walk you through this piece by piece.

• [easychart

This is the basic shortcode to insert a graph into your post or page. All Easy Chart Builder graphs use this short code.

• Type=”horizbar”

If you look above, I listed out all of the types of graphs that Easy Chart Builder can make. This is where you insert the type of graph you want to use.

• height="100"

This is where you would change the height if you aren’t using the default. In this case, I modified it from 200 to 100. If you want to change the width, you would just insert width=”###”.

• title="Airspeed Velocity of European Swallows in meters per minute: Laden v.s. Unladen"

The title is what shows above the graph. Every time you build a chart, you should give it a title. You will want to explain the purpose of the chart in the title.

• groupnames="Unladen, Laden"

Charts and Graphs compare things. This is where you list all of the things you are comparing. In this case, we’re listing Unladen vs Laden European Swallows.

• valuenames="Overall,During Storms,Long Distance"

When you compare multiple types of data, you need value names. Pie Charts do not use value names, since you’re comparing the group values.

• group1values="20,5,8" group2values="50,8,24"

This is the heart and soul of your graph. Group1values is referring to the Unladen swallows. Group2values refers to the Laden swallows. Insert your numerical data fields here to turn them into your charts.

Once again, pie charts work slightly differently. They only use one value per group.

• ]

All Easy Chart Builder shortcodes end with ‘]’.

Syntax

When you’re working with Easy Chart Builder, it is important to realize that Syntax is important. Syntax is the way text is presented. Don’t exchange “ for ‘ – your codes won’t work. If it calls for a comma, you must use a comma. Don’t add spaces when a space is not called for.

Easy Chart Builder includes an error messaging system. All you need to do to access the error messages is to preview the post with your Easy Builder Chart shortcode.

An Error Message looks a little something like this:

This gives you a basic idea of what the error is and where to find it. In this case, I purposefully removed the “ after Laden in the group names section of the shortcode.

Now you know the basics to Easy Chart Builder. You can use even more parameters to build sophisticated charts and graphs. Go and have some fun building the perfect graph!

Related posts:

1. How to Use Google Chart Tools in Your WordPress Site Google Docs lets you easily create and embed all sorts...
2. The Best and Worst Things About Builder Theme What to expect when considering the WordPress premium Builder Theme....
3. Create Your Own WordPress Widgets on the Fly – Widget Builder Plugin This widget builder plugin lets you create your own widgets....

How often do you do create a new website for yourself or someone else? Do you just dive in and start working your WordPress theme, plugin, and settings magic? I’m guessing most of us do this and could benefit from having a checklist to guide us through the website finalization process. A checklist will remind you of important settings to configure and help you to not forget the little things.

I’ve created a long list of items to be completed after getting the general site design approved by your client (or yourself if the site is for you).

This checklist was created with a new domain and new site design in mind (not inheriting an established site). However, it can still be used for existing sites with some modifications.

I’ve split the list of to-do’s into 5 steps (click each link to scroll down to that step):

• Step 1: Before Going Live - preparations before starting to finalize
• Step 2: Going Live - publishing to the new domain and integrating with other sites
• Step 3: Finish Going Live - finalizing the front-end
• Step 4: Promoting the Site - catering to search engines, social media, and social marketing
• Step 5: Finishing Up - finalizing settings and delivering to Client

All the steps (and their tasks) are listed in order so you can do them all from first to last, but each website creator, website project, and client are a little different and go through a different set of revisions.

Also, you might have some value-added services to perform (integrate BuddyPress, bbPress, display ads, etc.) for a specific project, or you might have some favorite plugins or best practices. Thus, I’ve provided the HTML code for each table so that you can put it in Dreamweaver or some other table editor and hack it up as desired to make your own version.

Hint: You might want to create multiple checklist versions or add additional Steps for common projects like BuddyPress sites, the $500-1,500 package, the $1,500 – $5,000 package, or other variations.

Why Use A Website Finalization Checklist?

I find it helpful to use a checklist like this for two reasons:

1. To show a prospective client that I’ve got a comprehensive plan for their WordPress website.
2. To use as an actual checklist (i.e. mark stuff as done) after I think I’ve got all the major items ready to finalize and have the client’s trust enough to where I think they’ll approve everything else going forward.

Checklists help you produce more professional end results in a shorter amount of time. It’s just a logical thing to do.

If you do a considerable number of sites like I do, you might create your own, like I did. But even if you only build 1 website per year (even if for yourself), this checklist is a great starting point (if not all you need an more).

How To Use This Checklist

I suggest copying each table from this page (not the HTML code) and pasting into Excel if you want to keep electronic records (which is probably best). Or you can open the html files in a web browser and print and put in the client’s paper folder.

The first column corresponds to the Step the task is listed in. The second column, “Order”, indicates, “you should do all the lower numbers before proceeding to the higher numbers”; it’s used as a loose way to group tasks within each Step.

The third column specifies one of the following task Areas:

• Communications – Client interactions
• Plugins – add, remove, edit
• Settings – work your magic
• SEO – tasks with search engine results in mind
• Themes – add, remove, edit

For the last column, you can either put a checkmark or a date in the last column when completed. If you won’t be completing a task, you might want to put an “X” in the column.

If you want to turn it into something to show your client, you might want to style the checklist and add/remove tasks and put it in your client proposal package. In this case, you’d probably want to add another step before Step 1 to get to the point of starting to finalize a site, which is the intention of this checklist.

The Ultimate WordPress Website Finalization Checklist

I hope you get good usage out of this checklist — for your personal and client WordPress projects — and I invite you to share links to your own checklists or comment with some additional tasks you think might benefit your fellow readers.

Without further ado…

Step 1: Before Going Live

Download HTML code of Step 1

Step 2: Going Live

Download HTML code of Step 2

Step 3: Finish Going Live

Download HTML code of Step 3

Step 4: Promoting the Site

Download HTML code of Step 4

​

Step 5: Finishing Up

Download HTML code of Step 5

Bonus: Download all steps in PDF format

Ultimate WordPress Website Finalization Checklist – All Steps PDF

Please share your favorite tasks, thoughts on tasks to add or remove, and other feedback in the comments below. I hope it enhances your WordPress site-building.

Launch Button by Steven Depolo

Related posts:

1. The Ultimate WordPress Theme Developer’s Checklist – An Obscure Codex Gem Want to know if your theme is quality? Compare it...
2. How to Create a Professional Networking Site With WordPress and BuddyPress Check out our recommendations for the plugins that will help...
3. WPMU DEV SEO is Your One-Stop Solution to Optimize Your WordPress Site for Search Engines Tired of installing numerous plugins to try to manage bits...