My standard starting place is codecanyon.net (then onto graphicriver.net and themeforest.net – yes, ALL envato sites! What can I say… they just do it RIGHT!). I’ve purchased LOADS of stuff from these sites (primarily codecanyon.net and graphicriver.net) and have started spending more time visiting some of the developers/designers sites and profiles (which is great- many have started adding links to their social media accounts too).

ANYWHO…

One more recent purchase (that I’ll be doing a video on soon) was “Unlimited CSS3 Buttons” by Code125.  I was just digging around through WordPress plugins and anything to do with Google + (kind of  my latest obsession) when I went to look at their portfolio and saw a link to their site- Code125.com.
Which is where I found the “Social Box WordPress Widget”.

Because of my recent interest in Google + (don’t ask… I can’t quite explain it yet, which will be ridiculously apparent when you watch the video! But I’d love it if you added my page to your circle or +1 it? ) I instantly liked this widget! From a visual perspective, it’s just SUPER clean!
The best part is that all you do is install it and drop in your links! THAT IS IT!

Here’s what it looks like (you can also see it in my sidebar, but this is from the Code125 site):

And of course, here’s the quick little video I did showing you HOW to add this widget to your site!

Yes, I know. They added some functionality to WordPress a few versions ago, and they’re great for basic editing, cropping, re-sizing, etc. But for more COOL options- this plugin will do the trick!

I found this plugin, WP Paint,  on CodeCanyon.net and while I DO have photoshop, I’ve been helping my nephew build a WordPress site and he doesn’t and I remembered seeing this so thought why not give it a go? And especially at the whopping price of $8… I figured it wasn’t TOO big of an investment!

The easiest way to show you how WP Paint works is with a video. One thing I will tell you though is that it has seemed a little slow loading. It uses the Sumo Paint API, which, I have to be honest with you, I hadn’t heard of Sumo Paint until I tried this plugin. I know, I feel so out of it (unless of course YOU haven’t heard of Sumo Paint either and in that case it’s all good).

The other suggestion might be to install it in a different WordPress install (or a dummy install as I call them- one of ‘test’ sites that I set up on my hosting to try things out) and then you can always edit your images there,  then download them for your primary site. I know, sounds like a lot of extra work. But really- it’s not too much different than using photoshop – this one is just inside of WordPress!

Anywho- I’m not going to go into ALL the options with this- you can play with those yourself.

*Quick Note*
To install this plugin, just upload the zip file like you normally would when you ‘add a new plugin’. There are no settings to configure, you just upload your images in your Media Library (or you can edit images already uploaded in your media library) and when you hover over the image name you’ll see your image options (edit, delete, edit with sumo paint, etc.). I didn’t want to make you sit through that too!

One of my favorite features of Genesis is the 6 different page/post layout options. I think it’s probably one of the least used features and one I’ve decided to test and see what kind of results I get.

I think in order to maximize the different layout options you want to be able to easily dictate which widgets appear on which page- and in an easy manner. Previously I was using the Widget locationizer plugin- which worked great, but could be a bit clunky for people and makes it a little too easy for people to ‘hide’ their widgets, unintentionally (I’ve received a few emails from clients asking what happened to a specific widget because they had edited something or added a widget and now they ‘lost’ one!).

At first I thought that the Simple Sidebars plugin was similar, so why bother.

Well…insert foot in mouth.

It’s way easier to use and makes it VERY easy to set up custom sidebars on your site! This plugin works for either the primary or secondary sidebar (depending on which layout you use you can customize the secondary sidebar as well).
Here’s a screenshot of the different layouts built into Genesis- but selecting a different page layout you can really grab the visitors attention when they land on a page and the sidebar has moved and there’s new content in it!

I think the easiest way to do this is simply (pun intended) to show you!
(*SIDE NOTE* I forgot to check Camtasia to see if the cursor was highlighted- so it’s not in this video. Just a heads up- but it’s such a short, easy video thought you guys could roll with it!)

I had been using disqus for quite a while now so was a little hesitant to switch- but knew the longer I waited the harder it would be to make the switch.

Then of course Andy Baily, the creator of the CommentLuv plugin made the decision that much easier!

He came out with a NEW version as well as a bonus plugin just today. It looks like there is a premium version of CommentLuv on its way- so I’ll keep you posted on that as well.

Because I wasn’t using CommentLuv before (and am being lazy and don’t really want to go dig around), I can’t say FOR SURE if this is a new feature, but I believe it is, but as a registered user on a particular site you can actually have your last TEN blog posts show up with your comment! Cool, huh?

And then of course there are a few styling options- and everyone knows how the simple pleasure of graphic options make me happy. You can choose from 3 differeent commentluv badges, put in your own custom badge (I’ll probably do that soon) or simply link to text. Nice, huh?

Here’s a screenshot of the dashboard settings- and note that there are tutorial videos BUILT INTO the dashboard settings too. I’ve done a quick little video showing you the options too- but don’t worry, the few short videos Andy has created showing you how edit your settings are all you need!

I have to admit, I am curious about the upcoming features that will be included with the premium version!

QUICK NOTE: In the video I said you can have your last 10 blog posts (links) show up- what I MEANT to say is that you can select which blog post title you want linked from your last 10 posts. They don’t all show up! got a little ahead of myself there!

In the meantime, let’s take a peek at what’s going on in the dashboard with the latest version of CommentLuv 2.9!

Anywho….

I have a tendency to cruise over to CodeCanyon every few days to see what’s new for WordPress and noticed this little thumbnail right away, so of course clicked on it to see what it was all about. This is a GREAT way to add a fresh look to your widgets- or call attention to something! I LOVE IT! Oh… and I have to mention too that initially when I installed it I received an error msg (note to everyone- unzip it first, then upload the zip file within the download zip file. What can I say- sometimes the obvious just isn’t!). I just used an FTP client and uploaded it! But before I did that I emailed the plugin creator and got a response back in less than a day. Great support Gordon- thanks!

Here’s a little video where you can see the plugin in action! If you think you want to give it a go- they do offer a free demo download, so you can of course test it and see if this is something you want to invest in (btw- this is a whopping $6! How FAB is that?).

Make sure to check out the rest of WebFactory’s WordPress plugins on CodeCanyon too!

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It’s official…I’m a This is a sample of one of the super fun shortcodes that come built into this plugin! TOTAL geek! Yesterday was one of those days that I just was able to spend some time digging into whatever I wanted to online. I didn’t have anything in particular that I was looking for, I just wanted to leisurely look at what was happening with new plugins, themes, tools, etc. Then I found THIS!

This plugin was literally one of those “OMG this is cool!” And I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it before – just because it’s one of those things that the everyday user will JUMP FOR JOY over! I love finding plugins or ways to do things that without, you’d have to be a programmer to accomplish! Before I explain ‘what’ this plugin does, just know that you really don’t have to understand ANYTHING about shortcodes or how they work.  Just to give you a little idea as to what shortcodes are:

shortcodes are powerful WordPress functions that allow you to speed up the time it takes to add snippets of commonly used code on your WordPress powered website or blog.

I’ve created a little video to show you some of the cool things that this plugin does – and a little slideshow with some screenshots (the slideshow was created using the plugin too). The Shortcode Kid plugin has over 100 shortcodes built into it- and of course they’ll keep updating the plugin, so I’m sure there will be more features and This is one of the awesome 'rockstar' features built into Shortcode Kid. I SO love the fact that I can easily add a tooltip box to text- just by clicking a button in the visual editor! WOO HOO! shortcodes added in the future.

You can get the Shortcode Kid plugin by clicking the button below:
Shortcode Kid Plugin Easily add shortcodes to WordPress

Here are some screenshots of the features!

I was working on a site for a local non-profit that I am wrapping up and was setting up new Users for some of the people on their staff when I decided to try the BM Custom Login plugin. I also used another plugin that allows me to dictate what each user can see when they log into the dashboard (hardly need them getting into Genesis, tools, settings, appearance, plugins, etc.), but more on that in another post.

When I went to set this up (it really is super easy)- the steps on the plugin site weren’t super clear, so when I sorted it I thought it would be a great plugin to create a post and video about.
Here’s the video- let me know if you have any other questions!

Oh, and just to give you a heads up- I’m a little chatty at the beginning of this. Sorry about that- out of practice I guess.

When I saw the preview of this new plugin- I KNEW I was going to get it and give it a go! It’s called PopUp Domination. It was created by Michael Dunlop (I wrote about him in my first post on blogs I read and recommend). I’ll give you a few points about the plugin in the post- but think a video is the best way to demonstrate how much this plugin kicks arse! I’ve played around with other pop-ups (footer & regular)- and while some people don’t necessarily like them- the bottom line is they increase opt-ins! What’s SUPER cool about this plugin though is that you can set when and how often it actually pop’s up! So my regular readers won’t get hit with the popup every time they visit the site! WOO HOO!

Ok…enough of that. Here’s the video! And yes….I am an affiliate of this plugin- but hopefully by now you realize I promote things I use and trust! Let me know if you have any questions or feel free to share you success with pop-ups!

It may seem pretty straightforward- but once you start getting into video it opens up a huge new world…one that’s pretty fun too (if I do say so myself….I swear I never knew I was such a techie! ).  There are SO many options and solutions out there for video that it can be overwhelming at times (where to host your video, how to create it, showing a playlist, using a lightbox, incorporating links, etc.)- just type video into the plugin directory at WordPress.org and you’ll get over 40 pages of plugins..yikes!

You may have noticed that my videos have evolved over time. Once you get one piece of the puzzle down it’s easy to start adding more features to your videos. The important thing about video is just to START! I’ll be incorporating some more personal style videos very soon… (me talking into the camera….I’ve avoided this a bit as I tend not to ‘get ready’ ….. who needs to when you work from home? But that’s another post, for another time). The more personal your videos are the better. And when I find an easy video solution- of course it’s time to share it!

I found this video lightbox plugin when I was working on a clients site. I had found a different solution- but it wasn’t something the client could easily do for himself – so I knew I needed to keep looking! This plugin will allow you to add a lightbox to your videos (when the reader clicks on the video, a lightbox pops up with the video, shading out the rest of the site). This plugin works for videos hosted on YouTube, Vimeo and Blip.tv. There are two steps to this plugin- the first is downloading & installing it…( I know, kind of obvious)- but then you have to add a few files to this plugin (super easy….I show you how in the video). Then voila! It’s ready to roll! The two things you’ll need to download for this are the plugin (Lightview plus) and the actual lightview file. You can get those here:

Lightview Plus

Lightview

Let me know what you think.

In one of my recent posts I wrote about & created a video for the SEO Scribe plugin – which is about optimizing your posts and pages. Adding a related posts plugin is one way to add to your overall SEO efforts and increase your links. Obviously you don’t need to use a plugin to do this- but if you can (and aren’t running with too many plugins to begin with)- then it’s the easiest way to add related links to your posts without spending too much extra time. My posts tend to take me a little longer than I anticipate (almost every time)- but mainly because I want to make sure I’ve added  the right thumbnail, probably will add a video, make sure all the SEO stuff is done,etc. Which is why using a related posts plugin is TOTALLY the way to go…for me.

The plugin I use is called Microkid’s Related Post plugin. It makes it super easy to manually add related posts by searching your content and selecting the posts you want to link to. What’s so fab about this plugin though is that it automatically creates a reciprocal link to the post you’ve linked to. SO…if I link this post to my SEO Scribe plugin post, it will automatically link the SEO Scribe plugin post BACK to this post. Cool, huh?

Here’s a super quick video showing you how this works!

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