WordPress & Thesis theme Enhance Serradinho Blog

When you have a better understanding of how to make changes using WordPress and Thesis theme, it makes your life easier. In this post I will be sharing about what has changed and what to look out for.

I have gone through a patch of relooking into WordPress, Thesis theme, CSS styling, better HTML standards and even more PHP programming. I am chuffed with my progress and understanding of WordPress and Thesis theme. I say that because I only moved over to using Thesis theme on 25th May 2009 and I have come a long way since then. I also only stumbled onto WordPress about 2 years or less.

As the weeks and months pass by, I learn more and more from other web designers and bloggers around the world. I will be listing the changes I made using what I have learned.Please not that they are not listed in any particular order.

Accordion menu in Sidebar

Accordion Menu

Short Definition: In a graphical user interface, an accordion is a vertically stacked list of items (e.g. labels or thumbnails). Each item can be “expanded” or “stretched” to reveal the content associated with that item. There can be zero or more items expanded at a time, depending on the configuration.

For a more indepth definition, you can view accordion on Wiki to get a better picture.

Ok, this was my brothers idea to start using accordion menu’s and I thought it would be tough. I found numerous sites explaining all the technical stuff and I had it working in no time. Knowing HTML, CSS, PHP and Javascript would be a bonus and an advantage over others.

I had to look at what I would actually use for links and eventually made the decision to go with the most popular ones. So I went for a few categories, downloads, guest posting, services and portfolio.

One of the nice features of the accordion menu is that you can set it to only open the menu sub links. You can use the normal click or you can use the mouseover feature. When a users mouse hovers over a menu, the menu sub links will open. You also have the capability to set how fast it opens.

Teaser Category Posts

I have added some category posts in between the normal teasers on the homepage. I did this to spice it up a bit and try and make my blog unique. Honestly, I was getting bored with the normal look and feel as many other websites/blogs look similiar. These blocks are placed after each teaser box using the Thesis theme like I have done . You can see the example below for a better idea.

Teaser Category Posts

By default Thesis teaser box consists on 2 posts which are aligned next to each other. I have made each teaser the full width of the content area, so it will display the category block after 2 posts. I could space the blocks out more if I really wanted to, but I’m not displaying only a few posts on a page.

I have listed the last 5 posts from WordPress, Thesis, Featured & Blog Tips categories. I like the way it has come out and think the dark blue background stands out attracts attention. Let me know what you think of the boxes and position.

Category Highlight before footer

I have added a few category boxes at the bottom before the footer. The background colour changes when you hover over them, I thought this was handy and I liked the effect.

Category Posts Highlighted

You will only see these category boxes on the homepage so go have a look and let me know what you think. These boxes show the category name and desription which was entered via the WP dashboard. So, I could make wording changes with just a few clicks here and there.

Twitter account unsuspended – New background

If you are a loyal follower of my blog, you would have noticed that my Twitter account (gfserradinho) was suspended for a while. Let me be honest now and say that it was a couple of weeks, maybe even more than a month. Well, I finally got it opened again after many, many, many emails.

I have finally uploaded my new background that was designed by Liane. You can read more about Liane’s services by reading my post about having a professional Twitter background. It’s a must if you are looking for something fresh and exciting. Come on, you have nothing to lose so go have a look.

New social icons at bottom of posts

This is something new for me where I added a few social network buttons via code. Yes, I know all them could have also been done by installing numerous plugins. I have been on a mission for the last 2 weeks to minimize the number of WordPress plugins installed on my blog. I’m currently sitting on 25 and i would like to get it down to 20 if possible.

You can read my post which covers adding Google Buzz button to your posts & pages using Google Buzz WordPress plugin. This plugin is very useful for the users who are not familiar with code and editing their theme. I also reviewed a new Digg clone social network called Shoutmeme, go have a look if you don’t know about it.

The social buttons added are:

• Tweetmeme
• Digg
• Shoutmeme
• Google Buzz
• Facebook

Social buttons at bottom of posts

I can see that some of you are already using the buttons and that makes me really happy Let me know if I missed one and I might just add it depending on my mood, just joking.

Welcome message on homepage

Homepage: welcome new visitors

I created a welcome message that gets displayed at the top of the sidebar. I thought it would be nice to welcome new visitors and even existing fans/followers of my blog.

Although the message is plain, I think it’s very important to welcome visitors to your blog/website. When I visit websites for the first time, I get a nice warm feeling inside when I see a welcome message.

I have only put this message on the homepage, so you won’t see it on posts and pages. I guess you will have to go to my homepage and see it in action, lol.

Final Thought

Well, I hope to hear from you all about the changes and see what you guys and girls have to say. All feedback is welcome, good or bad.

Tagged as: accordion menu, blog updates, design layout, enhance blog, improvements on blog, serradinho blog updates, social network, thesis theme, updates, Wordpress

From the desk of George Serradinho

I am the proud owner of Serradinho.com and have made this my second home. I'm into blogging, downloads, WordPress, meeting and helping others, etc. Basically the internet in general :) Serradinho Web Services is my own company whereby I offer my services to clients. This ranges from web design, website upgrades, theme customizations, support, premium WordPress plugins and many more .....

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