Static front and post pages were introduced in WordPress 2.1. For some reason I could not get this working at all and realised that the template directory most likely needed some fresh code. After a little “Googleing” I found out that WordPress by default are trying to pull home.php before index.php when entering your blog (WP installation). Therefore a “hack” should be implemented in this template file.

Creating the necessary code

Create a file called home.php and add the following code inside:

<?php
# Get the page ID's for the front and post pages
$intHome = get_option('page_on_front');
$intPage = get_option('page_for_posts');

# Get the current URI
$strWPPage = "http://".$_SERVER['SERVER_NAME'].$_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'];
# Get your blogs front page URI
$strWPHome = get_bloginfo(’wpurl’).”/”;

# Displays the static front page if set under options –> reading
if (is_home() && !empty($intHome) && $strWPPage == $strWPHome) :

	query_posts(’page_id=’.$intHome);
	include (TEMPLATEPATH . ‘/page.php’);

# Displays the static posts page if set under options –> reading
elseif (is_home() && !empty($intPage)) :

	query_posts(’page_id=’.$intPage);
	include (TEMPLATEPATH . ‘/index.php’);

else :

	include (TEMPLATEPATH . ‘/index.php’);

endif;
?>

Adding the new code

Simply upload the new file to your template directory using your favourite FTP client. Finalize the procedure by logging into your WP admin and click Options then Reading and adjust the Static pages options listed the way you want.

Hint: By adding a blank page called e.g. “Blog” you would get a very logical link to your static post listings page…

Major changes (either a new flexible tag system or sidebar widgets) have come about so close to the scheduled release date, which is why the developers have decided to push the release back by “a week or two”, according to Matt.

Read more | Digg story

I’ve been thinking of changing theme for awhile but really didn’t want to reinvent the wheel (again). Therefore I’ve spent the last couple of days getting to know K2, the next generation Kubrick theme template developed by Michael Heilemann, Chris J Davis, Zeo, Steve Lam and Ben Sherratt.

It appears that applying your own layout and still keep (get) some really great functionality is relatively straightforward (if you know some HTML, CSS and PHP…) . I’ll return with more info as the “localhost-project” continues.

In the meanwhile you can look forward to my Lightbox Media release tomorrow (if time permits) which I hope will prove useful to those of you missing a few features from the original Lightbox image viewer.

The long waiting period’s finally come to an end. As you might have seen already Matthew Mullenweg announced yesterday that WordPress now has a brand-spanking new plugins directory where you can browse, download, rate, and comment on all your favorite plugins.

The front plugins page lists the most popular, newest, recently updated plugins along with a featured plugin on top. The sub-section provides easy access to whatever you’re looking for through the neatly organized tag cloud (keywords) sorted by number of available plugins (I think).

Through the WordPress “Dashboard” feed update any developer can now reach millions of people by contributing and keep his/hers plugins updated on regular basis. I believe this is one of the best marketing stunts ever as it really works both ways. The developer gets massive traffic (great for SEO) and WordPress gets even more people involved with their continuously growing blogging platform.

I believe I shall now start creating and contributing my very own plugins…

I’ve just added the comic strip “Help Desk” from ubersoft.net to my sidebar by including a few functions to the main functions.php file (actually just by doing an include() to make updates easier) found in the /wp-includes directory in WordPress.

These functions automagically look up ubersoft.net to check if a new comic is out. If yes it will create a thumbnail with a link to the original, otherwise it will simply state that nothing new is out. To make it even prettier I’ve used the Lightbox add-on to have it open on top of the page so you wont have to go anywhere.

When I get around to it I’ll create a drop down menu with links to previous comics. I’ve just created a hidden DIV layer that will reveal the “Help Desk” comic by calling a tiny JavaScript. Drop me a line if you are interested in getting the code on your own WordPress installation.